When Kaneland surged past Rockford East in the third quarter Tuesday and into the Class 3A Woodstock North Sectional finals, it was the Knights’ 3-point shooting and defense that turned a close game into a 64-44 win.

And at the center of both the 3 and the D was Jalen Carter, who made four 3-pointers and helped the Knights hold the E-Rabs to their second-lowest point total since Jan. 19.

“I feel like we’re a pretty good defensive team, and we take pride in our defense,” Carter said. “We were just able to lock in today.”

Carter’s second 3-pointer of the game came with 2:31 left in the second quarter, giving the Knights (33-0) a 21-20 lead. It was the third and final lead change of the game and kicked off a 7-0 run for Kaneland, which took a 25-22 lead into the halftime break.

Evan Frieders and Connor Kimme opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers in the first 1:16 to push the lead to nine, and the Knights never led by less than eight again.

Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe said Carter’s defense takes a lot of pressure off Marshawn Cocroft, who’s capable of guarding the other team’s top scorer, but Carter handles it so Cocroft can stay a little more rested.

“Carter’s a lockdown defender and can guard multiple positions,” Colombe said. “We can put him on a point guard or put him on a big. He’s really good at standing in front of people without fouling.”

The E-Rabs (16-18) scored 11 points in each of the first two quarters but only managed seven in the third. After neither team made a trip to the free-throw line in the first half, Jeffrey Hassan made four trips, draining five of his seven free throws.

Hassan finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. He said when the 3s start dropping for the Knights, things start opening up in the paint more for him.

“I love seeing my teammates hit 3s, be successful,” Hassan said. “I’m always going to shout for them. It also helped us get that big lead.”

After shooting 3 for 8 from long range in the first half, the Knights were 6 for 11 in the second half. Kimme was 4 for 7 for the game, and Carter shot 4 for 9.

East’s Brian Harper Jr. led all scorers with 23 points and matched Julius Crawford with a team-best seven rebounds. Harper was the only player in double figures as the E-Rabs matched their lowest point total of the year.

Cocroft and Kimme finished with 14 points each, with Cocroft adding seven rebounds and two steals. Carter finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. East was outrebounded 36-27.

“It definitely gives us energy hitting big shots,” Carter said. “It gets us going. When Connor and I are both on it’s a great feeling, because it gets our team going on both sides of the ball.”

The Knights reached a sectional final for a third straight season. They’ll face the winner of Wednesday’s Sycamore-Crystal Lake South game. The Knights beat the Gators (26-7) in a sectional final last year and lost to them in 2024.

Two of the three games the Knights have played this year that have been decided by fewer than 11 points have been against Sycamore (27-5), including an overtime win in Maple Park last month.

“We probably have some little things to clean up,” Hassan said, “but we’re feeling pretty good.”