Kaneland continues improved play, tops Coal City
Will Cushman drove the baseline, glided in for a sweet reverse layup and offered a sly grin.
Kaneland is smiling a lot more these days.
The Knights are coming off back-to-back losing seasons. They won just six games last year. But it's a new day now, with a new coach.
"We had some dark times, but it feels good now," Kaneland senior Brett David said. "We just can't let it get to our heads. Just taking it one step at a time."
They took another step Thursday morning. David scored 20 points and Cushman 16, and Kaneland beat Coal City 62-41 in the first round of the Plano Christmas Classic.
The Knights (6-2), which advanced to play Yorkville Christian at 3:30 p.m. Friday, matched their win total from last year with their fifth straight win. They hardly played like a team lacking energy playing the first game of the day after Christmas.
"We made that a goal to come out as fast as we could," Cushman said. "I went to a bed a little earlier, filled up on those Christmas cookies, had shootaround this morning and came here."
Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe, in his first season with the boys program after 13 on the girls sidelines, likes the effort he's receiving.
"We have a bunch of guys that are working hard and buying in to what we are asking them to do," Colombe said. "It's not going to happen overnight, but if you work hard and stay at it good things can happen. They're buying in. They want to win, they've got a taste and they like that feeling."
David, a 6-foot-2 senior, fueled the Knights in the first half Thursday. He hit two of his three 3-pointers in the first half, the second giving Kaneland the lead for good at 21-19 with 5:52 left in the second quarter.
He scored 10 of Kaneland's points during a 20-4 run that turned a 19-18 deficit to a 36-23 lead. David drove in for a follow shot in traffic, put back a miss and hit two free throws.
Kaneland, which was 7-for-16 from 3-point range and shot 54.8% overall, led 38-25 by halftime.
"We shared the pretty well and moved the ball," Colombe said. "We feel like we have a bunch of different guys that can hit shots. We don't really have one guys that we need to go to. We ride the hot hand and our guys are pretty unselfish."
Cushman, a 6-3 guard, is a guy who can do much more than score. He had seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks, and was a key to Kaneland's defensive effort.
"We have been challenging him and a few of the guys to step up and do some damage defensively," Colombe said. "He's a 6-3 point guard, he can defend and with his length he can get hand on a few shots. We need that out of him."
The Knights, staying true to their man-to-man defense, held Coal City to 26.3% shooting in the second half after the Coalers hit Kaneland on several back cuts to shoot 45.8% in the first.
"We made some adjustments and played a lot harder," David said.
Payton Hutchings led Coal City (4-7) with 15 points.
Bryce Ebert added eight points for Kaneland. He's another of seven seniors that Colombe has challenged to make the most of their last year.
"You get only one senior year, so you have to make the most of it or you'll look back and have regrets," Colombe said. "They're giving us all they got."