Burlington falls to de Sales
The action was end to end at a frantic pace for the Burlington Central boys basketball team, which traded shot for shot with St. Francis de Sales for four quarters and then some.
However, the Rockets missed a few too many shots in overtime and left a few too many shooters open as the Pioneers pulled away for a 91-84 victory in the third-place game at the Leland G. Strombom Holiday Tournament at Sycamore Saturday.
“We felt like we let Tuesday slip away from us, pretty much, with a lot of mistakes,” Central coach Brett Porto said of a 60-54 loss to Dundee-Crown, “and we let today slip away a little bit.”
The game was tied 82-82 in the extra period until Burlington Central (2-2) gave up a putback and turned the ball over on its ensuing possession. St. Francis capitalized with a three-point play by Ahmad Malone to take a 5-point lead with 57 seconds left in overtime.
“I think at the end some people got panicked a little bit,” Burlington Central senior guard Ray Hunnicutt said. “Even I messed up a couple times. We let the shooters get hot. That was a big thing. And they got more rebounds. But it’s something we can fix. It’s not something that’s out of our control.”
Malone was part of a three-pronged attack for the Pioneers. He scored 20 points, Adebayo Babalola notched 27 and Willie Orange netted 21.
Hunnicutt posted one of the better games of his four-year varsity career. His 24 points didn’t approach a career high, but his 17 rebounds were a new personal best. He was supported by 16 points from Ryan Ritchie, who failed to sink a 3-pointer in 7 attempts, and 6-foot-6 sophomore Duncan Ozburn, who scored 13 points and grabbed 14 boards.
“Rebounding could have won us the game if we, especially me, got more rebounds,” Ozburn said humbly. “Second chances are always a big key in the game. We tried our hardest, but there will be another game tomorrow.”
And the Rockets will look forward to future games after a solid showing at Sycamore. They leave the tournament 2-2, an improvement over their 1-3 showing a year ago.
“Overall, we’re leaving here with a lot of positives,” Porto said. “If we continue to work hard throughout the year, I think we can develop into a pretty good basketball team. It’s a matter of what we decide to do for the next three months. If we work to get better and continue to go in the right direction, I think we’ll be all right.”
“This is a talented team,” Hunnicutt said. “If we work hard for the next three months, we’re going to be pretty good.”
Sycamore 57, Hampshire 51: Brock Ralphs had 19 points and Tyler Crater added 15 for Hampshire in this loss at the Sycamore Strombom tournament. Crater hit five 3-pointers to account for all his points.
Hononegah 64, Cary-Grove 35: Eric Graham had 6 points and Dean Lee 5 to lead Cary-Grove (1-3) at the Hoops for Healing Tournament.
Elgin Academy 48, Alden-Hebron 45: Conner Flexman had 18 points and Jumel Julien added 11 to lead Elgin Academy to its first win of the season at the Westminster Christian tournament. Joseph Heisley added 9 points and Tom Tunca had 8 for the Hilltoppers.
Mooseheart 49, Westminster Christian 39: Will Woodhouse had 15 points and Colin Brendan added 11 for Westminster in this loss on the final day of the Westminster tournament.
Bartlett 53, Wheaton Academy 47: Jonathan Leigeber had 19 points and Matt Chaltin 11 as the Hawks (4-0) won the Wheaton Academy tournament title. Lorenzo Mitchell added 9 points for Bartlett.
Quincy 73, Jacobs 49: Alex Glover had 14 points and Nick Ledinsky added 10 but the Golden Eagles (1-2) fell to the host Blue Devils at the Quincy tournament. Will Schwerdtmann was named to the all-tournament team for Jacobs.