The Huntley Red Raiders won two more Fox Valley games last week to overwhelmingly secure the Fox Valley Division title for the first time since joining the division three seasons ago. No team can come within two games of the powerful Raiders.
The Crystal Lake Central Tigers also clinched a championship in the Fox Valley Fox Division.
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It’s a shame there’s no Fox Valley championship game between division winners Huntley Red Raiders and Crystal Lake Central Tigers. Both teams have been atop the Patch Hardwood Tour rankings all season, alternating between first and second. Next season, when Hampshire joins the league, the number of teams in each division will be even at seven each, and a league championship will be held.
Huntley beat Crystal Lake Central 65-51 early in the year, but it would have been interesting to see which of these red-hot teams derailed the other. Huntley is currently on a nine-game winning streak and Crystal Lake Central has bagged eight victories in succession. Since they play in different classes in the state tournament (Huntley 4A, Crystal Lake Central 3A) they will not meet again this campaign.
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Golden Eagles Overcome Libertyville talent
Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle seems to squeeze every bit of talent from the players on his Golden Eagles team. In my eyes, he has two seasoned guards, Nick Hofman and point-man Mike Peterson who are above average high school players, and about seven other role players who fit the system and regularly get things done.
Saturday night against a taller, more talented Libertyville team, Jacobs demonstrated how they have managed to stay above .500 all season and challenge for the Fox Valley title (before finally falling short). Watching Jacobs choreograph its offense against Libertyville, I saw the best floor spacing and the highest number of precise back cuts I’ve seen in any game all year. Eight times the Golden Eagles burned Libertyville with one back door play after another. Just when you thought Libertyville was catching on, it was entry pass, bounce pass, layup all over again. The end result was a 58 percent shooting percentage for Jacobs and a 65-56 victory.
“They overplayed us a lot and we took advantage of it,” Coach Hinkle understated after the game. “The difference is that tonight, we finished our layups. Last night (in a 40-34 loss to Dundee-Crown) we shot like 31 percent. But I was encouraged that the game last night didn’t get us down. Our guys responded well.”
“No one really believed in us at the beginning of the year,” said Peterson, a four-year varsity player and three-year starter. “But I had confidence we could compete in the Fox Valley, and for a while there we were on top. Now we have to get ready for the playoffs.“
Jacobs has had four three-game winning streaks this 14-12 season. During one 18-game stretch the team alternated a three-game winning streak with a three-game losing streak six times in a pattern that almost qualifies as scientific.
The Golden Eagles will tune up with two more regular season games this week, both against McHenry, before starting Regional play March 2 against Dundee-Crown at Larkin High School in Elgin. The Chargers are a club they’re intimately familiar with, having split two regular season games.
“We always seem to be bumping up against them,” said the coach. “It’s like brother against brother.”
Lack of consistency haunts Libertyville
It would be nice to say that Libertyville has the moxie to pull it together next week to seriously contend for the five-team Regional gathering that it is hosting. But after seeing the Wildcats lose to Jacobs 65-56 in Algonquin Saturday night, such a statement would be a stretch.
Look for Libertyville (10-15) to use its sheer talent to defeat Wauconda in its last regular season game on Tuesday, then break down offensively-challenged Palatine in the first game of the state tournament Feb. 28. After that, the party appears to be over.
Barrington’s Broncos, 18-8 would be next, and the disciplined champs of the Mid-Suburban League’s West Division regularly display the kind of consistency Libertyville has lacked all year.
Against Jacobs, Libertyville played defense sporadically, giving up one easy bucket after another to a solid-but-unspectacular Jacobs (14-12). After five consecutive defeats against tough competition, the Wildcats dug in their heels and got a nice 51-44 road win against Lake Forest on Friday, then followed that welcome victory with a fundamentally sorry performance the very next night. They looked and played like they were at loose ends.
Aside from defensive lapses that saw Jacobs go back door on them eight times, the Cats went 11 for 19 from the free-throw line, shot less than 40 percent from the field and had a player called for a game-changing technical foul in the fourth quarter. Just after halftime, trailing by just five, they threw the ball away on four straight possessions, digging a hole from which they never recovered.
This is a tough team to figure. It came within a point of powerful Warren, the unbeaten champs of the North Suburban Lake, than got its doors blown off by 30 against Mundelein two games later.
Right now Ryan Barth, who’s toughed it out all year with an injured knee, plays spectacularly one night (22 points against Lake Forest), then tentatively the next (2 for 11 shooting against Jacobs). Seven-footer Keegan McAullife needs more game experience before the state playoffs begin and 6-5 junior Luke Mathewson, a stalwart all season, is wearing a brace , seeing limited action and getting shut out against Jacobs.
