Dundee-Crown might have an entirely new cast, but it remains a serious thorn in the side of rival Jacobs.
Thanks to a strong second-half effort, the scrappy Chargers took the highly touted Golden Eagles to the wire before falling short 53-47 in a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division showdown Tuesday.
Never mind that all five starters from the D-C team that stunned Jacobs in a regional-title game last March were gone to graduation. On Tuesday, a new generation of Chargers nearly pulled off another upset in the first meeting between the schools in 11 months.
With Golden Eagles star John Moran watching from the bench for the final 1:36 with five fouls, the outcome remained in doubt until Jacobs junior Conrad Krutwig connected on a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining to put his team ahead by five points.
The nail-biter marked the fifth time in the past seven meetings between the schools that the final outcome was decided by six points or less, and it's safe to assume there will be more of the same when the teams meet Feb. 22 at D-C.
"We're halfway through," Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle said. "We made it through the first round. The second round will be even tougher."
After withstanding a 12-3 D-C run to start the second half, Jacobs (19-2, 5-0) appeared to be in control when a Moran layup gave the Golden Eagles a 50-39 lead with 2:59 to play.
However, a 3-pointer from Chargers junior Jeff Beck combined with Moran's fifth foul gave D-C some life.
The Chargers pulled within 50-45 on David Bernard's 3-pointer with 1:17 left. When Tim Moran missed the front end of a one-and-one on Jacobs' next possession, D-C got the opportunity it wanted when long-range specialist Rob Stupar lofted an open trey from the top of the key, but the shot bounced off the rim and into the Eagles' hands.
The Chargers caught another break when Mike Peterson missed the front end of a one-and-one moments later, and Beck followed the miss with a pair of free throws to cut Jacobs' lead to 50-47 with 21 seconds left.
After a quick D-C foul, Zack Peterson went to the line for Jacobs and proceeded to miss the front end of a one-and-one, but Krutwig managed to haul in the rebound and draw a foul on the putback attempt. His two free throws essentially sealed the win, putting the Eagles ahead by two possessions with 18 seconds left.
"It's nice to be close, but it's disappointing we couldn't finish it out," Beck said.
Beck finished with a game-high 18 points. Marcus Henry added eight points and Bernard tallied seven points and nine rebounds for D-C (10-9).
After trailing 32-20 at halftime, the Chargers essentially beat the Eagles at their own game by outscoring Jacobs 15-7 in the third quarter. Beck scored eight points in the period.
"They shut us down in the third quarter, and that's been our quarter this year," Krutwig said. "But we stuck in defensively. We had a drought for a few minutes in the third quarter and fourth quarter, but we just kept hanging in there."
Despite making only 3 of 12 shots in the third quarter, Jacobs managed to finish 21 of 39 (53.8 percent) from the field.
Krutwig and Zack Peterson led the Eagles with 17 points apiece. Krutwig added six rebounds while Peterson knocked down four key 3-pointers.
"Johnny did a great job of finding me when I was open," Peterson said. "He was pushing the ball down the floor, and that was drawing the defense in the lane so the outside shot was open."
John Moran was limited to only 11 points. After being disqualified, he became an animated bystander on Jacobs' bench.
"Now I know what it's like to be a parent watching these games," Moran said. "It was not fun at all. There was nothing I could do just sitting on the bench."
The victory was Jacobs' fourth in a row. Meanwhile, D-C was denied its first three-game win streak of the season.
"I'm pleased that our guys continued to fight throughout the game and realized they can battle with teams like Jacobs," D-C coach Lance Huber said. "Hopefully we learned that we can't just come out and do that for a half, but we have to sustain that a little longer."
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