Huntley slips past McHenry
Justin Frederick seemed like the unlikeliest of the heroes.
Misfiring on his first 8 shots of the game, Frederick buried a 17-footer with 1:02 left in the game to give top-seeded Huntley the lead for good and the Red Raiders were able to grind out a 34-32 win over third-seeded McHenry in the championship game of the Class 4A Prairie Ridge regional in Crystal Lake Friday night. It was Frederick's only 2 points of the game.
Huntley (24-4) advances to the Class 4A Jacobs sectional where it plays Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against Elgin (22-6).
"I have really been struggling the last couple of weeks and was struggling with my shot tonight," said Frederick. "The coaches told me to keep shooting and when I let the ball go it felt good. I was glad to help us win. This was a tough game and our defense got us through."
Huntley coach Marty Manning was glad to see Frederick get the clutch basket.
"Justin is such a good shooter," said Manning. "But lately he has really struggled with his shot. He showed a lot of courage by taking that shot considering his struggles. The coaches wanted him to keep shooting. We knew he would break out of the shooting slump."
McHenry (14-13) took its only lead of the game 29-26 with 3:03 left on a conventional 3-pointer by Jimmy Preston. The Red Raiders responded with an 8-0 run to seize control of the game. A layup by Dylan Neukirch off a perfect feed from Bryce Only pulled the Red Raiders within a point, 29-28. Tyler Brunschon made 1-of-2 from the line to tie the score at 29, before Frederick's clutch shot gave the Red Raiders the lead for good.
Troy Miller sealed the win for the Red Raiders by making 3-of-4 from the line in the last 22 seconds. McHenry's Kyle Frantz canned a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull the Warriors within 2.
Neukirch led Huntley with 10 points and 9 boards. The Red Raiders won despite making only 12-of-50 shots from the field for 24 percent. Huntley made only 1-of-15 from 3-point range for 6 percent.
"We played poorly, but showed great character," said Manning. "We won with defense. We will have to play better on Tuesday."
Frantz led McHenry with 11 points which included three 3-pointers. The Warriors, who committed 16 turnovers, made 13-of-46 from the field for 28 percent.