Boys basketball: Somonauk’s trap too much for Hinckley-Big Rock in battle of L10 unbeatens

SOMONAUK – The half-court trap defense of the Somonauk Bobcats boys’ basketball team created too many problems for the Hinckley-Big Rock Royals, leading the Bobcats to a 50-32 victory at home Friday night to remain undefeated in the Little 10 Conference.

The Royals turned the ball over early and often, limiting their possessions and creating desperation plays in the second half to keep up with the Bobcats, a staple of Somonauk under head coach Curt Alsvig.

While the full court press created issues for Hinckley-Big Rock and head coach Seth Sanderson, Sanderson said issues in the frontcourt were what ultimately undid the Royals.

“Our guards just have to do a better job handling the ball in the frontcourt,” Sanderson said. “There were a lot of unforced errors that we have to fix. It wasn’t part of the trap, we just turned the ball over.”

Freshman forward Martin Ledbetter was the Royals leading scorer with 12 points. Nobody else managed to score more than five points.

On offense for Somonauk, senior guard Alexander Krejci slashed his way to a game-high 23 points. Krejci said the easiest shot the Bobcats could get against the zone defense of Hinckley-Big Rock was at the basket.

“We got a lot of layups and I have to credit my teammates for running our offense really well,” Krejci said. “Coach told us ‘Layups are working, get layups.’ We did that and it worked.”

Krejci now sits 13 points away from 1,000 points in his high school career, an impressive feat for a team Alsvig said is rich with scorers.

“Alex is a special kid,” Alsvig said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors who have put in a lot of hard work, but Alex is a kid that influences the younger kids. He’s put in the time. … That’s pretty special for a team that has a lot of good scorers.”

The Bobcats kept the Royals to five shots in the first quarter to take an 11-4 lead. An early timeout in the second gave Hinckley-Big Rock the time to adjust to the Bobcats pressure, helping keep pace with the full-court press.

A basket at the halftime horn by senior forward Brendan Roberts gave Somonauk a 23-17 advantage. Roberts finished the game with nine points.

The Royals attempted to counter the press with risky passes that worked to mixed results. A pass from Royals senior guard Richard Hintzsche to senior forward Judson Scott for an alley-oop helped bring the lead down to four. Another attempted alley-oop between the two resulted in a turnover and lost possession.

“I thought we did a great job, rotated well,” Alsvig said. “We tired guys out and it helped them force shots in transition that other teams wouldn’t normally take, so I thought we did a great job in the press.”

The Bobcats sealed the deal in the fourth behind six points by Krejci and baskets by Roberts and senior forward-guard Brock Zimmerman.

Somonauk travels to Leland Monday. The Royals head on the road again Tuesday to face Hiawatha.