McHenry holds off Crystal Lake South in FVC showdown

McHENRY – The running heave from three-quarters court to beat the halftime buzzer banked just wide. The long 3-point try at the end of third quarter also almost fell.

AJ Demirov’s last attempt at sinking a difficult shot from beyond the arc – this one with sole possession of first place at stake in the final seconds – hit iron but, alas for Crystal Lake South, also missed.

Sometimes the third time isn’t the charm.

“I thought it was falling,” Demirov said after McHenry held off South 51-49 in a Fox Valley Conference thriller Wednesday night. “It was right on the front of the rim.”

South coach Matt LePage also thought his team was going to win thanks to late-game heroics from its star point guard. Demirov took a pass on the left wing and in one motion fired a shot while defenders closed rapidly.

“It was right in front of me,” LePage said. “It was right on. It was just obviously a tough shot.”

McHenry could breathe a sigh of relief after improving to 6-0 and 3-0 in the FVC, while dropping South to 5-2 and 2-1. It was the Gators' first conference loss since the 2022-23 season after they went 18-0 last season.

Adam Anwar scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the second half for the Warriors, who trailed 22-19 at halftime but took a 34-33 lead into the fourth. Anwar scored inside, and Caleb Jett converted a three-point play to start the fourth, stretching the hosts’ lead to 39-33, the largest advantage for either team all game. Jett later found Dylan Hurckes for a 3-pointer, making it a seven-point game (46-39) with 2:43 left.

South shot 4 of 30 from 3-point range against McHenry’s 1-2-2 zone. Jett scored all nine of his points in the fourth and finished with five steals, including one in the final eight seconds with McHenry protecting a 50-49 lead.

“We knew what guys we had to have gravity toward,” Jett said. “We were together [defensively] in that fourth quarter. We just talked it out, and we knew where guys were on the floor who can shoot it. We played pretty good defense.”

Hurckes (10 points, three steals) had a big block with 21 seconds left after Carson Trivellini’s four points and Tony Santarelli’s two free throws helped the Gators pull within 48-47 with 56 seconds to go.

Conner McLean scored seven of his eight points in the first quarter for the Warriors, who snapped South’s four-game winning streak.

“Credit to McHenry,” LePage said. “They made a couple more plays than us and definitely came out with that edge. We didn’t play with that urgency until the last couple of minutes. It was good to see us fight back on a tough shooting night.”

Cooper Buelna scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for South. Santarelli and Trivellini (four steals) each had 11 points.

“They’re very difficult to defend,” McHenry coach Corky Card said. “Every kid on the floor can shoot the 3. And the other ones who aren’t shooting are running to the rim for rebounds. They definitely play with fire.”

Demirov, who’s already had three 20-point games this season, finished with nine.

“You just want to make him fight for everything,” Card said. “He’s such a good player. He’s got such good vision. I don’t know what you can do. You just do what you can. I can’t tell you how many times he just hit shots, like the one he took at the end.”

South could take solace knowing it could shoot 13% from 3-point range on 30 tries and yet still have a chance to win at the end.

“I think we’ll learn from this loss,” Demirov said. “Sometimes losses in the beginning of the season are good. Sometimes teams might think they’re invincible when they don’t have any losses in the middle of the season. We’ll be fine.”