Defense carries C-G over Prairie Ridge

Cary-Grove boys basketball coach Ralph Schuetzle watched the video over and over, but the result never improved.

The video in question was of a summer league contest between his Trojans and Tuesday night's Fox Valley Conference crossover opponent, Prairie Ridge.

"I bet they had 8 layups in the first half on that high-post rub," Schuetzle said of one of the Wolves' signature plays.

Determined not to get burned by the play again, Schuetzle and the Trojans devoted at least an hour of their recent practices specifically to defending it. If the Prairie Ridge cutter went low, Cary-Grove defenders switched. If he stayed high, the Trojans stayed with their men.

The Trojans also made a point of denying the baseline, cutting off another scoring option for the Wolves.

You could say the plan worked. Cary-Grove choked off Prairie Ridge's scoring options and got 21 points from senior guard Paul Tometich to cruise to a 48-22 victory in Crystal Lake.

"I think it's a big win," Paul Tometich said. "We had a tough loss to Grayslake Central our last game. Prairie Ridge is our big rivalry and they've won the majority of the games, so I think winning big is really big for our team."

Paul Tometich and his brother Mark opened what proved to be an insurmountable lead in the second quarter.

With the Trojans (3-3) already ahead 10-9, Paul Tometich sparked a 16-2 run to end the half by sinking his third 3-pointer of the half followed by an inside bucket for a 15-9 lead.

Bryan Bradshaw kept the Wolves close with a jump shot from the elbow, but Mark Tometich (11 points) answered right back with a 3-pointer for an 18-11 lead with 3:29 left in the first half.

Paul Tometich finished the half by sinking a pair of 3-pointers in the final 1:38 of the quarter. He connected on 5 of his 6 attempts from 3-point range in the first half.

"Usually, if my first shot goes in, I feel in rhythm," Paul Tometich said. "I hit my first 2 shots and felt pretty good. I just kept on shooting and it kept on falling for me."

Trailing 26-11 at the half, the Wolves (1-6) couldn't make a dent in the third quarter thanks to 1-of-7 shooting and 5 turnovers. Prairie Ridge finished the third quarter with 5 points to it credit and a 38-16 deficit.

"It was a night where you don't shoot real well and you let the two Tometich kids get off early, then we couldn't do much after that," Wolves coach Corky Card said.

"They did a nice job of running their stuff. They did a nice job of moving the ball on offense and if we did get a shot, they got the rebound. That was really the game."