Crystal Lake South’s road ends against rigid DePaul defense

Crystal Lake South knew all about DePaul Prep’s defensive reputation heading into Monday’s Class 3A Hoffman Estates Supersectional.

The Gators gained a new appreciation for DePaul’s stifling man-to-man play in person.

“You can watch all the film you want, but until you take the court and see it, the physicality, the athleticism, how they rally to the ball, it’s tough to prepare for,” South coach Matt LePage said. “I actually thought we did a fairly good job early getting good shots. We needed to make some of those to stop their run.”

When that didn’t happen, the gap slowly widened to 10 points by halftime. The Rams took complete control in the third quarter and ended South’s record season 51-31 at NOW Arena.

DePaul (33-2) will play Peoria Richwoods (28-4) at 11:15 a.m. Friday in the second Class 3A state semifinal at Illinois’ State Farm Center in Champaign. South ended its season at 31-4, one of the best finishes in Fox Valley Conference history.

The 31 points was South’s lowest total of the season by nine points.

“We had some chances, and we didn’t capitalize to keep within striking distance,” LePage said. “They kind of kept pulling away. When they get the lead, it’s tough.”

South’s AJ Demirov drove for a three-point play with 3.2 seconds remaining in the second quarter to cut the Rams’ lead to 20-13. But DePaul’s Makai Kvamme raced down and banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 23-13.

The Rams then opened the second half with a 7-0 run.

“That shot was big. I thought our defense was fine,” LePage said. “In the third quarter, we wore down a little bit, and when you don’t see the ball go in the basket on offense, which is what these guys are usually good at, the defense isn’t set, the energy’s a little different.

You need to score to have defensive energy. DePaul Prep took care of the ball in the third quarter, got some layups and kept going.”

Rams coach Tom Kleinschmidt made an offensive adjustment in the second half with three guards in a triangle and emphasized moving the ball side-to-side to create gaps in South’s 1-3-1 zone defense.

The Rams shot 10 of 13 (76.9%) from the field in the second half. Kleinschmidt, whose team has allowed 114 points total in five postseason games, said the Rams also wanted Demirov, who averages 20.3 points a game, to be seeing 1 1/2 players when he tried to drive to the basket.

Crystal Lake South's AJ Demirov shoots the ball over DePaul College Prep's Jaylan McElroy during Monday's game. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver )

Demirov was 4 of 16 from the field and led South with 10 points. On many possessions, the Rams had 6-foot-7 forward Jaylan McElroy checking Demirov with others waiting to help.

“We can switch 1 through 5. They can all guard somebody for a little while,” Kleinschmidt said. “Help can get there on the back side. That’s a strength of our team, we can switch 1 through 5.

“We wanted to keep him away from the basket the best we could. We wanted to meet him at the 3-point line to get him to take tougher shots. We didn’t do a great job in the first half, we were OK. In the second half, we did a much better job of showing him a man-and-a-half.”

PJ Chambers led the Rams with 18 points.

South tied Burlington Central’s 2022 team (with the same record) for the best record in FVC history. The Gators were the first FVC team to win a sectional since Jacobs in 2017.

Despite graduating four starters from last year’s regional championship team, the Gators came back stronger this season with Demirov leading the way.

“Before the season, my teammate Tony (Santarelli) and I said that if we didn’t get to this point in the season it would be a disappointment,” said Gators center Christian Rohde, who had five blocks. “It feels really good that we manifested that and it came true.”

South finished the FVC at 18-0 and the sectional championship was its second in school history, joining the 1983 Gators.

“It means a lot. We played some good teams to get here,” said forward Colton Hess, who scored seven points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. “You play a team that athletic and strong, it’s just hard to get around them. We got here, but we’re just a little bit upset about the result today.”

LePage said the 2024 Gators left and everlasting legacy at the school.

“This team has worked together for years,” forward James Carlson said. “We go to practice every day and work hard. Just to see it all come together and set the records we did as one of the greatest Fox Valley Conference teams of all time is a great accomplishment.”