Jacobs tops C-G, but Trojans clinch share of Valley
The Jacobs boys basketball team wasn't the one Tuesday night playing for at least a share of the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division crown.
But the Golden Eagles certainly performed as if they had more to play for than Cary-Grove.
Jacobs outscored the Trojans 27-9 in the fourth quarter en route to a 66-50 Valley Division victory in Algonquin.
"We laid it all on the line," Jacobs senior Matt Schmidt said. "We are as good as any other team in this conference."
With a win Cary-Grove (13-11, 7-2) would have clinched at least a tie no matter what happened in the McHenry vs. Huntley game. But thanks to the Red Raiders' victory over the Warriors, the Trojans got the share anyway. They can win the crown outright with a win over Huntley on Friday.
"We ran out of gas," Cary-Grove coach Ralph Schuetzle said. "We just didn't play with as much energy as we normally play."
The Golden Eagles (6-18, 2-6) won their third straight game after losing 10 in a row. They led the entire first half Tuesday and led by 7, 27-20, at halftime.
Cary-Grove came out quick in the second half, going on a 10-2 run to start the third quarter and take a 30-29 lead. The Trojans led 41-35 with 2:15 left in the third after eight consecutive points from Ryan Barker. Jacobs got within 2, 41-39, entering the fourth.
Then the Golden Eagles' defense took over. The Trojans had trouble getting any good looks at the basket and went just 4-for-12 in the quarter. Jacobs, however, went 8-for-9 from the floor and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line in the fourth.
"I can't say enough about Matt Ehrhardt. Matt took them out of their offense," Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle said. "He wouldn't let (the Trojans' Matt Jones) have the ball. He was harassing him so much they couldn't get their offense started."
Schmidt led the Golden Eagles with 21 points, 14 in the second half. Sean Meyer added 12 points and 13 rebounds. Jon Kowalski had 12 points off the bench, including hitting 5 of 6 free throws in the fourth. Mike Peterson had 10.
Chad McCarron's 17 paced the Trojans, who went just 9-for-24 from the free-throw line. Barker added 12 points and 7 rebounds.