Jacobs notches key Valley road win at Huntley
The already murky Valley Division waters became cloudier Friday night, courtesy of the Jacobs boys basketball team.
If there was a favorite heading into the start of league play in the Fox Valley Conference’s big-school division this week, Huntley was it. The Red Raiders won the Sycamore Thanksgiving Tournament, finished second to Mundelein at the Jacobs Holiday Tournament and entered Friday’s contest against visiting Jacobs with a sparkling 12-3 record.
But the Golden Eagles played like a team coming into its own. Jacobs overcame an 8-point second-quarter deficit, weathered 5 second-half lead changes and came up with a huge takeaway in the final seconds to thwart a potential game-tying 3-pointer by Huntley. The result was a 49-46 victory.
“It was a big win,” said Jacobs point guard Mike Peterson, who scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter. “We definitely had this one marked on our calender. To come in here and win in a hostile environment was a pretty big win for us. Starting 1-0 in conference is always a good feeling.”
The score was tied 46-46 with 1:38 to play when Peterson was fouled on the perimeter and sank 2 bonus free throws to give Jacobs the lead for good.
Huntley failed to score on its ensuing possession on a well-defended shot by Dylan Neukirch (17 points). Though Jacobs (8-5, 1-0) missed the front end of the bonus at the other end with 44 seconds left, the Eagles got another chance at the line after Huntley guard Tyler Brunschon’s potential go-ahead 3-point attempt didn’t fall.
Peterson made the first free throw but missed the second, leaving his team with a precarious 49-46 lead with 20.4 seconds remaining.
Huntley emerged from a timeout with 9.1 seconds to play and inbounded the ball to guard Troy Miller near midcourt. The junior tried to work a high pick-and-roll with forward Justin Frederick, but Jacobs senior Jon Kowalski deflected Miller’s pass to the floor. Jacobs senior Alex Glover fought for the loose ball and passed it to teammate Matt Ehrhardt as the horn sounded.
“I was told to sag off my man so I sagged to the middle, saw the screen come and they threw the ball right there,” Kowalski said. “I just went for it and, thankfully, just got it in time.”
Kowalski (11 points), Glover (6 points) and Ehrhardt (4 points) also played pivotal roles earlier in the game. Their 9 combined field goals, mostly on simple post moves, kept Jacobs in the game and exposed a Huntley weakness that will undoubtedly be addressed in upcoming practices.
“I thought we were terrible defensively,” Huntley coach Marty Manning said. “The things we worked on to try to stop them we weren’t able to do. I hate to say it, but we might almost have to become a 2-3 zone team the rest of the year. We just don’t have guys who are willing to be physical with guys coming through screens.
“You can’t say you play good defense when you give up, what, 15 layups? You’re a good defensive team when you make them take tough shots from the perimeter, and we didn’t do that at all. I wasn’t happy with it.”
Huntley threatened to pull away in the second quarter. A 7-0 run fueled by 2 free throws from Neukirch, a 3-pointer by Brunschon and a steal and breakaway layup by guard Jake Dachman staked the Red Raiders to a 29-21 lead with 1:53 left in the half.
But Jacobs responded in a big way. Two Peterson free throws and a layup by Glover trimmed the deficit to 4 points before halftime. Hofman scored 5 straight points to open the second half, which gave the Golden Eagles their first lead since the first quarter.
“We just ran our normal stuff, executed, found the open drives and got to the basket,” Hofman said. “We knew how good they were and we knew we had to bring our best game if we wanted to play with them. We beat a good team tonight.”
Jacobs went on to outscore Huntley 10-3 in the third quarter. The Red Raiders shot 1 of 9 from the floor in the period, 1 of 7 from 3- point range.
“They got layups and made them and we took jump shots and missed them,” Manning said. Huntley shot 15 of 40 overall (37.5 percent) compared to Jacobs’ 20 of 46 (43.5 percent). The Red Raiders won the rebounding battle (31-25), but Jacobs committed only 8 turnovers compared to Huntley’s 15.
Huntley took its last lead, 44-42, on a 3-pointer by Miller with 4:15 left. Jacobs tied it on a Peterson jump shot in the lane.
Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle downplayed the significance of the victory despite its water-muddying effect on the Valley Division race.
“I’m pretty thrilled with it but, you can’t get too high,” Hinkle said. “It’s a nice start to the conference. This conference is just anybody’s game any night. It’s a fun start for us.”
Cary-Grove 32, CL South 27: Nick Richter and Ryan Anderson scored 10 points each as Cary-Grove (8-9, 2-0) outlasted CL South in an FVC Valley defensive battle. Tyler Kretchmer led CL South (9-6, 0-2) with 10 points.
North Shore 63, Elgin Academy 48: Cobnnor Flexman had 22 points and Patrick Martinak added 12 for the Hilltoppers (3-10, 1-6) in this Independent School League loss.