Rodriguez takes over for D-C

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CARPENTERSVILLE – Brandon Rodriguez’s scoring kept Dundee-Crown in the game in the third quarter and won it for them in the fourth.

Rodriguez scored 10 of the Chargers’ 12 third-quarter points, then drove through the Warriors’ defense for what turned out to be the game-winning layup with 28.3 remaining in Dundee-Crown’s 48-43, Fox Valley Conference Valley Division win against McHenry on Friday.

“I saw that my man helped off a little,” Rodriguez, a senior, said. “So I read the play and just took it to the rim. ”

The Chargers (10-6 overall, 3-0 FVC Valley) also got the maximum benefit out of their home-court advantage in their first Friday-night game of the season.

After Rodriguez’s score gave D-C a 44-43 lead, Warriors seniorRobert Tonyan went to the free-throw line with 12.4 seconds remaining with a chance to put McHenry back on top.

But with the D-C fans screeching less than 10 yards away, he couldn’t get either foul shot to drop. The Chargers added four more points on free-throws from Rodriguez and Bruce Dantzler (8 points) for the final tally.

The victory helped D-C keep pace with Huntley at 3-0 atop the FVC Valley. The Chargers are scheduled to host Huntley on Jan. 28.

Although McHenry (5-9, 0-3) still is searching for its first division win, coach Tim Paddock said he was encouraged by his team’s showing.

“Obviously [D-C is] a good team, [it’s] a tough place to play,” Paddock said. “I’ve got no problem with [our] effort.

“You put yourself in a situation to win with some free-throws at the end, they didn’t go down today, but they executed what we wanted them to do.”

D-C took control early, using a balanced scoring attack to mount a 10-0 run that spanned the first and second quarters and led by as much as 25-13 with 2:06 to play in the second. All of D-C’s starters had at least two points in the first half, and none had more than six.

McHenry could have rolled over at that point, but instead the Warriors clawed back into the game with a 13-2 run that pulled them within 27-26 with 4:37 left in the third. McHenry hit three threes during the run, which also helped open things up for their inside game, which the Chargers kept under wraps for most of the first quarter.

McHenry finished 7 for 21 from three-point range, with seniors Danny Glick and Jasper Taylor each hitting a pair.

After Tonyan – who led McHenry with 10 points – hit a jumper in the lane a couple of minutes later, the Warriors led for the first time since early in the game, 28-27 with 2:38 left in the third.

Then Rodriguez stepped up, first finding Dantzler (8 points) for an easy layup. Later he stole a pass, scored on a layup and was fouled for a three-point play.

Then, with the Chargers holding for the last possession, he hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give D-C a 37-32 lead heading into the final quarter.

“It was a close game throughout the whole game,” Rodriguez said, “and I just wanted to take control, keep the intensity up and just take over.”