Ethan Franklin said this year’s Sycamore boys basketball team is one of the best offensive clubs he’s ever been around.

The defense, not so much.

“Right now we have probably the most efficient and high-powered offense that I’ve ever had,” Franklin said. “Defensively, it’s maybe on the other side of it. So we’re trying to make sure that we get better on that side so we’re not in an outscore thing and we’re playing sound basketball all the way around.”

Franklin said if the team wants to be competitive for a conference title and make a deep postseason run, the defense is going to have to elevate to the level of the offense.

In the past few games, there have been some positive signs.

“We definitely think that we need to be better,” guard Marcus Johnson said. “We have so much more potential than we’re showing, and our attitude is a lot more intense.”

Since beating Rochelle 84-78 on Dec. 5 and losing to Naperville Central 79-71 on Dec. 10, the Spartans (8-1) have won four straight and haven’t allowed more than 58 points in a game.

Sycamore is surrendering 55.6 points per game. Last year, the Spartans allowed 47.2 points per game heading into their holiday tournament.

But the defense has still come up clutch. Against Rochelle in the Interstate 8 opener, it held the high-powered Hub offense without a field goal for the final 3:39 of the game to come back from six down.

Johnson, Xander Lewis and Isaiah Feuerbach combined for six steals in that stretch. The Hubs committed one turnover in the third quarter - with 26.9 seconds left - and the Spartans forced 11 in the fourth to secure the comeback.

“Defensively, it’s been a struggle,” Lewis said. “Recently we’ve honed it in and worked together as a team. We just have to keep battling on the floor.”

The Spartans picked up back-to-back home wins last week against La Salle-Peru and Mendota that were far less cardiac-inducing. Lewis had key plays in both of them, drawing three charges in a 70-56 win over the Cavs.

In the win over the Trojans, he drew a pair of charges on back-to-back possessions, including one against 6-foot-6 sophomore standout Cole Tillman. Tillman entered averaging 26 points per game and Sycamore held him to 11.

And as the Trojans were trying to make things close in the second half - they trailed 50-35 in the third of the eventual 71-58 Sycamore win - Josiah Mitchell had four steals in the fourth quarter.

“Jo does a great job using his athletic gifts,” Franklin said. “He has a knack for the ball, being able to pinpoint it at the spot. We’re still working with him on being in the consistent right position.”

Two days after the Mendota win, the team beat Dixon 71-59. Johnson had eight steals, four in the final minute of the first half. He made two layups and missed two, but Feuerbach was there for a putback on both misses. Lewis pitched in with a steal and a 3.

That helped the Spartans turn a 27-20 deficit with 2:04 left into a 35-27 halftime lead. They won 71-59.

“We’ve really focused on it in practice, knowing that we’ve given up a lot of points,” Johnson said after the Dixon game. “The big thing is just talking, communicating, playing defense as a team rather than by ourselves. Just being a team, and communicating.”

The Spartans play four games in the Elgin Holiday Tournament, which wraps on Dec. 27. After games against sectional foes Woodstock and Woodstock North, they return to Interstate 8 play against Kaneland on Jan. 9.

The Knights haven’t lost this year and there’s a good chance they can head into that contest undefeated. It’ll be the first of at least two games this season between the rivals.

Kaneland will be one of many teams the Spartans will be at a distinct height disadvantage against, which makes fundamentals like team defense and boxing out key, Lewis said.

“We just have to work together and not individually defend,” Lewis said. “We have to defend as a team. Boxing out is a huge factor too since we’re an undersized team and ... we play a lot of big people. We have to keep teams to one shot.”

Franklin said locking in on the defensive side is the main goal for the Spartans. The offensive firepower is there, especially with players like Feuerbach and Marcus Johnson, although every starter is capable of reaching double figures on any given night.

If the Spartans want to build off their 24-9 record and regional championship from a year ago, Franklin said the defense will be key.

“It’s a work in progress for us every day,” Franklin said. “That’s our main focus, having improvements game in and game out. ... I feel like if we can defend at a high level, we’re going to be really tough to beat.”

- Ty Reynolds contributed to this report