David's 3 lifts Kaneland

Drew David was not about to fib.

The Kaneland sophomore guard was 20-plus feet from Morris' basket when he unleashed a 3-pointer with the Knights nursing a 1-point lead in second-round action of the Plano Christmas Classic Tuesday morning.

"I thought I was open," David said. "When I shot the ball I said, 'That doesn't look good at all.'"

But the basketball gods were with David as his shot from the right wing banked perfectly off the glass and swished through the net to extend the Knights' lead to 4 points.

Morris never came closer the rest of the way as Kaneland defeated its boys basketball conference rival for the second time this season with a 50-44 victory.

Kaneland (7-3), the third seed advances to meet sixth-seeded Streator (8-2), which rallied past Burlington Central, in the first quarterfinal Wednesday.

"We got really lucky on that (David 3-pointer with two minutes, 42 seconds to play)," Kaneland coach Brian Johnson said. "I think Drew would admit that."

"You can call that luck," Morris coach Joe Blumberg said of the decisive 3-pointer. "I am a firm believer that good athletes create luck."

There were no secrets between the teams, who were meeting for the second time this month.

"It's a matter of who's going to execute their stuff better," said David, who along with Thomas Williams scored 8 points for the Knights.

Until the final minute of the game, when Kaneland forward Tyler Heinle (12 points) hit 5 of 6 free throws to extend the Knights' lead to seven and the final margin to six, the largest lead for either team was five.

Much as their Northern Illinois Big XII East game to usher in the league schedule, it was a battle of wills as Morris' inside game contrasted with the Knights' fluidity in the open court.

Morris kept the Knights' star guard Marcel Neil in much better form this time, limiting the senior to 13 points the benchmark for Kaneland on the morning.

Kaneland reversed Morris' 13-12 lead after the first quarter by forcing back-to-back single-digit periods to secure a 35-30 lead after three.

With Kaneland in the double bonus, though, the game was still well in the balance.

The fourth-quarter ended up belonging to the Knights' Matt Limbrunner, who had a pair of jumpers and a perfect collaboration with Heinle on an out-of-bounds play from midcourt for an easy deuce.

"That was a set play," said Limbrunner (6 points). "It worked out really nicely."

Morris' Jake Olson had 17 points to lead both teams.

Streator 58, Burlington Central 54: Burlington Central was poised for a quarterfinal appearance at the Plano Christmas Classic, but Streator guard JJ Cravatta had alternative plans for the Rockets Tuesday morning.

The Bulldogs' senior standout converted an inside score and was fouled in the process to not only forge the last of eight ties but also create the ninth lead change of the boys basketball game with 56 seconds remaining on the 3-point play.

Central had two opportunities to take the lead or possibly send the game into overtime, only to have a critical charging foul and a pair of shots in the final 10 seconds fail. Cravatta hit 2 free throws with 4.1 seconds to play to cement the Bulldogs' 58-54 victory over the Rockets in second-round play.

"I was trying to penetrate and make something happen," Cravatta said of his driving score in traffic that momentarily tied the game at 54-54. "I wanted to make sure I made the basket or drew the contact."

Ray Hunnicutt was once again the Rockets' go-to player at the 49th annual tournament; the senior guard, who led Central with 17 points, scored on a 12-foot jumper on the preceding possession to give the Rockets their final lead of the game at 54-52.

"We just didn't execute (in the final minute)," Hunnicutt said. "They were dribbling through us and getting open shots. That's how (the game) turned in the second half."

"(Hunnicutt) is a great player," said Cravatta, who led both teams with 32 points. "I have to give him credit; he took over for his team."

Central reserve guard Malik Harris' driving score gave Central a 48-43 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (8-2) responded with a 9-4 run capped by a Teke Scudder 3-pointer that knotted the game at 52.

The fourth quarter was emblematic of the entire game as Streator had mini-spurts to compensate for similar runs by Central.

The Rockets (6-5), the No. 11 seed who will face Morris in consolation play today, scored the opening 6 points of the game. But the extended periods of poor shooting that the squad was able to overcome against Lisle in its opener on Monday proved too intractable against the Bulldogs. The Rockets were a collective 22 of 61 from the field (36 percent) against Streator, which will play Kaneland in the first quarterfinal today.

"Throughout the tournament we haven't shot the ball very well at all," Central coach Brett Porto said. "It has cost us." Streator led by one after the first, and the game was tied at both halftime (23-23) and the end of the third (39-all). Harris complemented Hunnicutt with 10 points, but the team failed to score in the final 1:11 as Streator rattled off the last 6 points.

"We didn't value every possession (down the stretch)," Hunnicutt said.

Moter Deng and Bryce Warner added 7 points apiece for the Rockets.

Kevin McGavin