Knights loom large over Foxes

MAPLE PARK -- Kaneland's boys basketball team is blessed with tremendous size inside.

With 6-foot-9-inch junior Dave Dudzinski and 6-7 senior Christian Dillon in the starting lineup, the Knights generally have a height advantage over most teams they face.

But in Saturday's 61-48 Western Sun Conference win over Yorkville, Kaneland gave future opponents even more to worry about. Taking advantage of Yorkville's small guards, Dudzinski and Dillon roamed the perimeter in Kaneland's zone defense, with 6-1 senior Mike Pritchard manning the post.

The tactic worked as the Foxes (1-9, 0-3 WSC) got no closer than six points the entire second half, giving Kaneland (6-5, 1-3) its first league win.

"We had our 6-foot guy in the middle and our big guys on the wing," Kaneland coach Dennis Hansen said. "We're kind of experimenting with that. We felt that they're just as quick as some of our other guys out there, so why not try it? We got the long arms out on the wing to get us some pressure and it seemed like it worked tonight."

The strategy paid off particularly well in the first half. With Dudzinski and Dillon harassing the likes of 5-6 Dan Negre and 6-0 Kyle Dhuse, the Foxes had difficulty getting things going in the first half. Kaneland jumped out to a 13-3 lead out of the gates and pushed that lead to 31-17 by the half.

"We just didn't move the ball on offense," Yorkville coach Jerry Farber said. "Their length on the wings gave us problems. We're small up top and trying to pass over 6-foot-7 kids, that's not going to work. We had to get the ball moving a little bit more."

The Foxes did manage to make some adjustments at the half, and Luke Parece was the main recipient of the changes. Down 35-18, Parece scored eight straight points, followed by a Dhuse 3-pointer, to cut the lead to 35-29. Parece then scored the final six points of the third quarter to slice the lead to 41-35.

"They made some shots in the third quarter, but we were making them work to get shots," Hansen said. "I thought that was the key. They did a nice job moving the ball, but we were in their face most of the night. Our defensive pressure seemed to wear them down."

Although Yorkville did get some momentum going in the second half, the Knights were never seriously threatened and finally got off the mat in WSC play. Visions of a lackluster loss to DeKalb and a tough loss at the United Center in Chicago to Geneva quickly vanished in the first game of the new year.

"We were cutting it close, but I felt we had it under control the whole way," Kaneland senior Joe Spitzzeri said. "We made some mistakes and had to slow it back down to get it under control and get the game back in our hands.

"It's big. We had some bad losses. Tonight, we came out with a lot of intensity and to get our first conference win, it will give us confidence our next time out."

Luke Parece led the Knights with 19 points. Dudzinski had 14, Ryley Bailey 12 and Pritchard 11.

Kaneland went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter to build a 13-3 lead, and never led by fewer than six points the rest of the game.

NOTE: It was the first Kaneland home basketball game since the tragic deaths of students Jeff Malewig and Blake Denton last month. A moment of silence was observed before the game. Boys Basketball: Kaneland 61, Yorkville 48