D-C's Beck leads way in road win

Jeff Beck

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JOHNSBURG -- Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber is fond of saying senior guard Jeff Beck “is always there for us.”

It was true again Tuesday night as Beck produced key plays at both ends of the court down the stretch and the Chargers’ defense rose to the occasion as well in the fourth quarter for a 62-52 non-conference victory over Johnsburg.

“Jeff was solid,” Huber said. “He got three steals when they tried to make a feed into the post. They just couldn’t see him coming around.

“Then we got the ball in his hands and he just knocked down his free throws.”

Beck finished with 26 points and four assists and made 5 of 5 free throws in the fourth quarter to protect the lead for D-C (8-3).

“We definitely needed to pick it up on defense in the second half a lot,” Beck said. “Then when we did, (Robert Stupar) hit a couple 3’s and our defense just definitely kept us in the game the rest of the way.”

Johnsburg (9-5) had cut an 11-point deficit to 51-48 on Tyler Chambers’ 3-pointer when Huber called timeout. The Chargers’ man-to-man defense then tightened up to trigger a 7-0 run in the next two minutes that locked up the win.

Beck scored on a rebound and was fouled to complete a three-point play. Beck then stole the ball and scored a layup for a 58-46 lead.

After the Chargers forced a travel, Beck made two free throws and dashed Johnsburg’s last hopes for a comeback 56-46 with 1:30 to play.

The Chargers were nicked up by 6-foot-7 center C.J. Fiedorowicz for 19 points but held hot-shooting Mike Dixon to 15 points and only two points in the fourth quarter.

“I thought our defense was insurmountable tonight,” Huber said. “I thought Justin Strzelczyk was fantastic on Mike Dixon. I know Dixon ended up with 15, but Justin did one hell of a job, as he usually does. And when he got tired and needed a break, Aaron Reams guarded Dixon and harassed him for a few minutes.”

D-C had trouble shooting over Fiedorowicz early in the game and was victimized by a 9-2 run to start the second half. At that point D-C trailed 30-28.

However, just like in the fourth quarter, the Chargers’ defense triggered a run. They forced four turnovers and three missed shots during a 13-0 run over the next three and half minutes for a 41-33 lead. Strzelczyk sank a 3-pointer on a fast break to put the Chargers ahead for good.

Six points in the 13-0 run came after the Chargers got inside and scored despite Fiedorowicz’ presence.

“We were just trying to get the ball inside and up and off,” Beck said. “We were rushing it a little because he’s a great player and a great shot blocker.”

D-C shot 42 percent (23-for-54) to 44 percent (21-for-48) for the Skyhawks but outworked Johnsburg on the boards 35-25.

“It was a good game for us to play coming back from break, especially because we were facing a really good team,” Huber.