Boys basketball notes: Huntley vs. Dundee-Crown’s 4OT game was great entertainment

The feeling around Dundee-Crown’s gym on Friday night, at least for the last couple of overtimes, seemed to be, “OK, this is fun. Let’s keep playing.”

Huntley and Dundee-Crown were locked into a tight, well-played Fox Valley Conference battle of two of the league’s top boys basketball teams. D-C led most of the game, yet Huntley found a way to persevere, 68-62, in quadruple overtime.

It was so long and hotly contested, even the participants lost count. D-C coach Lance Huber asked if it was three or four overtimes. Huntley guard Ben Ahmer wondered if it was four or five.

“We just outlasted them,” Huntley coach Will Benson said. “That’s a credit to our kids for fighting back.”

Huntley led at 5-3 after Ian Ravagnie’s 3-pointer, then did not have an advantage again until Ahmer hit a 10-footer to start the second overtime. When the Red Raiders got two free throws from Aiden Wieczorek, a defensive stop and a 3 from Ahmer to start the fourth overtime, it was its biggest lead of the game to that point.

“Our guys were just saying, ‘You got to believe. You got to believe. You got to believe,’ " Benson said.

D-C’s Kennon Cook finished with a game-high 24 points and had four putbacks in the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Chargers, Cook picked up his third and fourth fouls early in the third and had to sit more than a quarter.

“We could not guard him, man,” Ahmer said.

D-C’s Jason Huber scored 23 and hit big shots. Ahmer led Huntley with 20, Wieczorek had 18 and Adam Guazzo scored 17 and hauled in 18 rebounds.

Almost lost in it all was Huntley guard John Kramer, who hit two huge 3s in the second quarter after D-C had pulled ahead by 11 points.

D-C had chances with the final possessions at the end of regulation and the first three overtimes but could not convert.

“We gave a great effort,” Chargers coach Lance Huber said. “We had all the chances in the world, the ball just couldn’t go in.”

Whips on fire: Hampshire’s 46-38 loss to Lake Park on Monday ended a six-game winning streak for the Whip-Purs that started with their final two games in the Wheeling Hardwood Classic.

Hampshire coach Mike Featherly pinpointed limiting turnovers as the key to the Whips’ success.

“We have done a better job taking care of the ball,” Featherly said. “Early in the season we gave too many opportunities to the other team by turning the ball over.”

Featherly pointed to Hampshire’s two games against Buffalo Grove on Dec. 18 and Dec. 30. In the first one, the Whips (8-11, 5-3 FVC) committed 23 turnovers, hit 12 of 23 free throws and lost, 50-43. In the second meeting, they won, 73-70, the second game in the streak.

“All year these guys have been playing hard on the defensive end, but now we are starting to take care of the ball and value each possession,” Featherly said.

Streaks over: Burlington Central had its area-best 12-game winning streak halted by a tough Lyons team in the championship game at the Burlington Central Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament on Monday.

Huntley, which lost to St. Francis on Saturday at Wheaton Warrenville South’s MLK Tournament, had an eight-game streak stopped. The Raiders won their first game of the day, then lost to St. Francis. With the four-overtime game the night before, Huntley essentially played 3 1/2 games in 24 hours.

Super soph: Woodstock 6-foot-5 sophomore Spencer Cullum is among the top 10 in the area in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (7.3). Cullum has helped the Blue Streaks become more competitive this season.

“He’s scored 20-plus in four of our last five games,” Streaks coach Al Baker said after Thursday’s loss to Johnsburg. “He’s consistently approaching double-doubles. He is as talented of a sophomore as I’ve had. He’s going to have a bright future.”

Cullum is the younger brother of Streaks assistant coach Zach Cullum.

Tough to guard: Woodstock North guard Rex White had one of his better games Saturday in the Thunder’s 65-46 loss to Wheaton North at Burlington Central’s MLK Tournament.

White scored 20 points and was difficult for the Falcons to stop. White can hit 3s but doesn’t rely as heavily on those as many players. Some of his best moves are when he leans slightly into a defender, then fades away. His hands are well above his head, making it harder to block.

“He reminds me of the Matrix. He slows everything down; he’s not in a hurry,” Thunder coach Dale Jandron said. “He does a nice job at point guard, and he can score. He needs to get points for us because we don’t get enough from everybody else. He’s just a special kid to watch. He does a lot of things, rebounds, passes. He’s become a great leader.”

White, who averages 12.5 points a game, prides himself on his defense.

“I play a lot harder on defense than I do on offense,” he said. “I would say I’m an all-around player. I got a pretty even game that I take pride in.”

White said he had a good two-hour workout Friday before playing Wheaton North, then got shots up early Saturday morning as well. As for his midrange game and the fadeaway moves, he thanks genetics.

“I have legs that let me jump. I thank Mom and Dad for that one,” White said.

Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann was impressed.

“He’s good. He hit a lot of contested midrange shots,” Brackmann said. “Some of that you just have to tip your cap to him. Our guys did a pretty good job forcing some tough shots, and he still made them.”

Quality loss: Marian Central lost to Niles Notre Dame, 59-53, on Friday night, but the Hurricanes were proud of the way they battled a much bigger school in an East Suburban Catholic Conference road game.

Guard Michael Morris hit five 3s, and Marian played with the Dons until the end.

“We fell short by six, but we played with a lot of energy,” guard Jake Giangreco said. “We came out and competed and wanted to show people we can hang with those teams in the East Suburban. We played well. We were patient on offense and we got what we wanted.”