The good news is that the Wildcats have scorer Ellis Matthews, ball-handler Griffin Pils and Mathewson back next year. Anthony Mack, a forward who has contributed nicely late in the season, also returns.
But even with home-court advantage, all the stars will have to be aligned for Libertyville to take down Barrington.
Young Palatine club closing in on double-digits victories
It’s next-to-impossible to win in basketball with just one bona fide scorer on your side. Yet, the Palatine Pirates (9-16) have managed to achieve nearly the same 10-17 record of a year ago with an entirely new cast and only the smooth 6-foot-4 junior John Millin demonstrating a consistent ability to put the ball in the hole.
A win Tuesday against lowly Elk Grove would net double digits in wins for Coach Eric Millstone’s team, which also faces another beatable opponent, the 10-16 Libertyville Wildcats, in the first game of the state tournament. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Feb. 28 regional opener will be played on Libertyville’s home court.
“For the most part this group acquitted themselves well,” said coach Millstone following Wednesday’s 60-49 loss at Stevenson. “We entered the season with no real expectations, starting three juniors and a sophomore. They played hard all year long which is what we asked them to do.”
Filling the Lanes: Other noteworthy accomplishments last week
Conference champions
The Barrington Broncos (18-8, 7-3) won a share of the Mid-Suburban League West title, the first league crown for the team in two decades, with a decisive 61-27 victory over Hoffman Estates on Saturday. The Broncos will play at Prospect, winners of the East, in the conference championship game Wednesday.
The Fremd Vikings (17-8, 7-3) tied Barrington and Schaumburg for the Mid-Suburban West title by beating Conant 55-52 in a satisfying road win. Had Conant won the game, it would have shared the division title. It was the second straight conference crown for the Vikings. However, on the strength of tie-breakers, Barrington will play in the Mid-Suburban championship game.
The Huntley Red Raiders (21-4, 9-1) secured the Valley Division and ends the regular season Friday, Feb. 25.
The Crystal Lake Central Tigers (21-4, 11-1) cwon a Fox Valley Fox Division championship then added another division victory for good measure on Friday against Johnsburg.
Shockers
The Lake Zurich Bears (6-19, 3-9) took down a very good Zion-Benton team 63-51 on Friday to snag its third North Suburban Lake win of the season. The Bears were winless in conference the last two seasons.
The Prairie-Ridge Wolves (6-17, 4-7) upset the Grayslake North Knights on their home floor 49-48 Tuesday, then bested Woodstock, another Fox Valley Fox opponent, on Friday to double its division win total for the year.
Multiple-Win Week
Crystal Lake Central 2-0
Crystal Lake South 2-0
Grayslake Central 2-0
Huntley 2-0
Prairie Ridge 2-0
Jacobs 2-1
Streaking
Huntley Red Raiders: Nine in a row, 10 of last 11.
Crystal Lake Central Tigers: Eight in a row, 11 of last 12.
Grayslake Central Rams: Four in a row, five of last six.
Crystal Lake South Gators: Three in a row.
Fremd Vikings: Three in a row, four of last five.
Rating the Top Teams on the Hardwood Tour
1. Huntley Red Raiders (21-4) Fox Valley Conference Valley Division champions win two more.
2. Crystal Lake Central Tigers (21-4) Buried Woodstock to win Fox Valley Fox title, then beat Johnsburg.
3. Barrington Broncos (18-8) Destroyed Hoffman Estates by 34 to finish atop the Mid-Suburban West.
4. Fremd Vikings (17-8) Grabbed a share of the Mid-Suburban West title by edging Conant 55-52.
5. Buffalo Grove Bison (16-9) Lost chance to share Mid-Suburban East crown, bowing to Prospect by 10.
6. Jacobs Golden Eagles (14-12) Finished 2-1 in busy week. Two games vs. McHenry this week.
7. Crystal Lake South Gators (14-10) Slaughtered Dundee-Crown, edged McHenry. (up from eight)
8. Grayslake Central Rams (15-10) Satisfying wins against Vernon Hills, Woodstock North.(up from 10)
9. Grayslake North Knights (17-7) Upset by Prairie Ridge, recovered against Lakes. (down from 7)
10. Dundee-Crown Chargers (12-12) Pounded by Crystal Lake South, then handled Jacobs.
11. Stevenson Patriots (13-12) Won and lost predictably to Palatine, mighty Warren, respectively.
