Huntley scares top seed

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CRYSTAL LAKE – Huntley’s players felt like the butt of some cruel joke as guard Tyler Brunschon drained two three-pointers in the final 12 seconds.

Had it happened a few minutes earlier, perhaps the No. 4-seeded Red Raiders would have toppled top-seeded Jefferson at the IHSA Class 4A Crystal Lake South Regional boys basketball tournament.

“I made those last two shots and couldn’t make anything the whole game,” said Brunschon, who was in good company.

Huntley suffered through a 6-minute scoring drought, which allowed Jefferson to get just enough distance as the J-Hawks pulled out a 47-43 victory in their first-round game Tuesday at Gator Alley.

The Raiders (15-13) shot 30.4 percent (17 of 56) for the game and hung with the J-Hawks (21-7) until the fourth-quarter dry spell.

“I’m really, really proud of the defensive effort and rebounding,” Huntley coach Marty Manning said. “Our three major objectives were to get back on defense, rebound and take away their penetration. We just had that stretch where we couldn’t hit a shot. We’ve seen it quite a bit where we can’t score.”

Jefferson advances to Friday’s 7:30 p.m. championship game against host South, a 45-44 winner against McHenry in Tuesday’s second semifinal.

Brunschon, one of the area’s top scorers and three-point shooters, was 2 of 15 before he hit the final two threes. He consistently got inside for quality shots, only to see them roll around and out.

“It was getting frustrating, but I just kept playing through it,” said Brunschon, who averages 15.5 points a game and finished with 14 points. “There were so many going in and out. It was just frustrating after working your butt off to get to the hole.”

Sophomore guard Troy Miller hit two threes and converted a three-point play in the first three quarters to keep the Raiders close. Jefferson guard Jemarkus Lovett hit 7 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter as the J-Hawks pushed the margin to 42-31.

Huntley went the first 6:20 of the fourth quarter without a point when Miller hit a 9-footer. The closest the Raiders could get, though, was the final margin.

Defensively, Huntley held Jefferson to 31.8 percent shooting and forced seven fourth-quarter turnovers.

“We figured out they were more of a driving team than a shooting team, so we played off a little bit,” Huntley forward Justin Frederick said. “We got good shots, but they were rimming out.”

“We got just enough from enough kids to do it,” Jefferson coach Todd Brannan said. “Huntley really does a nice job and [Brunschon] is a nice player.”

Brannan said the J-Hawks were without one starter, guard Mershon Wilkes, who was out with a knee injury, and another starter, Mario Manns, was limited with what he could do by an ankle injury. Brannan thought Manns may play more Friday, but called Wilkes’ return doubtful.

Lovett led the J-Hawks with 16 points, as no other Jefferson player hit double digits.