Gators notch victory
Alligators are cold-blooded creatures that adapt to the temperature of their environment.
The collective temperature of the Gators from Crystal Lake South rose dramatically in the fourth quarter Saturday, when the entire team caught fire from both the floor and the free throw line to heat up Gator Alley with a 49-43 Valley Division boys basketball victory over visiting Dundee-Crown .
CL South (14-11, 3-5) sank all 6 of its attempts from the field and all 7 free throw attempts in the final period, a display of perfection that capped an 11-point comeback.
"It definitely helps when you don't miss any shots," said South senior Eric Wilde, who finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds.
The difference maker for the Gators was former sixth man, Steven Rogers, now a starter due to the torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered recently by starting center Zack Carpenter. Rogers canned 3-of-3 shots and a free throw in the fourth quarter to finish with a game-best 20 points.
"We came together as a team on every dead ball and talked about hedging on screens and getting out on (shooters)," Rogers said. "And offensively, we just had to take care of the ball because every time we got a basket we could set up our defense. Early, they were getting a lot of transition baskets because our offense really wasn't doing it."
Dundee-Crown (11-12, 4-4) used a 7-0 run at the end of the second quarter to take a 22-18 lead at halftime. That surge was highlighted by Rob Stupar's back-to-back baskets off the bench, including a 3-pointer.
The Chargers' lead ballooned to as much as 35-24 with 3:20 left in the third quarter on David Bernard's 3-pointer from the left side. However, from that point forward the Gators outscored the Chargers 25-8 to win their third game in as many nights and their second straight when trailing by 6 points in the fourth quarter.
"They really picked it up in the fourth quarter and the end of the third and really took us out of what we were doing," D-C coach Lance Huber said. "We just couldn't stop them. Give them credit for it. We had some untimely turnovers and usually that's not good when they're hitting shots and you're not."
CL South closed the third quarter with an Adam Olszweski 3-pointer and a second-chance layup by Rogers to pull within 35-29 heading to the final period.
Trailing 41-40 with 3:50 to play, Rogers drove the right side of the lane for a three-point play that gave the Gators the lead for good.
D-C, which shot 3-of-9 in the fourth quarter, suffered through a field-goal drought of 6:16 until Beck, who scored 30 points in D-C's 53-46 victory over the Gators on Jan. 25, sank a meaningless layup at the final buzzer. Beck was held to a team-high 11 points.