Boys Basketball: Justin Frederick’s hot hand leads Huntley past Crystal Lake South

Updated: January 10, 2012 9:10PM

Huntley’s Justin Frederick had been in a slump the past few weeks.

“I was struggling on offense,” Frederick said. “And I was having trouble getting into the game mentally.”

Frederick picked a perfect night to climb out of his hole as he helped lead the No. 23 Red Raiders past host Crystal Lake South 44-34 Tuesday.

“It was nice to get out of my cold streak,” said Frederick, who led Huntley with 12 points and seven rebounds.

“The 1-3-1 they set up in gave us lots of shots in the corner. Thankfully, I was able to make some.”

“I am not happy with the way we played offensively,” Huntley coach Marty Manning said. “The guys just made too many mental mistakes, especially in the first half. It made us look bad and because of that we struggled.”

Huntley (13-1, 2-0 Fox Valley Valley) struggled on the offensive end in the first half, despite forcing 10 turnovers. The Red Raiders led 15-14 with 2:53 left in the half when Huntley turned three Gator turnovers into baskets and a 21-14 lead at the break.

Crystal Lake South (2-11, 0-2 Fox Valley Valley) rallied behind Will Ahsmann (13 points). Ahsmann scored six consecutive points as the Gators closed 29-26 with 3:28 left in the third quarter.

But Frederick nailed two longer jumpers as the Red Raiders closed out the periof with six unanswered points and a 35-26 lead.

However, Huntley could never quite pull away. The Red Raiders converted just 7 of 17 free throws in the final quarter and were a dismal 12 of 27 for the game.

“We need to do a better job there,” Manning said. “We had been shooting seventy-four percent from the line.”

Troy Miller had 10 points for Huntley, while Bryce Only had nine points and Amanze Egekeze had eight points.

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