Dundee-Crown outlasts Huntley for toruney title

SYCAMORE -- Although the season is young, Dundee-Crown is building the reputation of being a strong finisher.

As was the case in their previous two victories, the Chargers wore out Huntley with relentless play in the second half Saturday. The result was a 60-50 win in the Sycamore Tournament championship game, giving D-C (3-0) its first title at the event since 2005.

"We've played better in the second half than we have in the first halves," D-C coach Lance Huber said. "I don't know if it's because we have a bunch of seniors and they know how to dig in. I don't know if we just tire teams out. But we'll take it."

The Red Raiders (2-1) enjoyed a slim lead for much of the night and entered the fourth quarter tied at 36. However, D-C dominated from that point on as seniors Jeff Beck and Marcus Henry helped the Chargers outscore Huntley 24-14 in the final eight minutes.

Beck scored the first five points of the quarter to give D-C a cushion it wouldn't relinquish and tallied 10 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth. Meanwhile, Henry hauled in six of his game-high nine rebounds in the final quarter.

Although those two players made the biggest impacts, seniors Andy Schuessler, Rob Stupar and Justin Strzelczyk also contributed down the stretch as the Chargers reaped the benefits of having a rotation that goes eight or nine players deep.

"We're real deep with our seniors," Beck said. "We just bring them in and try to keep the intensity up the whole game."

Senior Jordan Neukirch scored 14 points to lead Huntley, which didn't make a 3-pointer in the contest. Zac Boster added 12 points and Brett DePorter chipped in 10 points and four rebounds.

The loss denied the Red Raiders their second tournament title in three years. However, Huntley has a chance to avenge the defeat Friday when it travels to play at D-C in a Fox Valley Conference crossover game.

Needless to say, Huntley coach Marty Manning will be hoping for a better effort in the next meeting than what he saw in the fourth quarter Saturday.

"(D-C) just wanted it more," Manning said. "They got the loose balls and the offensive rebounds. I think we gave up 15 points on 13 offensive rebounds. We lost by 10, so that's the game."

Stupar, who drained 10 3-pointers in Friday's win against Kaneland, finished with 10 points and a pair of treys against Huntley. Henry added 14 points for the Chargers, who enjoyed a 30-18 rebounding advantage.

Beck, Stupar and Henry all earned all-tournament honors for D-C. Boster and Neukirch represented the Red Raiders on the team.

Harlem 73, Hampshire 54 -- Justin Bieber made four 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 17 points, but the Whip-Purs (1-2) fell in the consolation finals.

Shyler Ralphs added 12 points for Hampshire, which surrendered 22 points on second-chance points in the middle quarters.

Burlington Central 69, Stillman Valley 61 -- Senior Dan Berg poured in 20 points and the Rockets picked up their first victory of the season in the seventh-place game.

Matt McCurdy added 18 points and Shane Larkin tallied 15 points for Central (1-2), which jumped out to a 21-8 lead after the first quarter.