Kaneland snaps Burlington's win streak
The two schools are not in the same conference, but Saturday night's boys basketball game between Burlington Central and Kaneland had all the characteristics of a fierce rivalry.
“They blew us out of the gym last year,” Kaneland senior Matt Spitzerri said. “We wanted to get back at them here in our place, and we had a great atmosphere.”
Spitzerri (7 rebounds), along with teammates Chaon Denlinger (13 points) and Daniel Holm (11 rebounds) played a key role for the Knights as they controlled the boards, and dominated the floor in a 47-39 win.
The intense, hyper-physical defensive play started early, and both offenses struggled to get anything going. Three minutes into the game, the Rockets led 2-0. Kaneland finally got on the board when Helm hit a long jumper to tie the game with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
“Burlington Central played very well on the defensive end of the floor,” Kaneland coach Brian Johnson said. ““We've been working hard on containing our guys individually and not letting them drive past us. The boys really responded and did a great job tonight.”
The Knights scored 6 straight, and led 13-7 after one quarter.
“We didn't look like a team that had won four in a row,” Burlington Central coach Brett Porto said.
Extending a run that began with an acrobatic lay-up by Drew David in the closing seconds of the first quarter, the Knights ran off 10 straight, and appeared poised to run away with the game as they opened a 21-7 lead.
But Burlington Central (9-6) had other ideas. After Ray Hunnicutt (12 points) turned a steal into a hoop, Mason Creal followed with a 3-pointer to give the Rockets a lift heading into the locker room.
Still, the 13 total points at halftime were a shock to a Rockets team that has boasted a high powered offense. Kaneland's 17-8 edge in rebounding was a big reason that offense had been grounded for two quarters.
“We couldn't box out, we couldn't rebound the basketball,” Porto said. “It was a putrid effort from us offensively, and (Kaneland) played harder than we did, and their kids wanted it more today.”
The Rockets responded by hitting the floor with a greater intensity in the third quarter, and after the Knights scored the first points of the half, Sam Klein drained a 3-pointer and triggered a 7-0 run.
Suddenly, the score had tightened to 25-20, and things were starting to get even more physical.
“That's how we're supposed to play,” Porto said. “But we have to play that way for 32 minutes.”
But the Knights were not phased by the hard-edge tone of the game, and they responded by cranking up their level of play.
“It was a tough game, but I love games like this, working hard and bumping bodies,” Spitzerri said.
With Kaneland leading 31-25 after three quarters, the two teams spent the first five minutes of the fourth trading baskets. The Knights opened 39-30 lead with 1:27 to go, and once again seemed poised to put the game away, but they made things harder than they needed to be by missing 6 free throws in a row.
But just as if a switch had been flipped, the Knights (9-5) suddenly found their range from the line. Trever Heinle converted a pair and Zach Ringhouse hit 4 straight to finally put the game on ice.