Crystal Lake S. pins loss on Dundee-Crown
Struggling through the season and down to a good Dundee-Crown team 18-5 late in the first quarter, it figured that Senior Night for the Crystal Lake South Gators would be one to forget.
The feisty Gators made sure it was one to remember.
Outscoring the Chargers 51-35 in the last three quarters, South's rally produced a 58-53 upset win in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball action at Gator Alley Friday night.
"We settled down after the first quarter and started making some 3s," said Crystal Lake South coach Dan DeBruycker. "We extended our 1-3-1 zone and started guarding their 3-point shooters better. "
The Chargers (18-9, 8-3), led by 3 3-pointers from Kyle Bernhard, had an 18-7 lead after one quarter.
But the Gators came out with their own 3-point barrage in the second quarter. Connecting on 5-of-6 shots from beyond the arc, South outscored D-C 19-10 in the second quarter and trailed only 28-26 after 16 minutes of play.
Steve Jarva connected on a pair of 3s and Nick Geske, Sam Schumaker and Xoni Veseli buried one each as the Gators got back in the game in the second quarter.
South took the lead for good 41-39 as Will Ahsmann connected on a 3 as time expired in the third quarter.
South's biggest lead was 50-41 after Veseli made 2 free throws with 3:58 left.
The Chargers didn't give up and got to within a point of the Gators, 54-53, with 27.2 seconds left on a putback by Brandon Rodriguez. South sealed the win as Geske and Eric Schiller each made 2 free throws in the final 15 seconds.
Schiller and Geske paced the Gators with 12 points each and Ahsmann scored 10.
"I am having trouble explaining how awesome this win is," said Ahsmann. "To have a great comeback win like tonight against a very good Dundee-Crown team on Senior Night feels great. "
Bernhard, 7-of-9 from beyond the arc, scored 21 points to led the Chargers.
"After the tough Huntley loss, we came out strong and with a lot of emotion," said Bernhard. "The guys set some great screens and I got a lot of open looks."
Rodriguez added 12 points for the Chargers.
"We started fast and things were maybe too easy for us in the first quarter," said Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber. "Give South credit, they shot the ball very well and didn't miss many shots the last three quarters."