DeKalb had won its first 19 games this season, but it hadn’t run into a shooter like Rochelle’s Nick Reineck.
Reineck scored 22 points, including 6-of-8 on three-pointers, as Rochelle (17-2) defeated DeKalb 64-58 Saturday night.
DeKalb led until Reineck drilled a 26-foot bomb with just over 6 minutes to play to give Rochelle a 46-44 lead. DeKalb was able to tie the game on three more occasions, but never led again.
“He pretty much was the hero of the night,” DeKalb coach Chuck Schramm said. “He had some adrenaline going. We lost track of him a couple of times.”
With the victory, Rochelle gained revenge from a 75-55 loss to DeKalb in the title game of DeKalb’s Christmas tournament.
“My teammates just got me the ball and I felt real good out there,” Reineck said. “We had a real tough game last night [against Class A power Rock Falls]. We had two tough games and we came back strong the second night. We really wanted to beat them.”
Ben Rand added 18 points for Rochelle.
Justin Diedrich had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Erik Jaske added 17 points to lead DeKalb.
Farragut 62, Providence-St. Mel 57: Elliott Poole had 23 points, 12 rebounds and four steals as the No. 6 Admirals (12-6) edged St. Mel. Farragut led by just two points in the third quarter before going on a 9-2 run. Stanley Gaines had 18 points for St. Mel (9-11).
Downers Grove North 72, Downers Grove South 65: Kyle Kleckner scored 24 points and Andy Sigerich added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the No. 7 Trojans (18-1).
Bloom 49, Crete-Monee 42 (OT): Joe Chapman tallied 13 points and nine rebounds as the No. 12 Trojans (16-4) survived the SICA crossover. Jamand Greenwood scored 12 points, including a three-pointer, to put Bloom ahead for good in overtime. Amin McDonald had 12 points off the bench for Crete (10-9). Crete’s Charles Bass scored with 1:15 left in regulation to forge the overtime.
Proviso East 75, Stevenson 35: Shannon Brown scored 21 points and Dee Brown contributed 16 points as the No. 16 Pirates (15-3) blew out Stevenson. Dee Brown had 15 first-half points as Proviso opened a 39-18 halftime lead.
Hillcrest 76, Thornton 53: The No. 18 Hawks (16-4) romped as Chris Dryer and Armon Gates each scored 19 points. Steve Mason added 12 points for Hillcrest, which scored 12 of the game’s first 14 points.
St. Patrick 80, Palatine 59: Anthony Scala scored 22 and David Rivera had 20 points as the No. 20 Shamrocks (15-3) rolled. St. Patrick opened the game on a 19-3 run.
Carmel 68, Wheeling 56: Joe Baumann scored 13 points for the Corsairs (11-10). Andrew Peternel had 23 points for Wheeling (4-15).
Chicago Latin 81, Elgin Academy 66: Tyrell Bell scored 25 points and Michael Rudoy added 12 points as the Romans (18-1, 9-0) won in the Independent School League.
Lyons Township 41, Stagg 31: A.J. Allodi scored 15 points, Jim Maley had 14 points and Tom Scavuzzo had 12 assists for Lyons (17-2). After Stagg (9-12) closed to within 30-26, Allodi buried a three-pointer to ignite a game-clinching 7-0 spurt.
Hinsdale Central 59, Naperville Central 53: Pat Cuttica scored 16 points, including 11 in the first quarter, as the Red Devils (10-9) held on in the non-conference game. Cuttica’s three first-quarter three-pointers fueled a 14-3 run. G.J. King added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Hinsdale. Pat Speth had 15 points for Naperville Central (14-6).
Rockford Boylan 76, Dunbar 71: Mike Britton scored a game-high 24 points to lead Boylan (16-3). Aaron Spears had 16 points for Dunbar (11-6) in the loss.
St. Charles East 53, Batavia 46: Eric Regan scored 22 points as the Saints (13-7) rallied from a nine-point third-quarter deficit. Batavia had a 37-28 lead before St. Charles went on a 14-1 run. Anthony Wallace scored 11 points for Batavia (12-8).
St. Louis Christian Bros. 70, De La Salle 38: Southwest Missouri-bound Tamar Maclin scored 13 points to lead Christian Bros. (15-2). Aaron Wellington led De La Salle (12-8) with 10 points.
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Walther Lutheran 86, Westmont 78 (OT): Despite 45 points and 12 rebounds from Westmont’s Pierre Pierce, Walther Lutheran (14-4) survived behind Jarvis Childs’ 21 points and Bo Flowers’ 17 points. Ryne Richardson added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Walther, which was up by 13 points with 3:13 left in regulation. Pierce’s seven points led Westmont back on a 15-2 run to force overtime.
“We didn’t panic and really stepped up in overtime,” Walther coach Bill Koehne said. “It’s a huge win. It’s been an incredible week beating Wheaton Academy, Nazareth and Westmont. It shows we can play with the best.”
Zion-Benton 69, Lake Forest 61: Andre White scored a career-best 30 points as the Zee-Bees (19-2) held on in the North Suburban crossover. Lake Forest closed to within 53-49 but White scored four straight points to break the game open. Tommy Smith had 20 points to lead Lake Forest (13-7).