Duff sets the tone as Carmel tops Mundelein

His basketball team may have been short-handed, but fortunately for Carmel Catholic, C.J. Duff isn't short on experience at the point guard position.

Starting at the point for the first time as a senior, Duff scored a season-high 29 points (two 3-pointers) and added 6 rebounds and 3 steals, as Carmel opened the new year by beating visiting Mundelein 77-63 Tuesday night.

Carmel (7-6) was missing starting guards Shareif Bailey and Brian Julien as well as guard Rondel Jamison, who started for the Corsairs on their holiday-break trip to Minnesota because center Sean Foster was participating in an All-American football game. Bailey was an all-tournament selection in Minnesota.

While Corsairs coach Zack Ryan chose not to comment on the absence of Bailey, Julien and Jamison, he was effusive in his praise of his team, especially Duff, who played all 32 minutes.

"We always have him as a combo (guard), but now he's got to handle the ball exclusively, and that's what he did tonight," Ryan said. "Not that he didn't have a lot of responsibility before, but now it's monumental. He did well."

The Western Illinois-bound Duff has played point guard in AAU ball, for both Next Level Performance and Kessel Heat.

"So it wasn't anything too new," Duff said. "I just tried to come out and do whatever I needed to do to help my team win."

Mundelein (1-12), which was coming off its first win of the season (against Belvidere North at DeKalb), stayed with Carmel most of the game. When Tommy Marcotte (team-high 21 points) fed fellow sophomore Jeff Bikus (9 points, 9 rebounds) for a layup, the Mustangs were within 35-34 with 3:37 left before halftime. But Carmel closed the half with an 8-0 run, with freshman Johnny Roeser's layup, off a dish from Duff, giving the Corsairs a 43-34 advantage at the break.

Carmel then scored the first eight points off the second half to make it a 17-point lead (51-34). Mundelein never got closer than nine points after that.

"Rebounding killed us," coach Corey Knigge said after his Mustangs were outrebounded 39-30. "I don't know how many second-chance points they had, but it had to be 20 or 25. I thought we played hard. We had some stretches in the second half where we didn't put the ball in the basket, but that's why you got to defend and rebound."

Aaron Woolford added 10 points for Mundelein, and sophomore center Andrew Silva had eight.

"They're a really pesky team," Duff said of the Mustangs. "We're rivals, Carmel and Mundelein. Five minutes away. So they were going to come out with a lot of energy. You can't blame them. They played hard, and you got to give it to them."

While Mundelein started four sophomores in Marcotte, Bikus, Silva and Kyle Enright (5 points), Carmel had a pair of freshmen in its starting lineup. Besides Roeser, who like senior Matt Stephens (three 3-pointers) finished with 15 points, 6-foot-4 freshman Lukas Galdoni also was effective. Making his first varsity start, Galdoni grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 5 points.

"We had freshmen step up," Duff said. "I'm really proud of those guys."

Foster came off the bench to grab 11 points and score 6 points.