Burlington Central nabs win at Sycamore
Using a balanced offensive attack, Burlington Central’s boys basketball team scored 26 points in the first quarter Friday night.
The Rockets never looked back with all 5 starters scoring at least 9 points as they cruised to an 80-53 victory over Chicago Power House at Sycamore’s Leland G. Strombom Tournament.
The victory propels Central to a showdown for third place against St. Francis de Sales at 6:30 p.m. today. The Rockets hope to bring the same level of balance on both ends of the court as they did against the Panthers (1-2).
“It was a team effort on defense, we didn’t focus on just one guy,” Central coach Brett Porto said. “We did not want to allow them any transition looks.”
Central built its lead by constantly kicking the ball around on offense. Ryan Ritchie scored 9 of his 15 points in the first quarter by nailing a pair of 3-pointers. He led a Rockets’ shooting effort of 10 of 19 from the floor, which included 7 different players scoring. The Rockets had 13 different players score in the game.
Ray Hunnicutt led all players with 19 points, while Bryce Warner and Duncan Ozburn finished with 10 points apiece. Sophomore Reed Hunnicutt added 9 points for the Rockets.
“We started hitting shots and it felt great,” said Ray Hunnicutt, who added 14 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists. “When we get hot, it’s hard to stop us. We had five guys scoring (at least 9 points) and that’s what we like to do.”
Kenneth Carter was the only thing keeping Power House in the game as he sank 4 straight baskets for the Panthers. Carter (15 points) would not hit another field goal in the game going 0 for 9 from the floor after scoring 8 first-quarter points.
The Panthers were a collective 6 for 30 from the floor in the second half. Central outscored Power House 37-23 in the second half led by 7 third-quarter points from Ray Hunnicutt.
“It’s really nice when you get everyone involved (on offense) and really spread the ball around,” Porto said. “It can make their defense really thin.”
The thin defense led to a distinct second-half advantage on the glass in the second half. Joel Simmons grabbed 9 rebounds in the first half alone, but Central held a 24-15 edge on the boards in the second half. Central grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the second half as well.