Burlington Central sweeps basketball doubleheader

The Burlington Central MLK Classic opened with four games Wednesday and the host school won two of them.

The Rockets played back-to-back games to fill an open slot in what was meant to be an eight-team lineup. They looked just as spry in a 64-37 victory over McHenry in the nightcap as they did in an earlier 73-51 win against Elgin.

Senior Patrick Mayfield scored 24 points against Elgin and poured in 37 in the first three quarters against McHenry, a bit shy of the career-high 42 points he scored against Genoa-Kingston back in November.

"It's tiring, but it's kind of mental at the same time," Mayfield said of playing consecutive varsity games at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. "My coaches were telling me it's all in your head, you can keep going, you can play defense, you can keep talking. That's just effort. It's not anything secret."

Burlington Central (13-4) raced to a 14-0 lead against McHenry (1-18), fueled by 9 points from Mayfield, who entered the doubleheader with a 27.6 point-per-game average.

Central coach Brett Porto liked the way his team handled the situation in the second game against McHenry.

"The quick start took some of the pressure off," Porto said. "We subbed quicker in and out and guys played really hard in those short spurts. I think throwing some defensive looks at them really got that lead going, then Patrick got the offense started as well."

Central likewise enjoyed a fast start against Elgin (5-14), taking leads of 18-9 after a quarter and 36-25 at the half.

Senior Trey Yarber led the Maroons with 18 points while junior guard Xavier Bonds added 15.

"We struggled to make shots and they shot about 60 percent, credit to them," Elgin coach David Hess said. "They are skilled and well coached."

Lyons Township 60, Hampshire 47: Hampshire got the test it wanted on the opening night of the Burlington Central MLK Classic but not the victory.

The Whip-Purs led the Lions 13-10 after one quarter of a game played in Central's new field house, but that lead evaporated due to a lack of rebounding.

Lyons (13-6) led 28-23 at halftime and 48-39 after three quarters.

"In the second half we kind of got beat up on the boards, so they attacked us more on the offensive glass," Hampshire coach Ben Whitehouse said. "We got it down to 6 a couple of times, then they'd get a board and a putback. They're a really, really good team. They push the ball well and have a lot of guards who can play and they're physical. We were excited when we saw them on the schedule. This will make us better in the Fox Valley (Conference). "

Junior Collin Woods led Hampshire (11-8) with 21 points, and 6-3 junior guard Jackson Millison - who started in place of injured senior guard Kyle Johnson - finished with 10 points.

Junior guard Grant Niego had 13 points, junior guard Michael Niedermeyer scored 12 points and 6-4 senior forward Matt Sloyan added 11 for Lyons.

Waubonsie Valley 53, Johnsburg 46: The Warriors recovered from a slow start to win their opening game at the Burlington Central MLK Classic Wednesday.

Waubonsie Valley (15-2) trailed 14-5 after a quarter and 22-7 with six minutes left in the second quarter. Then the DuPage Valley Conference co-leader got it in gear.

The Warriors outscored the Skyhawks 22-13 in the second quarter to forge a 27-27 halftime tie, thanks to stronger defense and four 3-pointers.

"We just had to change our mindset, get more aggressive and really execute on offense and the defensive end especially," said sophomore forward Ben Schwieger, who sank a second-quarter 3-pointer.

Junior Marcus Skeete led the Warriors with 21 points, while senior guard Eric Cannon made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.

Senior guard Zach Toussaint scored 34 points for Johnsburg (9-7) in a performance that included six 3-pointers.