Crystal Lake South stymies Huntley for FVC victory
Huntley finally put together its first run of any sort against Crystal Lake South’s stifling defense in the third quarter, trimming the lead from 11 points to four and forcing the Gators to call a timeout.
But any kind of positive feeling was short-lived for the Red Raiders.
South freshman Carson Trivellini coolly buried a 3-pointer, then scored driving in the lane. Colton Hess finished the quarter with a pair of baskets and the Gators had their biggest lead of the game at 12.
The 1-3-1 trapping zone defense clamped down strong again and South rolled to a 49-25 Fox Valley Conference boys basketball victory Wednesday at The Swamp.
“I was trying to stay composed. We were in the flow of the game,” Trivellini said. “If I’m open, I’m going to shoot it. I was hot, I was feeling good. I’m going to keep shooting and AJ (Demirov) gets me open, so it’s easy.”
Trivellini scored 16 points and hit four 3s to lead South (10-1, 5-0 FVC), which has now won seven consecutive games since losing to Huntley 55-48 for the Johnsburg Thanksgiving Tournament championship.
Demirov tossed in 13 points and 6-foot-8 Christian Rohde added 10, along with terrorizing the Raiders (7-3, 3-2) in the middle of South’s defense.
“Everybody was doing a good job,” said Rohde, who had three blocked shots and seven rebounds. “We were being aggressive and we weren’t gambling. We were staying disciplined.”
Huntley coach Collin Kalamatas was impressed with South’s defense as the Gators start four players 6-5 or taller, particularly Rohde.
“That zone was a nightmare to plan for. We did the best we can with a bunch of 5-11 kids in practice,” Kalamatas said. “Just the length. No. 11 (Rohde) was super active in the middle, he was really trouble to attack. At the same time, a lot of times we weren’t in attack mode until the second half.
“Overall, it’s difficult when they’re 6-5, 6-6, 6-8 all over the floor. They were really tough tonight. They were physical with us. If we turned them over, there were three or four possessions where they turned us back over within 5 seconds. They had a lot of resilience tonight. They were pumped for this one and it showed.”
Huntley had some success inside early in the second half, scoring three baskets on the low left block to cut South’s lead to 20-16. The Gators called timeout and Trivellini, who hit a 3 in the first half, hit his two big shots.
“We needed to get Carson into the game and he was comfortable and in a position to score,” Gators coach Matt LePage said. “He’s a scorer. He got off to a slow start to the season, but he’s a freshman. The last two weeks he’s played really well.
“He is not afraid (to shoot) at all. He wants to score. That’s what his game is about. That’s why he’s there for us.”
Trivellini hit 6 of 9 from the field, 4 of 6 on 3s.
“(Trivellini’s 3) got them a breath of fresh air,” Kalamatas said. ”After that timeout, they kind of put their foot down. They hit a big 3 and we weren’t able to get an answer from there.
“We had good moments on the floor, but ultimately South was much better than us tonight.”
Rohde started the fourth quarter with a block on the defensive end and a dunk a few seconds later. He hit 5 of 8 from the field.
“My teammates trusted me,” Rohde said. “I was a big part and they were telling me to just go to work. AJ was giving me advice and we got buckets.”