Boys basketball: Somonauk rolls past Indian Creek in Little Ten matchup

SOMONAUK - The Somonauk boys basketball team hit the floor against Indian Creek during Friday night’s Little Ten Conference game hitting on all cylinders.

The Bobcats raced to a 20-7, first-quarter advantage by forcing the Timberwolves into five turnovers and a 2-of-11 shooting frame, while themselves attacking the rim for six layups and getting to the line 13 times, making nine.

The hosts then opened the second quarter on a 6-0 spurt and eventually cruised to a running-clock, 65-23 win to improve to 14-5 overall and a perfect 6-0 in league play to stay a win ahead of Newark, the other unbeaten club in the conference. It was the Bobcats fifth consecutive win.

Indian Creek fell to 4-15, 2-4.

“We are playing well right now, and really over the last six games,” said Somonauk coach Curt Alsvig, his squad ending the contest forcing 22 IC miscues and holding the visitors to 19% shooting. “We have not been known for playing great half-court defense the past couple of seasons, but starting last spring in the short season and coming into this year, defense is something we’ve really worked hard to improve on.

“We want to give up fewer shots and second-chance opportunities, and I feel we’ve done that better this year.”

Alex Krejci led the balanced Somonauk attack with a game-best 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Brendan Roberts posted 12 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and a pair of steals, Brock Zimmerman added 11 points, five rebounds, and two. steals and Coleton Eade chipped in eight points, five rebounds, and three steals.

“Offensively tonight we really did a great job,” Alsvig said, “especially early of taking the ball hard to the basket and converting or getting to the line. We also had good balance tonight with three guys in double figures and a handful more just a basket or two away from that.

“We lost a couple of games there at the end of December, but the guys stuck with each other, and right now I feel we are playing well-rounded games each time we take the floor.”

Indian Creek was paced by nine points from Grant Schlorff, with Brayden Todd scoring four and Blake Simonson grabbing eight rebounds.

“It’s frustrating to lose by as many points as we did tonight. But this group, all 11 of them, because we are a little short-handed right now, played their hearts out until the end,” Indian Creek coach Nolan Govig said. “I can’t ask much more as a coach as effort goes.”

With an early 4-3 lead, Somonauk used an old-fashioned three-point play from Payton Wyant, three points from the line by Roberts and a layup off a turnover by Zimmerman in an 8-0 burst that set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Two free throws by Schlorff stopped the run, but the Bobcats used four points from Eade and two each from Zimmerman and Krejci to close out the first quarter in control.

The hosts then netted the opening six points of the second frame, including back-to-back layups by Krejci off steals to balloon the lead to 26-7 before heading to halftime with a 38-12 advantage.

“Somonauk played Somonauk basketball tonight, and we couldn’t get them to play Indian Creek basketball,” Govig said. “Give credit to them, they really get after you on the defensive end of the floor, and they are able to hurt you in transition.

“They were able to get things going early, and once they are able to do that, it’s awful hard to slow them down.”

Somonauk is scheduled next in action on Wednesday when the Bobcats travel a few miles south to take on rival Serena at 7 p.m.,

Indian Creek hits the road east on Tuesday to battle with rival Hinckley-Big Rock at 6:45 p.m.