Dundee-Crown comes home with fourth-place trophy

PEORIA - Dundee-Crown will return to Carpentersville with a fourth-place state trophy following a 73-52 loss to Thornton in the Class 4A consolation game at Carver Arena in Peoria on Saturday.

Unlike the state semifinal against Waukegan on Friday, a game in which the Chargers fell behind 15-0 and were never able to compete, they took a 2-0 lead against Thornton (30-2) on Charles Kimbrough's putback and showed plenty of fight early.

Dundee-Crown (24-7) grabbed a 12-7 lead midway through the first quarter, thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Jeff Beck and a two-handed power dunk by Kimbrough on an assist from Marcus Henry that brought the school's irrepressible cheering section to its feet.

However, Thornton (30-2), which saw its 29-game winning streak snapped on Friday in a 59-54 semifinal loss to eventual state champion Whitney Young, caught fire from beyond the 3-point arc. The Wildcats sank 6-of-10 shots from long range in the first half, success that stretched the Chargers defensively and opened more scoring opportunities.

"We tried to stay with them as long as we could," Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber said. "They shot the ball well in the first half, and they made us come out and guard them. When we came out to take the three away, they were able to penetrate and we just didn't have an answer for it.

"The reason they've lost 2 games is because they have a lot of ability. They're good."

Thornton proved to be too tough for the NIU supersectional champions to handle. The Wildcats forced 16 turnovers, including 12 steals, and won the rebounding battle 37-18. By more than doubling the Chargers on the glass, the Wildcats scored 15 second-chance points compared to the Chargers' 2.

"For Dundee-Crown to beat us... that would really make their day," Thornton coach Troy Jackson said. "Dundee-Crown had nothing to lose in the third-place game. We had something to lose. We wanted to make sure we came out here focused. We didn't get what we wanted to get (a state title), but we got the next-best thing that was left for us."

The game was tied at 17 late in the first quarter until Thornton senior Jamal Gray sank consecutive 3-pointers. Chargers guard Justin Strzelczyk scored a fast-break layup with 2 seconds left that cut the deficit to 23-19 after one quarter.

The rest of the game belonged to the Wildcats, who outscored the Chargers 22-10 in the second quarter to forge a 45-29 halftime lead.

Beck, a three-year varsity performer, led the Chargers with 18 points, 5 rebounds and a steal. Fellow senior Marcus Henry scored 10 points but was held without a rebound. Center Charles Kimbrough was limited to 4 points and 3 rebounds to go with 3 blocked shots.

Richie Thompson led Thornton with 18 points and 7 rebounds and Gray finished with 14 points.

Though a second consecutive lopsided loss at the state finals sapped the enthusiasm of the Dundee-Crown players in the short term, they recognized the importance of reaching Peoria in the first place.

"These two losses at the end don't make up our season," Henry said. "We went out every day during the season and did the best that we could do. We had fun."

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