Boys basketball: Parker Violett scores 22 points as Kaneland wins 3rd straight after pause

MAPLE PARK – Parker Violett scored a game-high 22 points, and the Kaneland boys basketball team won its third-straight game after three weeks of limited action, beating Stillman Valley, 57-43, in a nonconference matchup.

It was the second straight big game for Violett, who had seven points and 14 rebounds in a win over Sycamore on Friday.

“He’s talented, and he really doesn’t know how good he can be,” Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe said of his 6-3 sophomore forward. “He’s a multisport athlete, a really good baseball player and a lot of natural athletic ability. The more he works the sky’s the limit. We really like him.”

The Knights (8-3) went on a 20-7 run between the second and third quarters, turning a one-point game with 1:27 left in the second quarter to a 43-29 lead over the Cardinals (9-8) with 3:15 left in the in the third. The run ended with six straight points by Violett in the paint.

Stillman Valley played down the stretch without 6-3 forward Logan McKee, who was on the bench with three fouls. Violett went from two points and a rebound after one quarter to 18 points and five rebounds by the end of the third.

“It felt pretty good having a smaller guy on me,” said Violett, who finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. “Whenever I’m open I just shoot it.”

The Knights opened up a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, holding the Cardinals scoreless for the first 5:19 of the final quarter.

“Our defense was pretty good, and we got in the post pretty good,” Violett said. “Our help defense is pretty good, and we’ve been working on getting it into the post.”

Colombe said Stillman Valley guards Evan Davidson and David Wilhite did a good job on helping against Violett in the paint, although 6-1 senior forward Chris Seper was the primary defender on Violett when McKee was on the bench.

“Their guards are pretty good. Wilhite and Davidson are good players, and they made it tough,” Colombe said. “We thought he had a decent matchup in there [against McKee], but their guards did a good job helping out. Their big guy did a good job putting a body on him early, but you’ve got to keep working and fighting.”

Johnny Spallasso scored the first four Kaneland points and finished with 10. Jacob Harrison added nine and three steals. Troyer Carlson added even points and three steals as the Knights forced 21 turnovers, leading to 15 points.

Davidson scored 12 and added seven rebounds to lead the Cardinals. Wilhite had nine points, and McKee finished with four points and five rebounds.

The Knights finish the week with two more home games, returning to Interstate 8 play at 7 p.m. Friday against Sandwich then facing former Northern Illinois Big 12 foe Yorkville at 6 p.m. Saturday.

“Parker had a big game for us,” Colombe said. “And defensively, holding them to 43, solid. There’s a lot of things we can still work on though. So we’re hopefully back to practice tomorrow then we got Sandwich and Yorkville coming up this weekend.”