Boys basketball: Crystal Lake South fends off Burlington Central’s late charge
Crystal Lake South coach Matt LePage could finally breathe a little easier.
LePage's Gators fought off every Burlington Central run and eventually pulled out a 66-61 Fox Valley Conference win in Burlington Friday night.
"Burlington Central is a very good team and they play hard," said LePage. "They are aggressive and are very physical. This was a very good win on the road against a good team. We had great effort and have great chemistry. We are still trying to get our players and our younger players in their roles."
Four-year starter AJ Demirov, who played all 32 minutes, led the Gators (4-1, 2-1) with 22 points (four 3-pointers), 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
"He (AJ) is special," said LePage. "He is a great leader with the younger players."
Demirov was 4-of-8 from 3-point range and the Gators were 10-of-24 from beyond the arc for 41%.
"I want to play all 32 minutes in a game," said Demirov. “Coach (LePage) trusts me. We have a good group of guys and we have big dreams. We were so close to getting to the state finals last season. We want to repeat as conference champs.”
Cooper Buelna added 17 points and Carson Trivellini scored 11 for the winners.
The Gators, who led the entire game, held a 56-41 advantage with 6:33 left in the game after 2 free throws by Demirov.
The Rockets (3-2, 1-1) didn't quit and got within 60-56 on a conventional 3-pointer by Jake Johnson with 49 seconds left.
Crystal Lake South iced the game with 6 free throws in the waning moments, four by Demirov and two from Nick Stowasser.
Johnson paced the Rockets with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Patrick Shell added 18 points and Caden West tallied 8 points with 9 assists.
Burlington Central was hindered by 17 turnovers and 11 missed layups.
"We responded and played hard," said Central coach Brett Porto. "We have too many stretches of turnovers and missed layups. South is an excellent team and Demirov is an excellent player. Jake played very well and hit some big shots."