Kaneland downs Morris again

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.