'Any given day' an unforgettable night
DeKALB - Any given day turned out to be Tuesday.
Heading into the Class 4A DeKalb supersectional, few observers gave Dundee-Crown's boys basketball team a shot to knock off deep Neuqua Valley (31-2).
In an informal poll of media along press row at the NIU Convocation Center, no reporter picked the Chargers (24-5) to prevail. In fact, most rolled their eyes when asked if D-C had a chance, figuring the Wildcats would roll by double-digit points.
The D-C players don't live in a vaccuum. They understood what they were up against.
"We read the papers and look at records," Dundee-Crown senior guard Jeff Beck said. "We see they beat three teams that we lost to. We see all that, but we just try to ignore that and know we can compete with any team on any given day."
It was clear midway through the first quarter that Chargers weren't intimidated. Beck scored twice from the baseline, guard Greg McNally scored on a drive and Marcus Henry drove for a basket. Suddenly, Dundee-Crown was on a 16-4 run and Neuqua Valley was the team that looked intimidated.
The Chargers demonstrated all five qualties they are reminded of every day by the motivational acronym - STAND - which is emblazoned on the back of a black t-shirt every Dundee-Crown players owns.
S stands for selflessness. T is for together. A is for accountable. N is for no fear. D is for decide.
Those traits were all in play Tuesday night as coach Lance Huber's team not only upset Neuqua Valley but made it look relatively easy.
There was a two pronged approach to winning for the Chargers: defense and rebounding. The Wildcats struggled from the field, hitting just 6-of-24 shots in the first half and shooting 38.6 percent for the game.
"I think we played pretty good defense tonight," Beck said. "Marcus, Justin (Strzelczyk) and Aaron (Reams) were trying to pressure their guards outside. Charles (Kimbrough), down low, blocked (4) shots. They tried to pound it inside, so having Charles in there definitely helps our defense."
Rebounding was another cornerstone of the Chargers victory.
"Coming into the game we thought if we could limit their offensive rebounds and second-chance points, we'd have a chance to be successful at the end of the game," Chargers coach Lance Huber said. "We outrebounded them 34-27. I think that was a big key."
On Thursday the school known for its successful baseball and wrestling programs will board its playersw on a bus to Peoria.
"It's going to be great," Beck said. "It's a couple of hours to get down there. It'll be a great time driving down and hanging in the hotel with each other. We're all best friends."
jfitzpatrick@dailyherald.com