D-C vs. Jacobs III could be on horizon

Senior guard Tom Roth leads Elgin High into the Dundee-Crown Class 4A Regional. michael smart | staff photographer

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Dundee-Crown and Jacobs have some work to do if they hope to renew their scintillating boys basketball rivalry later this week.

All signs point to Chargers vs. Golden Eagles Part III in the Dundee-Crown Class 4A Regional championship game, but Huntley, Streamwood and Elgin stand in the way of the much-anticipated rematch.

D-C (19-5) and Jacobs (23-3) were the area's most successful teams during the regular season, and their two head-to-head meetings didn't disappoint.

The Chargers won both contests in front of jam-packed crowds and rightfully own the top seed going into regional play. However, not much separates the teams as evidenced by the five-point combined margin of victory for D-C in the two games.

The Chargers ended their regular season with an emotional 56-55 win against the Eagles on Friday, claiming the outright Fox Valley Conference Valley Division title in the process. Perhaps the toughest test for D-C will be gearing back up for Tuesday's regional semifinal against either No. 4 Streamwood (13-13) or No. 5 Elgin (10-16).

"It's going to be a difficult turnaround," D-C coach Lance Huber said. "Our guys are going to have to be ready and understand that there's no tomorrow."

Jacobs would like nothing more than to put together a lengthy postseason run. The Eagles are an impressive 72-6 in regular-season games since the start of the 2006-07 season, but they are only 3-2 in postseason contests and haven't advanced beyond a sectional semifinal in that span.

However, before Jacobs can look ahead to further postseason glory, it must take care of its semifinal matchup with No. 3 Huntley (14-12) on Wednesday.

"We've got to get ready to play Huntley and then we'll go from there," Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle said.

The Red Raiders earned the third seed largely thanks to a 44-41 win against D-C in early December. However, that triumph marked one of the high points in the season for Huntley, which averages only 49.4 points per game and sustained a 25-point loss to Johnsburg in its regular-season finale last Friday. The Raiders lost to Jacobs 56-33 in mid-December.

The most dangerous team in the regional appears to be No. 4 Streamwood, which won seven of its final 10 regular-seasons game. A balanced offensive attack led by senior Tem Esikiel keyed the late resurgence.

The Sabres face the unenviable task of playing No. 5 Elgin in Monday's play-in game only three days after beating the Maroons 60-51 in the final regular-season game for both teams.

"It's a tough situation to play Elgin twice in a few days," Streamwood coach Tim Jones said. "Then you have to play a real good D-C team the next night if you win. But I really think anybody can beat anybody in this regional."

The regional features several of the top scorers in the area. In addition to Esikiel, who tallies 18.8 points per game, there's Jacobs senior Conrad Krutwig (21.7 ppg) and D-C senior Jeff Beck (17.5 ppg).

Elgin features a pair of formidable scorers in seniors Marcus Redburg (16.2 ppg) and Tom Roth (14.7 ppg). Both Roth and Redburg were key role players on the Maroons' sectional championship team last season.

Huntley senior Zac Boster doesn't rank among the area scoring leaders, but he does pace the Raiders with 11.8 points per game.