Inside boys basketball

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Athlete of the Week

Kevin Kaczmarski

Prairie Ridge, sr.

Kaczmarski, a 5-foot-11 guard, put on one of the more amazing performances of the season in the Wolves’ 56-52 overtime loss to Marian Central on Friday in the IHSA Class 3A Woodstock North Regional championship game.

Kaczmarski was scoreless in the first half, then erupted for 24 points in the second half and overtime. He hit an 8-foot shot from the right baseline at the end of regulation to force overtime.

“I was a little doe-eyed in the first half and decided I wasn’t in the game as much as I could be,” Kaczmarski said. “I wanted to give everything and it ended up working out, I made a couple shots and then they kept falling.”

When guards Chad Ljunggren and Sam Mandl, the Wolves’ other two top scorers, fouled out in the fourth quarter, Kaczmarski carried Prairie Ridge.

“We knew we needed [Kaczmarski] to be more aggressive [in the second half],” Prairie Ridge coach Corky Card said. “He took the ball at people and made plays. He hit big shot after big shot.”

Noteworthy

Strong finish: Prairie Ridge finished its season at 12-16, its second sub-.500 season in eight years under Card, but the way the Wolves finished their season made their coach proud.

Prairie Ridge struggled at points of the season, but played some of its best ball at the end. The Wolves defeated Fox Valley Conference Valley Division champion Cary-Grove in the final week of the regular season, then took Marian to the limit in the regional title game.

“We’ve really played good defense the last three weeks,” Card said. “People had some expectations for these kids, and to come back and play as well as we did at the end was great.”

Looking up at South: Crystal Lake South’s finished 15-12 after its 57-44 loss to Jefferson in the IHSA Class 4A Crystal Lake South Regional on Friday night, but the Gators have every reason to feel good about their season.

South will graduate only guard Alex Macaulay, so the Gators should be a force next season with the rest of the team returning.

Still, it won’t be easy. Half the teams in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division, which Cary-Grove won this season, returns most of their players (South, Huntley and Dundee-Crown).

• For an updated list of area statistical leaders, see The Fine Print on Page 8B.

This week’s top games

Hampshire Sectional

Tuesday

Game 1: Marian Central (20-9) vs. Oswego (22-6), 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday

Game 2: Freeport (14-12) vs. DeKalb (23-8), 7:30 p.m.

Friday

Game 3: Winner of Game 1: vs. Winner of Game 2, championship, 7:30 p.m.

Vernon Hills Sectional

Tuesday

Game 1: North Chicago (19-7) vs. St. Viator (22-6), 6 p.m.

Game 2: Johnsburg (24-2) vs. Gordon Tech (10-17), 8 p.m.

Friday

Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, championship, 7:30 p.m.