Inside boys basketball

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Athlete of the Week

Ryan Smith

Dundee-Crown, jr.

Smith produced one of the most prolific scoring weeks in the area this boys basketball season, scoring 56 points in two games for the Chargers.

The 6-foot-2 forward scored 25 points in the Chargers’ 66-61 loss to McHenry on Tuesday in their Fox Valley Conference Valley Division season finale. Smith had 10 field goals, three of which were three-pointers, and was 2 for 2 on free throws.

On Friday, Smith scored a season-high 31 points in a 69-58 loss to Grayslake North. He nailed three threes and was 10 of 11 from the free-throw line.

Smith also had 22 points in D-C’s previous game, a 61-48 loss to Waubonsie Valley on Feb. 20.

Noteworthy

Class 3A tournaments: Johnsburg and Marian Central are top seeds and heavy favorites in their respective Class 3A regionals. Johnsburg (24-2) is No. 1 at its own regional, which starts Tuesday. Marian
(18-9) is No. 1 at the Woodstock North Regional, which begins at 7:30 p.m. today with a play-in game.

The Skyhawks played their best game of the season Tuesday when they beat Marian, 79-54, in a non-conference game. Richmond-Burton (17-9) won the Big Northern Conference East Division title and is the No. 3 seed at Johnsburg.

Hampshire (16-8) tied for second in the BNC East and is seeded No. 3 at Kaneland. The Whip-Purs have a play-in game at 8 p.m. today against No. 6 Rochelle.

Class 4A tournaments: For a local team to advance from a Class 4A regional this season will require an upset. There are no 4A regionals with all local teams and no area 4A teams with a top seed.

At Crystal Lake South, No. 5 Jacobs is the hottest team, with five consecutive wins, and meets No. 4 Huntley (14-12) in a 7:30 p.m. play-in game today. The winner plays No. 1 Jefferson (20-7) at 6 p.m. Tuesday, with No. 2 McHenry (16-9) facing No. 3 South (14-11) at 8 p.m.

McHenry won a regional last season, and South has played well, tying the Warriors for second in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division. Jefferson was fourth in the Northern Illinois Conference-10 this season.

The other two area teams in 4A – No. 5 Dundee-Crown (4-19) and No. 2 Cary-Grove (14-12) – are in the Barrington Regional. D-C faces No. 4 Larkin in today’s 7:30 p.m. play-in game, with the winner meeting the top-seeded host team at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. C-G takes on No. 3 Streamwood at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Trojans won the FVC Valley Division and have had a few games to adjust without point guard Nick Richter, who suffered a broken bone in his right foot a few weeks ago.

In Fine Print

Schedules and more: Final conference standings, updated statistics and this week’s regional schedules appear in Fine Print. PAGE 6B