Kaneland's surge continues with big win over LaSalle-Peru
With the start of the Class 3A boys basketball tournament a little more than a week away, Kaneland appears ready for all challengers.
Eight days after handing DeKalb its lone Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference loss, the Knights (17-6, 8-2) celebrated Senior Night with a 60-50 victory over LaSalle-Peru (21-3, 9-3) in Maple Park.
"We're finally discovering who we are," said Knights coach Joe Conroy, whose team's game against Yorkville Friday was postponed due to a power outage and will be played on Monday at 7 p.m.
"We're starting to believe in each other and the system. I'm really proud of them."
Kaneland, which trailed 44-40 early in the fourth quarter, tied the game at 44-44 on a 3-pointer by senior Ryan David (15 points, 4 steals).
After Kobey Fusinetti (10 points) knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Cavaliers a 48-46 lead with 4:17 remaining, the Knights tied it again at 48-48 on Jacob Gomes' reverse layup.
About a minute later, Kaneland took the lead for good in improbable fashion.
LaSalle-Peru forward Christian Soderholm (7 points, 6 rebounds) deflected David's 3-point attempt and Gomes kept the ball alive by batting the ball into the air.
Trailing the play, junior guard Mason Conroy got his right hand on the ball and the acrobatic putback gave the Knights a 50-48 lead and served to ignite their 12-2 run over the final 3:16.
"We'll take it," said Mason's dad and coach. "It was really fun to see all the guys get excited about that and really gravitate toward, I guess, a play you don't expect to happen. It's hard to think of a 5-foot-8 guy doing that."
On the Cavaliers' next possession, senior point guard Ethan Conroy (7 points, 6 rebounds) took a charge from LaSalle-Peru's Brady Huebbe - forcing the senior guard, who topped the 1,000-point career mark Friday night against Sterling, to the bench with his fifth foul.
"Brady Huebbe has never fouled out of a game in four years as a varsity starter," said Cavaliers coach James Cherveny, "and tonight he fouls out for some unknown reason. We rely on him for a lot of our shooting and when he's sitting on the bench because of some phantom calls it's difficult to put points up (on the board)."
Dylan Vaca scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half for the Knights, while senior guard Mark Lilly added 10 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.
"It was a total team effort," said Conroy. "Mark (Lilly) helped us keep control of the game and get us into sets."
The Cavaliers misfired on 10 of their first 11 fourth-quarter shots.
"Everyone buckled down the last two minutes and contested shots," said David. "This is definitely a big win for us."
"I think we're right where we need to be," added Conroy.