High school boys basketball insider: Crystal Lake South's Tyler Miller is athlete of the week

Athlete of the Week

Tyler Miller

Crystal Lake South, jr., G

Miller helped the Gators to four wins this week and led them in scoring in their two closest games.

The 6-foot-1 junior tossed in a team-high 18 points, with four 3-pointers, as South defeated Palatine, 53-46, on Tuesday for its 10th consecutive victory.

Miller also led his team with 14 points in Saturday’s 49-47 comeback victory against Dundee-Crown in a Fox Valley Conference game.

Miller also scored 19 in a win against Woodstock North.

Worth noting

Wright stuff: Marengo was not the only team that felt like celebrating after Tuesday's 60-57 Kishwaukee River Conference victory over Burlington Central. The win was Indians coach Nate Wright's 100th of his career, but it also was big for Johnsburg and Woodstock North.

Johnsburg (8-2) took a one-game lead over Burlington and North (both 6-2).

Johnsburg and Burlington are no strangers to fighting it out near the top of a conference race, but North is.

“It feels really good,” Thunder coach Dale Jandron said. “I’m real happy for the kids. They’re playing hard, and it’s a new experience for us over here.”

Going up: Crystal Lake South and Cary-Grove both are climbing their way up their respective schools' wins list.

Both teams have three regular-season games and at least one regional game remaining. South (21-6) is five wins from the school record (26-3, set in 1983 and 1988). Two more victories would put the Gators in their all-time top five.

C-G (18-6) will make the school’s all-time top four with two more victories. The school record was set in 2001 (26-5) by former coach Dave Otto’s team. The Trojans won 22 games each of the two years previous to that season.

What to Watch

Crystal Lake Central at Crystal Lake South, 7 p.m. Friday: Central is in a group of three teams one game behind the Gators with three to play. South's last loss came against Central.

Hampshire at Cary-Grove, 7 p.m. Friday: The Whip-Purs won the first round at Hampshire. Now both are tied with Central, one game behind South.