D-C’s Gordon big in 2nd half

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

CARPENTERSVILLE – All Brandon Gordon can do is prepare for when his number is called.

Dundee-Crown’s 6-foot-7 center has the size and the skills. Now, he’s working on gaining the confidence it takes to step in with the game on the line.

Gordon went to work on his game over the summer after seeing limited playing time a year ago. And the senior proved to be ready when his time came Saturday night.

Gordon came off the bench to put up eight points and six rebounds in the second half as the Chargers fought off rival Jacobs, 49-38, in the teams’ Fox Valley Conference Valley Division opener.

“When my team needs me, I just go out there and do the best I can,” Gordon said. “They did a good job getting me the ball, and I did the best I could. It only gets better from here.”

The Chargers (8-6 overall, 1-0 FVC Valley) also received a big boost from Cordero Parson and Bruce Dantzler defensively as they held the Golden Eagles under the 40-point mark.

After an almost two-week long break that followed the Elgin Holiday Classic last month, the stingy Chargers allowed only 46 and 38 points in back-to-back wins this week.

“Cordero and Bruce came in and did a good job defensively,” D-C coach Lance Huber said. “It kind of set the tone and took some things away from Jacobs.”

The Eagles (2-10, 0-1) grabbed control for the only time in the contest when Alex Glover (4 points, 6 rebounds) opened the game with consecutive baskets to put the visitors up 4-0.

From there, D-C’s high-scoring guard Dylan Kissack (11 points) knocked down three three-point field goals in the first 12 minutes to put the Chargers ahead, 21-10, with 4:32 left in the first half.

D-C, which carried a 10-point advantage into the second half, survived an ugly start to the third quarter. The District 300 rivals combined to score less than 10 points in the quarter until a three-pointer by Will Schwerdtmann (15 points) cut the Eagles’ deficit to 32-25 with 1:37 left in the third.

“Jacobs did a great job taking away some of our guys,” Huber said. “I was really impressed with the way Jacobs played. They guarded the heck out of us.”

Schwerdtmann’s baseline jumper kept the Eagles within seven points in the fourth before Gordon began to exploit Jacobs’ significantly smaller interior defense.

Gordon poured in a couple of baby hook shots to build the lead back to double digits. His basket off a strong post move in the paint broke the game open at 46-33 with less than four minutes remaining.

“Brandon came in and gave us a big lift,” Huber said.

Brandon Rodriguez finished with 10 points and Kyle Bernhard added seven for the Chargers.

Bobby Mladenovic contributed eight points for the Eagles, who did not attempt a single free throw in the contest.

“They were the far more aggressive team, both offensively and defensively,” Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle said. “We didn’t get to the line. They out-rebounded us and got the loose balls – that put them in control of the game.”