Sycamore coach Ethan Franklin has called the Spartans’ defensive performance this year a work in progress.

After the team’s 65-56 loss to Kaneland on Friday, Franklin said he liked the direction the defense is heading despite the loss.

“If we match how we play tonight overall, then we’ll be in a good place,” said Franklin, whose Spartans led for most of the first and held the high-octane Knights to 23 points through the first two quarters.

A big part of the success for Sycamore (13-2 overall, 2-1 Interstate 8) came from limiting 6-foot-9 power forward Freddy Hassan. Guarding him fell to guard Isaiah Feuerbach.

Hassan finished with 10 points and missed his first six field goals. His first non-free throw was a putback as part of a 15-0 run for the Knights (16-0, 3-0) that erased a 33-23 lead for the Spartans in the third quarter.

“He did a good job, he knows where he’s at,” Franklin said. “I thought they were pretty ticky-tack on the fouls with us, let them kind of push us around a little bit more. Isaiah was kind of playing in foul trouble a little early but he bounced back and was able to stay with it. But he does a good job on the wing or down low.”

Feuerbach scored 13 for the Spartans and grabbed eight rebounds. Marcus Johnson led the Spartans with 16 points before fouling out with 4:39 in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 48.

By the time Sycamore scored another field goal, a 3-pointer by Feuerbach, it cut the Kaneland lead to 63-54 with 13.2 seconds left.

Marshawn Cocroft led Kaneland with 18 points. The teams meet again in Maple Park on Feb. 7.

Continuity paying off for Sycamore girls

It had been almost three years since the Spartans last won at Ottawa, and down nine on Friday it sure looked like that streak was going to go on for at least another year.

But this isn’t the young team that struggled to an 8-23 record a year ago. The Spartans battled back and Grace Amptmann gave them lead in the fourth on a 3-pointer, and that kicked off a 13-0 run in a 57-45 win.

Coming into this season we returned almost everyone from last year’s roster so we felt we should have a lot of continuity right from the start,“ said coach Adam Wickness after his team improved to 11-8 and 3-1 in the Interstate 8. ”I think at this point of the season the girls are really starting to understand how to play with each other and are believing more in themselves. The girls have a great trust factor with each other and in the last week or so I’ve seen it pick up even more."

The Spartans scored 36 points in their last two trips to Ottawa, both losses to the Pirates. They won 37-35 in 2023. The performance Friday was the most points they scored there since a 64-33 win there in 2022.

Sadie Lang had 17 points and 14 rebounds, Amptmann had 14 points and Quinn Carrier finished with 12 points.

“Here in Kingman Gym, anything Ottawa does well the crowd goes wild and it gets loud,” Wickness said. “It is truly a tough place to play. We withstood a little bit of a punch in the first half and came back in the second half and punched back. We hadn’t won here in a couple years, so it was nice to break that streak.

Spartan wrestling nabs three champs, wins home tournament

Sycamore wrestling surged into the new year with a win at the 50th Sycamore Wrestling Invitational, winning its home meet behind individual champions Liam Schroeder (113), Michael Olsen (120) and Collin Hughes (285).

“Everyone contributed,” Culton said. “And it’s kind of special when I get these seniors who I’ve coached all the way through (like Michael Olson).”

Other top performances

It was in a loss, but Blake Ides put up 30 points for Genoa-Kingston against Rockford Lutheran on Friday. ... Marshall Ledbetter’s 26 helped Hinckley-Big Rock top Somonauk on Friday. ... Ava Nuckles hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 for Hiawatha in a win over Westlake Christian on Friday. ... Mia Cotton had 20 points and five steals in Hinckley-Big Rock’s loss to Plano on Friday. ... Marilu Mercado-Marquez won the 150-pound championship at Polo for Genoa-Kingston, recording a couple pins along the way on Saturday. ... Indian Creek trailed throughout on Saturday to Johnsburg, but surged in the fourth behind 18 from Jason Brewer for a 56-51 win, their seventh straight.

- Brian Hoxsey contributed to this report. For more on these games, go to daily-chronicle.com.