Before Tuesday`s Elgin Class AA sectional opener, Rockford Boylan coach Steve Goers kept reminding his Titans just how good Crystal Lake South was.
”Crystal Lake was ranked (No. 16) and lost only three games,” said Goers. ”We had lost seven and came in as an underdog. We had won 11 straight, but their streak was 15.
”We used their high ranking to motivate our kids a little. Heck, we use anything we can get our hands on.”
The thing Rockford Boylan got its hands on the most Tuesday night was the ball. Boylan buried Crystal Lake 83-68 to advance to Friday`s sectional championship. Boylan (21-8) plays the winner of Wednesday`s Elgin-Rockford Jefferson contest.
Despite any pregame numbers, the big streak Tuesday was when Boylan outscored Crystal Lake 25-2 in a 6-minute-10-second span that started with 2:09 left in the first quarter. At one point, Rockford notched 12 straight points.
For practical purposes, those numbers swamped the Gators.
”I was really confident in the first quarter,” said Boylan center Grant Moehring. ”They weren`t converging on me. I kind of had a one-on-one situation. I knew I could take it inside. I didn`t think I`d have the kind of freedom I did underneath.”
Moehring had plenty of freedom, notching 21 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. Scott Gallagher added 21, Brian Sommer 16 and Dave Reinhard 10 for the Titans, who have outscored opponents 73-60 on the average this season. The Titans` best output was 101 points against Loves Park Harlem, including 35 in the first quarter.
Despite Boylan`s balance, Moehring (17 points-per-game average) and Gallagher (17.7) concerned Gators coach Gary Collins.
”Moehring was what I was afraid of,” said Collins. ”I didn`t feel we could guard him. We didn`t in the first half. Gallagher`s a good player, too. Those were the players I was concerned with. You could see why.”
Crystal Lake South (25-4) had a trio of double-digit scorers; Kyle Sauers had 19, Kyle Schiller 17 and James Schraut 13.
Fremd sectional-With Todd Leslie hitting his first five shots from the floor and finishing with 34 points, host Fremd (22-6) outlasted Maine South 49-45. Leslie (11 of 16 for the game, two three-pointers, 10 of 10 free throws) had 14 points in the first quarter as Fremd built an 18-8 lead. He had 20 by halftime, when Fremd led 29-21.
With Leslie blanked in the third quarter, Maine South spurted to a 35-33 lead entering the final period. But Leslie erupted for 14 fourth-quarter points, including a three-pointer that gave Fremd the lead for good at 36-35 with 6:29 left.
”Their No. 22 (Bill Vrbancic) did a real nice job, and I got a little tired in the third quarter,” Leslie said. ”At the end of the quarter, Coach (Mo Tharp) kind of said, `Get the ball to Todd if you want to win.` I guess I got more pumped up and got my second wind in the fourth quarter.”
”I think Todd plays better under pressure,” said Tharp. ”It seems the more adversity he faces, the better he responds. Our big guys had the shots, but they weren`t falling, so I said we had to get the ball to Todd if we`re going to have any chance in this game.”
”He`s the best shooter I`ve seen this year,” said Maine South coach George Verber. ”You have to guard him with a quick 6-5 player. Unfortunately, we didn`t have one.”
Waukegan East sectional-Stacey Statham (15 points) and Nick Stianos (11)
paced Warren (23-5) to a 54-39 romp over Grant. ”We played with decent concentration,” said Warren coach Darrel Bader, whose Blue Devils opened the game with a 9-0 run and led 23-11 at the half. ”They (Grant) didn`t shoot the ball well, and we rebounded well and didn`t give them a lot of second shots.” Kip Paul managed 11 points for Grant (15-13).
Thornwood sectional-Thornwood`s big front line was too much for Richards as the Thunderbirds won 67-54.
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Tom Best, a 6-8 forward, had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead 19th-ranked Thornwood (21-8). Forward Kevin Preston (6-7) added 10 points and 11 rebounds, center Eric Bacys (6-9) had seven points and six rebounds and 5-10 guard Arturo Witcher chipped in 10 points. For Richards (21-7), Carl Haymore had 17 points, Cleveland Anderson 13 and 6-3 center Kurt Christensen, its biggest starter, had 12.
Romeoville sectional-Joliet Central rolled over Benet Academy 80-59 to earn a berth in Friday`s finals against the winner of Wednesday`s second semifinal between Waubonsie Valley and Tinley Park. Tony Graves, a 6-8 center, had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots to lead the Steelmen (20-8). Mario McIntosh had 16 points for Benet (16-11).
Hinsdale Central sectional-Brandon Cole scored 37 points on 15 of 34 shooting from the floor, including four three-pointers, to lead Bloom to a 64-53 victory over SICA rival Carl Sandburg.
Cole, who had five points in the first quarter as Bloom (17-10) took a 16-9 lead, poured in 11 straight at the start of the second quarter to give Bloom a 27-14 lead with 5:23 left in the first half.
Sandburg (17-10) was led by Dave Rettker`s 21 points.
In the second game, Scott Jackson scored 19 points and Marc Tierney added 15, including 9 in the first half, as Homewood-Flossmoor (11-15) decked Bremen 70-53. Khari Davis scored 18 points, 11 in the second half, to pace Bremen
(18-10).
East Aurora sectional-Naperville North successfully shut down Glenbard West`s top two scorers and knocked the Hilltoppers out of the tournament 46-30.
Naperville (15-12), which scored the game`s first 11 points, led only 20-19 with 6:36 left in the third period. To that point, all of Glenbard`s scoring had come from Sven Bonde and Kevin Moore. But Moore (six points)
didn`t score in the second half, and Naperville`s Omar Hammouda threw a defensive tent over Bonde in the game`s last 5 minutes, allowing him only one basket as the Huskies ran away.
Dave Rank scored 15 points, Hammouda added 12 points and 6 rebounds and Jay Rensink had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Glenbard (12-14) was led by Bonde`s 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Quincy sectional-Rick Cohn scored 20 points to lead Jacksonville (24-5)
past Decatur MacArthur 74-46. Terry Moore had 16 for Decatur (13-13).
Peoria sectional-Chris Reynolds (22 points) hit two free throws with :12 left in overtime to give Peoria Central (28-0) a four-point lead en route to a 66-65 victory over Peoria Manual. Mike Grayer led Manual (21-7) with 16 points.