Boys Basketball: Yorkville starts fast, then holds off Kaneland

Early elation was replaced by some anxiety later as Yorkville had to salvage a 56-51 thriller over visiting Kaneland Friday night to tag the Knights with a first loss in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference play.

An encore to a 61-50 triumph over Kaneland that was part of Yorkville’s claiming the Plano Christmas Classic championship, the Foxes emerged with a 10-3 overall record and 2-2 ledger for Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference East Division play.

Between breakaways, steals, layups and the occasional back-door baseline cut, Yorkville’s 10-0 opening was the basis for a pair of 20-point margins before the opening quarter ended with a 25-7 tally.

“They put it to us,” Kaneland coach Brian Johnson said. More specifically, Yorkville’s Derek Piszczek followed three-point bombs by hitting pairs of free throws for 10 points in what became an early 18-point hill for Kaneland to climb.

To their credit, the Knights (9-5, 3-1 in Big 12 East) — paced by Tyler Heinle’s pair of three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throw shooting — fueled a second-quarter showing that began an uphill climb that got Kaneland to within three points and with possession late in the fourth quarter.

“They realized they weren’t playing well and had enough pride to keep chipping away. We got it down to three, needed a stop and to get a good look, but that didn’t happen,” Johnson acknowledged.

Instead, with Kaneland having chiseled a 54-45 lead down to three with 1:02 left in regulation, Yorkville’s Derek Piszczek finally ended a 3:54 scoring drought hitting a one-and-one opportunity with 42 seconds remaining for a five-point cushion that would become the final 56-51 score.

“My teammates have faith in me to hit those free throws and big games always have pressure situations. With five seniors, we believe we know how to handle the situation and take care of the ball,” Piszczek said of the tense fourth quarter.

“The key was the first quarter,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “If we didn’t have that cushion to start, the outcome easily could have been different. Kaneland is a scrappy team that’s well-coached and it’s a rivalry you can throw the records out the window.

“I told them all week to expect Kaneland to be energized to play, so we needed to meet their intensity,” McGuire said.

With the Knights failing to match Yorkville, the Foxes went from a 10-0 start to leads of 23-3 and 25-5 before the initial eight minutes ended at 25-7. While Kaneland outscored its hosts 21-12 in the second frame, held even at 13 apiece in the third, and squeezed out a 10-6 fourth-quarter difference, it wasn’t enough.

“There’s not a stat that means anything for playing great for three quarters,” Kaneland’s Johnson said. “It’s just the final score that matters. Tyler (Heinle) made a huge difference for us in second quarter and Thomas (Williams) played tough and strong consistently through the game.”

Heinle’s trio of three-pointers were part of his 14 points while Williams added nine and the Knights also got 10 from Matt Limbrunner.

Yorkville’s starters were led by Stephen Jones’ 13, 12 apiece from Piszczek and Josh Williams, 10 from Cody Bailey, plus nine from Brandon Holmes.

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