Murray, Jacobs cruise past Dundee-Crown
Jacobs senior guard Ben Murray, known as one of the best defensive players in the Fox Valley Conference, displayed his offensive skills during Wednesday’s battle against District 300 rival Dundee-Crown.
Connecting on 4 3 pointers, Murray poured in 14 points in the Golden Eagles’ 52-40 boys basketball win over the Chargers.
“I have been really struggling with my shot in the last few games,” said Murray. “My shot felt really good and it was nice that the shot was falling. Even though D-C has been struggling, it’s D-C (vs.) Jacobs. Throw the records out. We knew it would be a tough game.”
Jacobs coach Jim Roberts was glad to see Murray find his shot.
“The last 4 or 5 games, Ben hasn’t been able to make a shot,” said the Jacobs coach. ‘It has been hard on him. But Ben is a great competitor and I was happy to see him make shots. He played great.”
D-C (4-14, 0-6), which trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, mounted a valiant fourth quarter come back and got to within 6, 42-36, on a 3-pointer by Cordero Parson with 5:22 remaining.
Murray made sure the Chargers didn’t get any closer by burying a pair of 3-pointers to extend a 6-point lead to 12, 48-36, with 4:57 left to play.
“D-C was making a nice run,” said Roberts. “Those 3s by Ben were huge. It gave us some momentum.”
Chrishawn Orange paced the Golden Eagles (10-10, 4-2) with 15 points. Cam Krutwig joined Murray and Orange in double figures with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Kiwaun Seals (14), Cordero Parson (12) and Juwan Stewart (11) combined for 37 of the Chargers’ 40 points.
“It was a tough night for us,” said Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber. “It is not unusual that we struggle putting the ball in the basket. Give Jacobs credit. They really ran their stuff well. They executed well offensively and defensively.”
Jacobs stunned D-C early by scoring the first 9 points of the game. Making their first 4 shots, the Golden Eagles got a pair of baskets from Orange, a 3 from Kenton Mack and a layup by Krutwig.
D-C, which missed its first 7 shots, didn’t score until the 2:45 mark on a 12-footer by Stewart.
The Golden Eagles’ biggest lead was 14, 26-12 after a 12-footer by Orange with 3:33 left in the first half.