Huntley Boys Basketball Defeats Crystal Lake Central

Before Thursday night's game against Crystal Lake Central, Huntley boys basketball coach Marty Manning was very familiar with the Tigers, specifically their perplexing combination of size and outside shooting.

That combination was something with which Huntley struggled during the off-season, losing to the Central three times during the summer, including one game by 30 points. But Thursday night's home opener played out completely different for the undefeated Red Raiders because of Huntley's energy, suffocating defense and efficiency on the offensive end.

Manning's squad opened up a commanding 24-point lead in the third quarter and managed to fend off a late fourth quarter run by the Tigers to win 65-51.

"I'm extremely proud of the guys," Manning said. "I did not expect this outcome at all, but all of our guys did a great job with their energy and effort. Ryan Davenport, Justin Frederick and Jake Brock really stand out for really doing a great job on the boards. Maybe it was their first home game, but that was the best game that I've coached from a Huntley team in a number of years."

Huntley, who moved to a perfect 4-0 with the win, played a complete game Thursday night.

The Red Raiders were efficient on offense, receiving 18 points from Troy Miller, 17 from Tyler Brunschon and 14 from Justin Frederick. They also out-rebounded a much taller Central team 27-19 –with 11 rebounds from Frederick and seven by Brunschon – while also forcing 21 turnovers by a Central backcourt integral to the Tigers' 3-0 start.  

"Pray because they've got big guys," Manning said of his defensive strategy against Central. "Usually, we can take away one thing, take away a big guy and take away shooters, but they've got both. Our defense was very good, but I thought it was loose balls and rebounds that we got to and that was the difference in the game."

Despite such a large lead in the third quarter and the 14-point margin of victory, Huntley trailed 13-10 after the first quarter and 16-10 early in the second quarter. But behind an electric shooting performance by Miller in the first half, the Red Raiders managed to open up a 30-23 lead at the half by ramping up their defensive pressure.

Miller shot made four of his five three-pointers in the first half en route to 14 points in the game's first 16 minutes.

"I'm feeling pretty good," Miller said of how his shot has felt this season. "I shot a lot over the summer and everything is going well.

"That was probably the best team in the area and we wanted to come out with intensity and show them that this is our home court. And we did that."

Huntley was confident in Brunschon's ability to score coming into this season, but with Miller and Frederick, who was key in stopping a 9-0 Central run in the fourth quarter, capable of carrying the team in stretches, Huntley has proven to be deeper and more dangerous on the offensive end this season.

More than offense, one of the biggest keys for the undersized Red Raiders on Thursday night was creating extra possessions by forcing turnovers and limiting second-chance opportunities with quality defensive rebounding. Manning felt the home-court advantage was vital in keeping Huntley undefeated.

"We had a great crowd tonight for a Thursday night and I think that really helped us," Manning said. "Something we actually didn't do a good job of in the tournament was getting to loose balls, but tonight it was completely different. We got on the floor, got dirty and won the battles for those 50/50 balls. All of our guys played excellent tonight."