Huntley defense stiffens vs. D-C

On the night of Huntley's “pink out,” the Red Raiders played the type of effective defense that makes coaches blush.

Coming off what Huntley coach Marty Manning considered one of his team's worst defensive performances of the year last Friday in a 3-point home loss to Jacobs, the Red Raiders put the clamps on visiting Dundee-Crown throughout a 48-34 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division victory.

Dundee-Crown's 34 points were the lowest point total allowed by Huntley (13-4, 2-1) since the Red Raiders defeated North Grand 64-32 on Dec. 23, 2009.

“I thought our defense was really good, a big-time difference from the last couple of games we've played,” Manning said. “Our energy was a little bit better and our understanding of how we wanted to guard teams was a little bit better in this game.”

The 34 points tied a season low for Dundee-Crown (9-5, 1-2), which scored 34 points in a loss to Highland Park at the Elgin Holiday Tournament on Dec. 23.

The Chargers were led by 10 points apiece from seniors Jamel Kimbrough and Ryan Smith, but they were unable to manage more than 11 points in any quarter and were limited to 5 points in the second quarter and 8 points in the fourth.

Turnovers were a problem for the Chargers. They committed 16, Huntley only 9.

“I thought Huntley did an excellent job defensively,” D-C coach Lance Huber said. “They forced us to have some turnovers that really hurt us, and I thought that (Huntley guard Troy) Miller made some untimely threes that worked against us. Timely for Huntley, untimely for us.”

Dundee-Crown was within 4 points of the lead in the final 20 seconds of both the second and third quarters until Miller sank 3-pointers to restore a 7-point cushion. The junior's 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in the third quarter gave Huntley a 33-26 lead. D-C never pulled closer than 7 points the rest of the game.

“It was a 4-point game and we were going to get the ball to start the quarter, and now it's a 7-point game,” Smith said. “If we'd gotten a layup, it's a 2-point game. Instead, it's a 7-point game and that's a killer.”

Miller led all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 4 of 9 from 3-point range.

“Ill take that any day,” he said. “I'm getting my confidence back up after I was in a shooting slump for almost a month. I'm trying to drive more to be more of a basketball player and not just a shooter.”

Special ceremony: Red Raider nation turned pink Wednesday in support of Robin Brunschon, the mother of Huntley senior guard Tyler Brunschon.

Robin was diagnosed with breast cancer in late August and is currently undergoing chemotherapy to combat the disease. In a touching pregame ceremony, every Huntley coach, manager and player took turns presenting Robin with a pink rose and a hug.

A total of 500 pink T-shirts sold out at $10 apiece, all proceeds of which were be donated to the Robin Brunschon Fund to help defray medical costs.

A duplicate fundraiser benefiting the Brunschons will take place when Huntley makes its return visit to Dundee-Crown on Feb. 11, thanks to the cooperation of the D-C athletic department.

Robin is scheduled for her final chemotherapy treatment on Jan. 28, after which she will undergo surgery and radiation. The pregame ceremony concluded when Tyler presented his mother with a pink rose and a long hug.

“It got pretty emotional,” Tyler said. “To get back into the game was pretty hard considering how emotional I was. That hug meant a lot for me. I love my mom and I'll always be there for her.”