Huntley Comes From Behind To Knock Off Jacobs In Overtime

ALGONQUIN -- With less than three weeks remaining in the regular, it's this time of the season, more than any other, when seniors are expected to step up and win basketball games.

Tyler Brunschon and Dylan Neukirch, the lone seniors on the Huntley boys basketball team, did just that Tuesday night in arguably the team’s biggest game to date -- a 52-49 overtime victory against Jacobs.

Neukirch poured in a game-high 21 points, shooting a near-perfect 7-8 from the free throw line in overtime. Brunschon added four free throws in the extra period and, as time wound down in regulation, he nailed a three-pointer to give Huntley a 39-38 lead.

From there, Jacobs would score one free throw and force overtime with strong half-court defense. But the Red Raiders, behind the assertiveness of their two seniors, knocked down their free throws in the extra frame to pull ahead of Jacobs to reach the summit of the Fox Valley Conference’s Valley Division.

"At the end of the game, Dylan definitely (stepped up) making his free throws and Tyler did as well,” Huntley coach Marty Manning said. “It was nice to see because I don’t think they played a good game last time we played Jacobs. I think they got caught up in the emotions and some things. It’s nice for them to get the win for us.”

After falling behind by 12 points in the second quarter, Huntley methodically worked their way through a difficult first two-and-a-half quarters. In the first half, it was the sharp shooting of junior guard Troy Miller (12 points) that narrowed the lead of the Golden Eagles (12-10, 4-1 FVC Valley Division) to a manageable three points at the half.

Despite struggling with their offense in the first half, the Red Raiders (18-4, 6-1 FVC Conference) were fortunate to only be down 34-31 at halftime and, after a slow start to begin the second, Huntley stormed back with aggressive play on the offensive end.

“We finally stopped letting them get offensive rebounds,” said Manning of how Huntley was able to come from behind to pull off such a vital game, adding, “we got to some loose balls and then we started getting into the paint a little more to get some easy baskets.”

The majority of the Red Raiders’ most aggressive offensive play came from Neukirch, who finished 11-14 from the free throw line. The 6-3 guard also had a pair of three-point shots in the second and third quarters to keep Huntley within striking distance before the Red Raiders’ defense locked down the Golden Eagles and the senior leaders helped seal the win in overtime.

“It was such a huge win,” Neukirch said. “I think (Jacobs’ Jan. 14 win over Huntley) was our first loss at home and we wanted to get them back at home.”

Even though such a hard-fought come-from-behind win warrants celebration, Huntley knows they cannot slip up if they want to win the FVC Valley.

“After the game we mentioned that just because we won this game, the Dundee-Crown game is just as big,” Neukirch said of Friday night’s away game. “Because if we lose that game, that’s two losses and (Jacobs) is back on top.”