:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/QMZDDBT5PQF2ZK5E3MQMCEGVA4.jpg)
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Blaine Bayer
Richmond-Burton, sr., G
Bayer gave Marengo all kinds of trouble Friday in the Rockets’ 57-40 victory, which was the Indians’ first loss in the Kishwaukee River Conference.
Bayer scored 32 points in the game and hit 19 of 22 free throws. The 5-foot-10 guard, who passed 1,000 career points this season, also hit three 3-pointers in the game. He is averaging 15.7 points a game.
Bayer’s 19 free throws topped an earlier effort this season in which he hit 17 in a game. The victory kept R-B close in the KRC race at 4-2. Marengo and Burlington Central, both 4-1, lead the league and Johnsburg is tied with R-B.
NORTHWEST HERALD POWER RANKINGS
1. Jacobs (18-1): The Golden Eagles beat Dundee-Crown and New Trier to close in on a third consecutive 20-win season. They likely will join the Jacobs teams from 2007 to 2009 in achieving that feat.
2. Prairie Ridge (15-5): The Wolves won both their games, beating Huntley and Cary-Grove, but lost leading scorer and rebounder Kyle Loeding to a knee injury.
3. McHenry (12-9): The Warriors had a strong week with wins over Hampshire and Crystal Lake South to edge back up one spot this week. They shot 81 percent in the second and third quarters to beat South, 72-39.
4. Marengo (16-5): The Indians stumbled on Friday against Richmond-Burton, then bounced back with a win over Harvard. They slip one spot this week after the loss but remain tied atop the KRC with Burlington Central.
5. Cary-Grove (10-8): The Trojans have won five of their past seven games, with the only losses coming to Fox Valley Conference-leading Prairie Ridge and second-place Jacobs.
NOTEWORTHY
Big losses: Crystal Lake Central and Prairie Ridge both learned they will play the rest of the season without key contributors Adam Pump (Central) and Kyle Loeding (Prairie Ridge). Both players recently suffered torn ACLs that, as seniors, end their high school careers.
Central coach Rich Czeslawski appreciates the attitude Pump has shown on the bench since he was injured.
“He’s doing an incredible job coaching guys up,” Czeslawski said. “(Sophomore) C.J. (Lerum) is coming off (the floor), sitting next to Adam, and Adam’s drawing something on the board for him. It’s really cool to see.”
Pump was the Tigers’ best 3-point shooting threat, a role Lerum likely will assume with senior Adam Wittenberg. Lerum hit three 3s in Friday’s 46-45 win against Huntley.
“I love these younger kids on our team, and I just want to help them as much as I can,” Pump said. “The game feels faster to them – anything I can do to help them out.”
Loeding was the Wolves’ leader in points, rebounds, steals and blocks. Prairie Ridge (9-0 FVC) leads Jacobs by one game in the conference standings. Wolves coach Corky Card knows they will miss Loeding’s contributions and leadership.
“We’ll do what we do, play well each game and want to have a chance to win at the end,” Card said. “We’ll have the same goals in mind.”
Hot streak: Marian Central's 50-47 victory Thursday at Carmel gave the Hurricanes their fourth consecutive victory, tying them with Jacobs for the longest current streak in the area.
“It’s great, a big morale boost I’d say,” senior guard Jack Schneider said. “It’s going to translate as we get further down. Our (East Suburban Catholic) conference is tough, so to get four in a row is really good.”
Two of the wins came outside the ESCC – against East Aurora and Johnsburg – but the Hurricanes have moved to 10-8 overall. Marian coach Jim Sarther thinks an emphasis on getting 6-foot-8 senior Sam Ohlrich the ball inside more has been beneficial.
“We’re still building. We’re progressing to where we need to be come February,” Sarther said. “(Sophomore) Jonny Preston has stepped in as another ballhandler and opened things up for (point guard) Jack (Moscinski), as well. When he got off to such a good start, teams started keying on him, picking him up full court and showing double teams, and we need to free him up from some of that pressure.”
Tough Trojans: Cary-Grove held off Crystal Lake South, 50-40, last week for its fifth win in six games. The Trojans lost to Prairie Ridge on Friday.
“We’re going in a great direction,” forward Chris Walther said. “We can play better, we can tweak some little things, but we’re in a good direction and want to play our best basketball at end of the season.”
WHAT TO WATCH
Marengo at Johnsburg
7 p.m. Thursday
Marengo is tied with Burlington Central atop the Kishwaukee River Conference standings at 4-1. Johnsburg is one-half game back heading into the week.
Prairie Ridge at McHenry
7 p.m. Friday
The last time these two played, Prairie Ridge won by a final that looked like a halftime score, 26-19. A lot more points are likely this time as Prairie Ridge (9-0 FVC) tries to hang on to its FVC lead over Jacobs (7-1). McHenry (7-2) is right there in third place.