Jacobs holds off McHenry
Jacobs simply put the defensive clamps on McHenry and Warrior standout Brian Madson in the fourth quarter.
During the final 8 minutes, Jacobs held McHenry to 1 basket and 4 points and limited Madson to 2 free throws in posting a 51-40 victory in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball play in McHenry Tuesday.
“We played great defense in the fourth quarter,” said Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle. “To hold a good offensive team like McHenry to 4 points in the fourth quarter is quite an accomplishment. We did a great job on Madson in the fourth quarter. We didn’t give him or their many good shots. Defense can be a constant every night and we were very good defensively tonight, especially in the fourth quarter.”
McHenry seemingly had the momentum entering the fourth quarter as Madson drilled a 30-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull the Warriors within 7 of the Golden Eagles (15-2, 6-3), 43-36, after 3 quarters.
“That was great execution on their part and a total breakdown on our part,” said Hinkle. “We knew Madson was going to shoot the last shot and we just didn’t cover him.”
Jacobs quickly squashed McHenry’s momentum by scoring the first 5 points of the fourth quarter.
A conventional 3-pointer by Matt Ehrhardt along with 2 free throws by Mike Peterson catapulted the Golden Eagles to a 12-point 48-36 lead with 5:48 left in the game.
Ehrhardt paced the Golden Eagles with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. He scored 9 of his points in the third quarter.
“Coach always tells us if we play good defense we have a chance to win,” said Ehrhardt. “We really put the defensive clamps on them in the fourth quarter. To hold them to 4 points showed we really played good defense. I was able to get some layups off the fast break.”
Nick Hofman followed Ehrhardt with 11 points while Collin Richman scored 10, all in the first half.
“Our offense is run to get anybody shots,” said Hinkle. “We know Nick and Mike are going to get their shots. It is nice when Matty and Collin attack aggressively on offense. I was really encouraged by their play.”
Madson led McHenry with 21 points, but the senior had only 2 points in the fourth quarter. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and had 4 assists.