Burlington will meet Sycamore for title

Burlington Central wouldn't mind seeing this trend continue.

For the second time in as many games the Rockets overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to earn a victory.

Their surge in the fourth quarter Friday was enough to topple Dundee-Crown 62-54 in the semifinals of the Leland G. Strombom boys basketball tournament at Sycamore.

Burlington Central (2-0) will face the host Spartans (2-0) in tonight's title game at 7:30 p.m. Dundee-Crown (1-1) will face Huntley (1-1) in the third-place game at 6 p.m.

The Chargers extended their lead to 7 points early in the final period when Freddie Parson (19 points) drained a long 2-point jumper that put D-C ahead 48-41.

The Chargers still led 50-45 with 5:28 remaining after senior Jeff Beck (13 points, 6 rebounds) scored on a putback of an offensive rebound.

But the young Rockets, a team with two sophomores in the rotation, weren't rattled. They erupted for 8 unanswered points to take the lead, part of a 12-2 run that advanced them to the title game despite shooting 21 of 49 from the field.

"It just shows how mentally tough you are when things aren't going good," said Central senior guard Mike McCurdy, who led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-26 shooting. "We were still able to grind this one out."

Mike's sophomore brother, Matt McCurdy, ignited the rally with his 3-pointer. Mike then scored on the rebound of his own miss of a transition layup to tie the game at 50 with 4:46 to play.

Following a Chargers turnover Mike McCurdy was fouled and split a pair of free throws. Junior Mike Doty then poked the ball free from a D-C ballhandler, a steal Jason Wagner turned into points with a well-executed jump-stop and finger-roll that capped the 8-0 run and gave Central a 53-50 lead with 2:56 to play.

"It does not surprise me one bit that they kind of have a chip on their shoulder for reasons everyone knows, and his initials are C.P.," Chargers coach Lance Huber said of former Central star Cully Payne, who transferred to Schaumburg in the off-season. "I think that's awesome. They're showing they can be a lot more than just C.P's running mates."

Sycamore 58, Huntley 53: Last year Huntley defeated host Sycamore for the title of the Leland G. Strombom boys basketball tournament.

The Red Raiders tried to make it two straight over the Spartans Friday night in a semifinal, but after rallying from an 8-point, third-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime, Sycamore was able to hold Huntley off for a 58-53 victory.

Sycamore built a 27-19 lead early in the third quarter, but Huntley was able to claw its way even at 37-37, thanks to 3-pointers early in the final period by sharp-shooting Zac Boster (14 points) and senior forward Mike Gonzaga (9 points). Overall, the game featured 11 lead changes and 10 ties.

Huntley took a 47-45 lead with 1:17 left in regulation when junior Jordan Neukirch (16 points) scored on a baby hook in the lane. However, the Spartans tied the game with 55 seconds left on a short jumper by Will Strack (9 points).

Neukirch's 3-point attempt late in the period was no good, but his tight defense on Sycamore's leading scorer, Josh Howells (16 points) led to an off-target attempt at the buzzer, which forced overtime.

"The whole way through we played some pretty good defense," Neukirch said. "We just came up a little short."

The game was tied 51-51 with under a minute to play in overtime when Huntley was whistled for a foul on the perimeter and junior Michael Buckner sank both free throws for a 2-point lead.

Neukirch was subsequently called for an offensive foul at the other end when he stumbled while making a move in the paint. Buckner canned 2 more free throws and Sycamore sank 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to ice the win.

Huntley coach Marty Manning was pleased with the effort. He wants his players to take the experience of Friday's close battle and build on it.

"We played tough," Manning said. "We just need to play a little bit smarter. We have a lot of new kids on the varsity and this was their second game, so we'll get a little bit smarter with our decision-making."