Jacobs edges host Cary-Grove in 2OTs
The only undefeated boys basketball team in the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference stayed unbeaten Friday night, but Jacobs had to survive two overtimes in Cary to do it.
The game was hard-fought, physical and got testy at times, as conference games between rivals can. Jacobs, playing its seventh game in eight days, scraped together just enough energy to sink their late free throws and outlast the Trojans in a 40-minute game, 59-53.
“Big win on the road,” said Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle, whose team improved 11-8 overall. The win allowed the Golden Eagles to maintain sole possession of first place in the Valley at 3-0.
Cary-Grove, which opened the Valley slate with 2 victories, dropped its second straight decision to slip to 8-11, 2-2.
The Golden Eagles outscored the Trojans 8-2 in the second overtime with all 8 points scored at the free throw line. Guard Nick Hofman poured in a career-best 31 points to lead the victors. The senior went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the second overtime.
Jacobs reserve guard Colin Richman sank 3-of-4 free throws in the game’s sixth quarter, including a pair with 1:07 left that gave Jacobs a 57-53 lead.
After Cary-Grove came up short on a 3-point attempt at the other end, Richman grabbed the rebound, drew the foul and split 2 more free throws to stake Jacobs to a 5-point lead with 34 ticks left on the clock.
“I just zoned out the crowd, went up there and knocked them down,” Richman said. “I didn’t think anything about the situation, no pressure.”
Jacobs’ Alex Glover split 2 free throws near the end of the fourth quarter to knot the score at 44-44. Cary-Grove point guard Nick Richter, who tied his season high with 25 points, saw his leaner in the lane fall short at the regulation buzzer, sending the game to extra sessions.
Jacobs moved to a seemingly safe 51-47 lead with 24 seconds left in the first overtime after Mike Peterson sank 2 free throws, however, Peterson subsequently made the cardinal sin of fouling Richter on a 3-point attempt. The 3-pointer went in with 10.8 seconds left, and Richter sank the free throw to force a second overtime.
“I told them, ‘If they go up for a three, be sure to foul them because we’ve only got a 4-point lead,” Hinkle said in his best sarcastic deadpan. “Mike followed the instructions perfectly because we hadn’t played enough ball yet.”
Things got more heated early in the second overtime. Hofman was fouled by Matt Aulert, his fifth. While Cary-Grove coach Ralph Schuetzle was still making his substitution in the 20 seconds allowed, another referee gave Hofman the ball at the free-throw line and he made the shot.
Schuetzle argued at length that the free throw should be nullified, and the referees eventually made Hofman retake the shot after a two-minute delay, much to his annoyance. Hofman shouted in Schuetzle’s direction, then buried both shots and glared directly at Cary-Grove’s coach after each made free throw.
“The ref let him do that, so I suppose you can tell an opposing coach he’s wrong and stare him down,” Schuetzle said. “But that’s how it goes and that’s what happens due to the competitive nature of it ... He’s competitive. I’m competitive. That’s how it goes.” “I just thought it wasn’t fair,” Hofman said. “(Schuetzle) knew the rules, that an official’s error should not take a point away. He knew it. I looked at him and he knew it. But I respect their coach a lot. He’s a good guy.”
Jacobs turned the ball over only 5 times in 40 minutes of high school basketball.
“To me, that’s truly incredible because we’re at the point of exhaustion with all these games,” Hinkle said, “but we stayed mentally strong and physically tough.”
Jacobs jumped to a 14-3 lead after a quarter, but the Trojans regrouped to win the second period 18-6, paced by 8 of senior guard Jon Guay’s 11 points.