Kaneland tops Marmion for 5th straight victory

Kaneland's 57-45 win at Marmion Saturday night did not start out like a game the Knights would want to make room for in their scrapbooks.

Six minutes into the game, the Knights were looking up at an 8-0 deficit, and nothing seemed to be working at either end of the floor.

Kaneland struggled to get the ball inside, and couldn't get their outside shots to drop. Meanwhile, Sean Fichtel was scoring 6 points in the opening quarter, and the Cadets looked like they were picking up where they left off after a big win over Aurora Central the night before.

But Kaneland came to life with an 11-0 run, thanks to the inside play of Dave Dudzinski.

"We just had to get into the flow of the game," Dudzinski said.

The big factor, as the Knights took control of the game in the second quarter, was not their big men, it was Kaneland's ability to impose its tempo on the frustrated Cadets.

"We went into a trapping zone and the kids responded well and that helped get us started," Kaneland coach Dennis Hansen said. "We're starting to score points and our defense is getting stronger every night."

It was the fifth win in a row for Kaneland (13-10), a team that appears to be putting the pieces together at the right time.

"We're getting more consistency at both ends of the floor," Hansen said. "That's made a big difference for us."

The Knights patiently worked the perimeter, waiting for an open look or entry pass, while refusing to force the issue. Brody Root made that possible by coming off the Kaneland bench to run the offense to perfection.

Root, who was a starter earlier in the season, scored 14 points to help Kaneland first establish a lead, then hold it.

David Brouch hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the first half to keep Marmion close. Ryley Bailey answered with a 3-pointer of his own and Kaneland led 28-22 at the break.

A 10-point lead with a quarter left to play should not be insurmountable. But when Root sank a turnaround jumper just before the buzzer ending the third quarter, he gave Kaneland a 42-32 lead, and Marmion (11-13) was never in the game again.

"That's my go-to move," Root said. "I like to go to the left, spin back, and fade away to create some space from the defense. It usually goes in, so it works out pretty well."

Marmion coach Rashon Burno saw some carryover from the previous night's game, but not the kind a coach wants to see,

"We were just flat," Burno said. "To go from what happened last night to now is a big drop off."