Huntley runs away with Marian Central

After Jake Everly's 3-pointer with 2:52 left in the third quarter, Marian Central had pulled within 2 points of Huntley, 35-33.

Huntley's next possession changed the whole complexion of the game.

Red Raider senior Tyler Brunschon scored on a driving layup to give Huntley a 37-33 lead. Brunschon, who was fouled on the play, connected on the free throw to give the Red Raiders a 38-33 lead. On the foul call, Marian Central was whistled for a technical. Brunschon calmly sank 2 free throws to complete a 5-point play to give Huntley a 40-33 advantage with 2:33 left.

Over a 6-minute span, Huntley went on a 18-0 run and was able to cruise past Marian Central 66-44 in an opening round game of the Jacobs Holiday Tournament.

Brunschon led the Red Raiders with 20 points, all in the last three quarters.

"That 5-point play was huge from a momentum standpoint," said Brunschon. "We really took off after that and played great the last quarter and a half."

The Red Raiders (7-1) completed the 18-0 surge when Dylan Neukirch, playing in his first game of the season, scored on a layup to give the Red Raiders a 20-point 53-33 lead. Neukirch, who missed Huntley's first 7 games with a hand injury, scored 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 15 minutes of play.

"We were only planning on playing him 10 minutes, but Dylan was playing great and we kept him out there longer," said Huntley coach Marty Manning. "He makes us a better team."

Justin Frederick scored 15, connecting on 6-of-7 shots while Bryce Only scored 13 for the winners.

"We have so many scorers I have no idea what our guys point totals are at the end of the game," said Manning. "Our team chemistry is good and we are doing a good job of hitting the open man."

Jake Everly paced Marian Central with 10.