Boys basketball notes: Burlington Central shoots for a third consecutive FVC championship

Burlington Central was disappointed with losing to Lyons 60-57 Monday, a loss that ended a nine-game winning streak, but the Rockets quickly focused on the bigger picture.

Central is making life difficult on opponents, 6-foot-9 forward Drew Scharnowski is often more than opponents can handle on either end, and the supporting cast continues to get better.

The Rockets (16-4, 7-1 Fox Valley Conference) are a team poised for a run at a third consecutive conference title, tied for first with Crystal Lake South and Huntley starting this week.

Central beat Huntley 61-51 last week, then took second in its own Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament on Monday, with wins over Woodstock North and Neuqua Valley before falling to Lyons.

“I was very pleased,” Rockets coach Brett Porto said. “Coming off of Huntley, I thought we might have a little bit of a letdown, and we gutted that one out [against Woodstock North]. And to come out and battle two teams like that [Neuqua Valley and Lyons] is a pretty good showing.”

Scharnowski, who will play next year at NCAA Division I Belmont, has dominated, averaging 23.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.6 assists a game. He was part of the Class 3A sectional finalist team that set the school record for wins at 31-4 last season.

The Rockets graduated four starters – Northwest Herald Player of the Year Gavin Sarvis, Nick Carpenter, Zac Schmidt and Carson Seyller – from that team. Scharnowski is the lone returning starter, with Matthew Lemon, Jake Johnson and Nolan Milas having played off the bench last season.

Those three, along with forward Nick Gouriotis and guard Caden West, have fit in well with their expanded roles.

“I have to give the credit to everyone who worked so hard in the summer,” Lemon said. “Last year we didn’t have the biggest roles, but all the work we put in in the weight room and getting prepared for this. It’s a matter of trusting each other and getting it done on the court.”

Gouriotis averages 11 points a game, Johnson is at 10 with a team-best 40 3-pointers, and Lemon averages 6.4 points, 5.1 assists and 2.8 steals.

“It’s nice to see us develop,” Porto said after last week’s win over Huntley. “We always want to play our best basketball at the end of the year, and games like that Huntley squad, with a tough tournament coming up at our own place here, it just shows that we can hang with anyone and be physical and play our game. Hopefully it gives us a ton of confidence moving forward with a tough schedule.”

Central has won 34 of its past 35 FVC games.

“In the Fox Valley, anyone can win on any night, so we have to stay focused,” Scharnowski said. “We can’t take any team for granted or think we’re going to get an automatic win. I know this group’s not going to do that.”

Summer pals: After Monday’s game, Scharnowski was talking with Lyons’ 6-6 forwards Nik Polonowski and Graham Smith. The three played AAU competitions in the offseason together on Breakaway Basketball.

Polonowski, the Lions’ best outside shooter, will play basketball at Penn. Smith, who weighs 210 pounds, will play football at Yale. Smith guarded Scharnowski well in the first half but got into foul trouble.

Welcome back: Huntley guard Bryce Walker returned against Burlington Central last week, his first action of the season after he recovered from a broken leg suffered in football.

Red Raiders coach Will Benson is thrilled to have Walker back.

“He makes us a lot better. In the summer, there were games when he was our best player,” Benson said. “He was always top three with Ian [Ravagnie] and Noah [Only]. His ball pressure is unbelievable. He’s good. If we can get him going, he helps a lot. He’s really good. He’ll help for sure.”

Streaks on top: Woodstock leads the Kishwaukee River Conference with a 4-0 record almost halfway through the league schedule. The Blue Streaks (8-10) have won four of their past six games after Monday’s win over Belvidere.

“I would say the biggest reason for our success through the conference schedule so far has been how much better we have been with attention to detail,” Woodstock coach Ryan Starnes said. “The kids have really learned how important it is to cut hard, screen hard, reverse the basketball and most importantly share the basketball.

“It has taken a lot of heart-to-heart film sessions and lots of repetitions in practice, but our guys know that when we do the little things right, we can compete with most teams.”

Spencer Cullum, a 6-5 junior forward, leads the Streaks at 16.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg and with 41 3-pointers. Aiden Sivore averages 7.4 points a game and has 34 3s. Sam Chapman, Hayden Haak, Keaton Perkins, Jackson Lyons and Trent Butler have been other key contributors.

“Spencer has been outstanding for us,” Starnes said. “Just playing at a really high level and helping us in all aspects of the game, not just scoring.”

Starnes is in his first year as a head coach after assisting with Benson at Huntley for several years.

“We have done a much better job of competing on the defensive side as well,” Starnes said. “Kids are starting to see how important it is to follow a scouting report and have active hands to cause deflections. Our closeouts have gotten so much better from where they were this summer. I am really proud of their buy-in in terms of those small, yet important details.”

The Streaks got a key 55-49 KRC victory over Johnsburg last week. They face Marengo on Wednesday, then have crosstown rival Woodstock North on Friday.

Nobody’s perfect: Jacobs extended its winning streak to seven games with a 47-45 victory over St. Charles East on Saturday. That game featured a rarity as Jacobs guard Jackson Martucci missed a free throw.

Martucci is now 20 of 21 for the season for 95.2%. For his varsity career, he is 52 of 56 (92.8%).

Things are looking up: Alden-Hebron has done something in four Northeastern Athletic Conference games it had not done before by winning three of those contests.

The Giants (6-10, 3-1) have not won more than two NAC games in a season since 2009. They are 14-94 in the NAC over that span.

“To be 3-1 in the conference is new,” said Giants coach Rick Peterson, in his second season at A-H. “We hope to end above .500. Our conference is strong. We have to play Harvest [Christian] and Mooseheart yet, who are extremely talented.

“For us, though, we don’t really compare ourselves to any other team, we only look at where we were versus where we are now. We’re not at the top of the talent chain, but so far we have beaten teams that are near our level.”

Justin Gritmacker (14.9 ppg) and Parker Elswick (12.5 ppg) are leading the Giants in scoring. They both have more than 20 3s.

“When we do get rocked by a big score, we usually come back with a good attitude and effort the next game,” Peterson said. “We try to learn from our mistakes. We don’t get down, we regroup. It’s a new day. I think the kids are buying in. It’s a process for sure. It’s a great group of boys.”