Boys basketball Frieders scores 17, keeps Kaneland afloat until teammates catch fire at Rochelle
With nine ties and lead changes in the first 9:11, Evan Frieders kept the Kaneland offense going while Marshawn Cocroft and Jeffrey Hassan were the focal point of a smothering Rochelle defense.
Eventually, Cocroft got going, the Knights scored 12 straight points in a little over two minutes and pulled away from the Hubs for an 81-52 road Interstate 8 Conference victory on Tuesday to remain undefeated.
“It makes it a lot easier for me when the 6-9 guy is being double-teamed and Marshawn is being followed all the way around the court,” Frieders said. “We ... just have to hit the open shots, and if we can keep doing that, we’ll keep winning.”
Rochelle (13-11 overall, 2-5 conference) and Kaneland (24-0, 6-0) switched the lead six times, the last coming when a Connor Kimme 3-pointer put the Knights ahead 15-14 with 7:01 left in the second quarter.
On the next possession, the Hubs forced the third tie of the game when Eli Schweitzer made a free throw. A Frieders 3 put the Knights back on top 18-15. After a bucket by Rochelle’s Cohen Haedt, Cocroft sank his first 3-pointer of the game after three misses to put Kaneland ahead 21-17 with 5:46 left, kicking off a 12-0 run.
“Those shots aren’t always going to fall in the first quarter,” Frieders said. “You’ve got to get your legs going. We’re really good at picking each other up. If I see someone is down, ‘Keep shooting, keep letting it fly.’ We know they will fall.”
After just 12 first quarter points, the Knights posted 32 in the second quarter and led 44-26 at halftime.
A lot of Kaneland’s games have followed similar patterns this year - close for a quarter or even until the second half, when eventually the Knights catch fire and pull away.
“We somehow make it work every time,” Frieders said. “But if we can clean that up and don’t even let teams think they have a chance, that’d be awesome.”
The Knights shot 6-for-17 in the first quarter and 10-for-12 in the second. Cocroft had four points in the first quarter, nine at halftime and finished the game with 20.
Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe said the focus for the Knights is more about making sure the team extends those runs more than getting them early in the game.
“We’re getting on some good runs, but the reality is we’re playing some good teams,” Colombe said. “People talk about slow starts. We’ve talked about it a little bit, but the thing is you’re not going to see too many games where somebody starts on a 12-0 run. It just doesn’t happen.”
Once the Knights got rolling, they didn’t slow down. That 12-0 spurt was part of a larger 19-4 run. They hit the running clock with 3:48 left in the game on a layup by Ryan Majerus.
Rochelle coach Tim Thompson said his team needed to take advantage more on Kaneland’s slow first quarter.
“Kaneland didn’t shoot the ball as well in the first quarter and was kind of letting us be around,” Thompson said. “That was the time where we really needed to capitalize more and we really didn’t.”
While Cocroft eventually broke free, the Hubs contained Hassan all night, at least on the offensive end. He finished with five points, seven rebounds and seven blocks.
A combination of Warren Schweitzer, Eli Schweitzer and Brody Bruns stayed physical all game in the post on Hassan.
“They just don’t make a ton of mistakes, and if you make too many, it’s going to snowball on you,” Thompson said. “You’ve got to give them credit, they’re 24-0 for a reason, they’re ranked third in the state for a reason. You have to be able to play your A game and they have to play their C-minus game to give you a shot. And right now they’re never doing that.”
Eli Schweitzer led the Hubs off the bench with 16 points and seven rebounds. Warren Schweitzer finished with five points and three blocks. Kasin Avila added 11 points and Bruns finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Kimme finished with 12 points for the Knights, making his last three 3-pointers after missing his two attempts in the first quarter. Edwards finished with eight points, three rebounds and four steals, making all three of his shots.
“Most years he’d probably start,” Colombe said. “But we have a talented group. He’s a sophomore and we think he’s going to be a pretty big player the next couple of years.”