Strong 2nd half propels Dundee-Crown
Dundee-Crown and Prairie Ridge traded eight leads in the first half of Tuesday's boys basketball game in Crystal Lake. Then Brandon Rodriguez and Dylan Kissack caught fire for the Chargers.
The duo combined to sink 9 straight field goal attempts in the second, third and fourth quarters, including 5 shots from 3-point range. Rodriguez canned 6 straight attempts in the second and third quarters and Kissack drained three straight 3-pointers in the second half to lift Dundee-Crown past the Wolves in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action, 51-40.
Rodriguez tallied a game-best 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Kissack, playing his third season of varsity competition, sank 6 of 11 from the field, 3 of 5 from 3-point range. The 6-foot-2 forward finished with 15 points to go with his 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
"We're a pretty good pair," Kissack said. "In the first half our shots pretty much as a team weren't going. They were playing tight D on me, so B-Rod really picked up the slack."
Dundee-Crown (9-6, 2-0) took a 20-19 lead when Rodriguez scored under the basket, courtesy of a bullet assist by Kissack. Prairie Ridge (4-11, 0-2) took the lead right back with a 3-pointer from senior Luke Keller, who led the Wolves with 13 points.
It looked as though PR would take at least that 1-point lead to the half, but the Wolves missed a baseline jumper with 4 second left.
Rodriguez grabbed the rebound, alertly hustled upcourt and unleashed a double-clutched runner from 30 feet away. To D-C's delight and the Wolves' dismay, the shot was true. The 3-pointer gave the Chargers a 23-22 lead at the half. Prairie Ridge never led again.
"I just looked at the time, and I didn't mean to double clutch but it went in for me," Rodriguez said. "Luckily, it went in and we were up by 1 at the half. Then we pushed the intensity after halftime."
The Chargers opened the second half on a 13-4 run to take a 36-26 lead. Kyle Bernhard's 3-pointer opened the half, Rodriguez scored on a pair of baseline drives and a baseline jump shot and Kissack capped the push with his first 3-pointer, forcing the Wolves to call timeout.
"We held the ball too long in the second half, but they just played better," Prairie Ridge coach Corky Card said. "They came out in the second half and played better at both ends of the floor. Our problems were they ran their offense until they got the shot they wanted, and they played better defense in the second half."
The Wolves gnawed the lead down to 36-30 after three quarters, thanks to a steal and layup by Dan Simak and a strong baseline drive by Keller.
Kissack responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from opposite corners to lift D-C a 42-30 lead with 5:55 left in the game.
"I think we set a few screens and I was cutting hard," Kissack said, "and we had a few guys drive and kick. They drew two defenders and kicked it off to me, so it was good penetration."
"In the second half Dylan got loose a couple of times and knocked them in and that kind of lifted us a lot," Chargers coach Lance Huber said. "I mean, Prairie Ridge did a good job. It was hard to get good looks against their defense."
Dundee-Crown will try for its fourth straight win Friday when McHenry visits at 7:15 p.m. Prairie Ridge resumes FVC Valley Division play at Huntley Friday at 7:15 p.m.