Dundee-Crown getting contributions from many

Some late-second heroics helped the Dundee-Crown boys basketball team earn a 43-41 Fox Valley Conference win over Crystal Lake Central recently.

Jason Huber drained a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left in regulation to put D-C up for good. Huber finished with a team-high 19 points, while Hunter Guyon had 11 points.

Central led by 3 points when Guyon made a layup off a Zach Randl assist to cut the lead to a point with 20 seconds to play. Central missed the front end of a 1-and-1, D-C grabbed the rebound, pushed it up the court, setting up Huber's 21-foot, right-wing 3 to win it.

The win pushed D-C to 15-7 overall and 9-4 in the competitive FVC. The Chargers also were 47-35 winners over Hampshire. Huber had 19 points and 7 rebounds in that game, while Zach Ryza had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. D-C coach Lance Huber noted Jason Huber also was a factor defensively and in the leadership department against Hampshire.

Huber also cited recent strong play from Drew Randl, Zach Randl's brother. "Drew has been an amazing teammate and player for us," Huber said. "Although you won't see his name in the box score often, he is constantly pushing and challenging our starters in practice with his effort and enthusiasm, which has led to success for the other players on the floor. He is the first guy on our bench to stand and cheer for the starters or help someone who just got taken out of the game."

Zach Randl, a sophomore, is one of D-C's starters. "Drew has been able to accept this and be an all-star in his role," Huber said. "This kind of selfless play is usually not recognized often. Drew is a big reason why our team has been successful this season."

Kennon Cook is averaging just north of 10 rebounds a game for D-C. "Kennon has been his usual self on the glass," Huber said.

Burlington Central update:

Central leads the Fox Valley Conference at 12-0 and sits at 22-3 overall. Coach Brett Porto cited excellence from Drew Scharnowski of late. He's averaging close to 7 rebounds per game, "and has been playing really well lately," Porto said.

Huntley update:

Ben Ahmer is closing in on the Huntley single-season record for most made 3s in a season. He has 73 right now and is six away from tying the mark Troy Miller set (79) during the 2010-2011 season.

The Red Raiders were 21-4 overall and 10-2 in FVC action through midweek. Huntley notched wins against Jacobs and Cary-Grove last week.

St. Edward update:

The Metro Suburban Conference Red Division-leading Green Wave are 17-7 overall and sport a spotless 7-0 league mark.

Six-foot-5 sophomore Kaden Dawson fired in 16 points against Aurora Central recently and then exploded for 31 in a conference game against Ridgewood. Coach Andy Zielinski pointed out Dawson was 15-for-18 from the field in those two games.

Also of note for St. Edward lately have been junior forwards Carson Busto (6-1) and Jacob Biewer (6-2). Busto is a starter and Biewer is the sixth man. "Carson and Jacob have played a big part in the team's success," Zielinski said. "They do a lot of the little things that don't get noticed on the stat sheet: rebounding, steals, defense, assists and ballhandling. Both have improved a ton as the year has progressed. Jacob is our sixth man and has started a couple games earlier in the year."

Zielinski likes where his team is headed on the offensive end. "We struggled to score at times after Christmas, but in recent games we have shared the ball well," he said.

Four of St. Edward's five starters have been leading scorers in games: Robert Wilson, Jacob Breier, Ben Zielinski and Dawson. The Green Wave had 20 assists against Westmont and 17 against ACC.

Larkin update:

The Royals, 13-0 in Upstate Eight Conference play, have a margin of victory within the league of 31 points. Larkin is 22-3 overall.

On the individual front, Fernando Perez Jr., recently passed the 1,000-point total for his career. Dontrell Maxi and Jamario Stubbs both also drew high praise from coach Deryn Carter.

"Dontrell and Jamarion both have taken their games to another level, playing great defense and providing more scoring," Carter noted.

Marmion update:

The Cadets are 11-9 overall and 4-6 in Chicago Catholic League action. Marmion went 3-0 last week with a pair of CCL wins against St. Mel and De La Salle and a buzzer-beater win against Momence, which came into the game with a lofty 19-1 mark.

Junior Collin Wainscott scored a career-high 28 points against Providence St. Mel and then hit a new benchmark with 34 points three days later.

Jacobs update:

A full roster available has helped Jacobs win its last two games. "We finally have our full roster together," coach Jimmy Roberts said. "We hope to be able to keep this consistency the rest of the way."

Nick McCoy is back after missing the first half of the season due to injury. He fired off a career-high 35 points against Huntley recently. Jackson Martucci had 20 points against Crystal Lake Central and 17 against McHenry with 8 made 3s in those two games. Additionally, Martucci is shooting 94% from the foul line (29-for-31) and is 53 of 128 from 3 (41 percent).

Jacobs popped in 11 3s against Crystal Lake Central and 12 more against McHenry.

Roberts noted Grant Stec is also back and "continues to improve each game he plays," he said. Stec has football scholarship offers from Iowa, Illinois, Penn State, Michigan State, Iowa State and Louisville, Roberts noted.

Cary-Grove update:

Zach Bauer and Calvin Slimko turned in recent big games against Jacobs and Huntley. The Trojans are 2-3 over their last five games with wins over Vernon Hills and Jacobs and losses to Prairie Ridge, Hampshire and Huntley. The Trojans lost by 4 points to Huntley on the road down one starter and losing Mike Clarke in the second half to an injury.