Kaneland warms up, beats Burlington

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:50AM

Kaneland's nonconference Saturday victory over Burlington Central was literally and figuratively a case of rebounding.

The Knights won the battle of the boards against the Rockets in a 47-39 victory after having lost at home by 17 the night before against conference foe Yorkville.

Kaneland improved to 9-5, while Burlington Central (9-6) had a four-game win streak snapped.

"It starts on defense. We couldn't box out to get rebounds and that gave them a ton of second-chance points," Burlington coach Brett Porto said.

"I'm the most frustrated with our ability to rebound and box out. Two nights ago we faced a team that had guys 6-5 and we beat them on the boards by 16. As poor as we shot, if you limit their second-chance points and don't give them a couple easy layups, we're right there. Give them credit, they were hungry to win."

Despite missing their first eight shots, Kaneland claimed a 13-7 first-quarter lead and was up 10 (23-13) at intermission.

The visiting Rockets got within five, 31-26, at the start of the fourth quarter. But Kaneland hit three unanswered buckets to gain an 11-point cushion to help withstand the Knights missing six straight free throws including three one-and-bonus opportunities.

"Yesterday we has so many turnovers, but not today," Kaneland coach Brian Johnson said. "I thought we handled the pressure better with Drew (David) bringing it up and Chaon (Denlinger) was strong with the ball.

"He was in the right place at the right time a lot and made good decisions with the ball. Danile (Helm) didn't score a lot, but he made a big difference inside and on defense."

Denlinger had a game-high 13 points to go with 11 rebounds for an impressive double-double while teammates Trever Heinle and Zach Ringhouse both added eight for the Knights.

Johnson also had praise for senior forward Tyler Callaghan's work against Rocket standout Ray Hunnicutt.

"Our defense was solid and we contained their dribble penetration pretty well, but Callie did a real good job limiting Hunnicutt. He's a strong kid and very physical, but it was tough for him to move Callie."

Hunnicutt still led the Rockets with 12 while Sam Klein finished with 11.

"We're averaging 70 points, but to play without confidence and not even get 40 – that says a lot about their defense and our lack of execution," Porto added.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.