Friday's trip to Dundee-Crown went markedly better for Jacobs than the last visit when the Golden Eagles were upset by the Chargers in last year's regional final.
This time around Jacobs capped off its second consecutive perfect Fox Valley Valley season with a 48-30 victory in front of a standing-room-only crowd in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Golden Eagles (24-2) finished 10-0 in the conference for the second straight year.
"It was a lot more about this year than about what happened last year," Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle said. "This team was focused on what we wanted to accomplish this year, and we really wanted to finish up the conference undefeated again. I am really proud that we were able to do that. It's pretty special when you can do something like that two years in a row."
The Jacobs defense did a tremendous job, forcing 16 turnovers and holding D-C (12-13, 5-5) to just 13-of-46 (28 percent) shooting from the field.
Tom Krueger and Darius Bowers spearheaded the defensive effort by combining to hold D-C's top scoring threat, Jeff Beck, to just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting. Beck had only one basket after the first quarter.
"That was the key for us," Hinkle said. "We think Beck is an outstanding player, so our focus was on shutting him down. I thought everyone played great defense, but it all started with Tommy and Darius. They really did a number on Beck and made him work hard for the ball."
Jacobs held a 9-8 lead late in the first quarter before starting to pull away. Krueger scored a transition layup in the final second of the opening period to get the Golden Eagles kick-started.
Jacobs went on to outscore D-C 12-2 in the second quarter to open a 23-10 lead at the break.
Zack Peterson initiated the second-quarter scoring with a three-point play off a steal and layup.
Eric Schmidt came off the bench to score seven points in the period, including a 3-pointer. Schmidt added another 3-pointer in the third quarter to finish with 10 points.
"I just do what I'm told," Schmidt said. "My role is to come off the bench and contribute and that's what I try to do. My shot hasn't been falling much lately, but tonight I was finally able to get it going."
Jacobs continued to pull away in the second half and led by as many as 21 points. John Moran had eight points in the third quarter.
"Last year they left us with the worst possible feeling," Moran said, "so it was nice to get a win my last time here. This is always a tough place to play and I'm just glad I never have to come back."
Moran and Conrad Krutwig each finished with 12 points to lead the Golden Eagles in scoring. Krutwig also added 15 rebounds.
"It's awesome to finish undefeated in the conference again," Moran said. "I feel pretty fortunate to be a part of it. It's pretty special."
D-C was led by David Bernard, who had 15 points, but the Chargers could do little else offensively.
"If you would have told me before the game that we would hold them in the 40s, I would have said we had a chance," D-C coach Lance Huber said, "but you don't have much of a chance when you don't make many baskets. We didn't shoot very well and we had some untimely turnovers. A lot of that has to do with the pressure they put on the ball."
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