Prairie Ridge’s defense usually stands out.

Johnny Kemp of the Wolves always stands out.

How, after all, can anyone miss Kemp, a thickly built 6-foot senior with ginger hair and a color-matching mustache?

“A lot of people like the ‘stache,’ ”Kemp said. “The hair I definitely get made fun of ... just because I’m a ginger.”

Kemp stood out for a different reason Wednesday night. He drained a tie-breaking 3-pointer three minutes into the fourth quarter, as Prairie Ridge went on to beat visiting Huntley 38-34 in a Fox Valley Conference basketball game in Crystal Lake.

Kemp, who comes off the bench, rarely shoots the ball. Against Huntley (7-14, 4-5 FVC), he finished 2 of 3 from the floor and scored five points. He finished a layup with 30 seconds left in the third to put the Wolves up 27-24.

“Johnny does a little bit of everything,” coach Brian Frericks said after his Wolves improved to 5-14 and 5-4 in the FVC with their second conference win in a row. “He’s a grinder, a hustle guy that comes in and makes big plays. He’ll guard guards, guard forwards, do whatever the team needs. I know I can go to Johnny whenever I need somebody to do, really, anything.”

The only thing more noticeable than Kemp may have been Prairie Ridge’s defense after Maddon McKim (seven points, eight rebounds) sank two free throws with 2:54 left in the fourth to give the Wolves a 36-32 lead.

A drive by Isaac Muze got Huntley to within 36-34 with 2:08 to go, but Eli Loeding tied up Isaiah Onu (team-high 11 points, five rebounds) under the Prairie Ridge basket to force a turnover with 1:24 left.

“Our team is proudly known for our defense,” Loeding said. “We’ve got some great defenders on our team.”

Huntley still trailed by two points when it inbounded the ball under the Wolves’ basket with 7.1 seconds on the clock. But Prairie Ridge’s Rory Rezendes came up with the steal.

The Wolves’ Brendan Beu hit two free throws (his only points of the game) to finish the scoring.

“We played hard down the stretch,” Frericks said. “These guys come out and battle every single game, and they know that’s how we create energy. We create energy on the defensive end, and it transfers to our offense.”

Earlier in the fourth, Kemp took a pass from Loeding outside the arc and, without hesitation, shot the ball. His only three-point try put the Wolves up 32-29 with 5:01 left.

“It was a great screen from my teammate Tiago [Gray],” Kemp said. “He pinned his guy and got me open. Good pass from Eli, and I was able to knock it down.”

Loeding led Prairie Ridge with a game-high 14 points and six rebounds. He also had three steals and blocked a shot. A 6-4 leaper who’s know more for his scoring and dunking, Loeding takes pride in his improvement at the defensive end.

“Guarding my teammates in practice gets me better, for sure,” Loeding said. “I definitely wasn’t the best defensive player when I was a kid, but I’ve gotten better as we’ve gone on.”

Luke Vanderwiel scored seven of his nine points, including a 3-pointer, in the second half for Prairie Ridge. The Wolves, whose identity is “100%” defense, Frericks said, also got two steals from their big man Gray, while Beu took a charge.

Aidan Gibbs added 10 points, including two 3-pointers, for Huntley, which dropped its fourth game in a row. Tyler Dudzinski had eight points and six rebounds for the Raiders.