High school boys basketball: South Elgin defeats Cary-Grove in Class 4A

SOUTH ELGIN – Cary-Grove will take plenty of positives from its performance against South Elgin.

The Trojans shot well from the field and battled valiantly after falling behind by 12 points in the second quarter, eventually cutting the Storm’s lead to one midway through the fourth quarter.

But the recurring theme was that whatever C-G did, South Elgin was slightly better.

“They did the little things,” Trojans coach Adam McCloud said. “You had two really good teams playing and they just made a couple more plays than we did.”

The Storm, sparked by guard Drake Montgomery’s 25 points, defeated C-G, 66-60, for the Class 4A South Elgin Regional championship Friday. South Elgin (24-8) advances to play Harlem (20-11) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Rock Valley Sectional in Rockford.

C-G (21-8) won the fourth-most games in school history but came up short of joining the 2001 team as the school’s only boys regional basketball champions.

“We played pretty hard as a team,” said Beau Frericks, who led all players with 26 points and five 3-pointers. “It just didn’t happen for us tonight.”

C-G fought back to make it 51-50 in the fourth quarter when Frank Jakubicek hit a 3 from the left corner, then Frericks hit one from the top of the key. The Trojans had two possessions in which they could have taken the lead, but did not.

“Our coaches said, ‘Give it your all,’ and we did,” forward David Aulert said. “We kept fighting back. We were moving the ball, getting screens, doing whatever we could to get the ball in the hoop."

Montgomery hit the shot of the game with 3:01 remaining, a 3 on which he was fouled to make it a four-point play, putting the lead at 55-50. C-G never had a chance to lead again.

“[Montgomery] was the difference for them,” McCloud said. “He was special. He was the man tonight.”

Storm coach Brett Johnson thought it might have been Montgomery’s best game.

“It was his intensity and his drive,” Johnson said. “Drake was great. He was ready to shoot every time. He wasn’t afraid of the moment.”

With 1:39 remaining, the Storm’s 6-foot-7 forward, Vince Miskiewicz, grabbed a rebound off a missed Montgomery free throw and slammed it home. Miskiewicz scored 18 points for the Storm.

The Storm hit 59 percent from the field (23 of 39).

Jakubicek finished with 14 points as the Trojans hit 22 of 43 from the field.

“Our seniors did a great job. They raised the bar again – 21 wins, just an outstanding season, things we haven’t done in a long time,” McCloud said. “I like where our program’s at. I’m just disappointed. We wanted a couple more games to play next week.”

Jakubicek and Frericks, both juniors, lead a talented group that will return next year.

STAR OF THE GAME

Beau Frericks

Cary-Grove, jr., G

Frericks scored 26 points and hit 8 of 12 field goals, five of which were 3-pointers. The Trojans fell to South Elgin, 66-60, in the Class 4A South Elgin Regional championship.

THE NUMBER

21: Victories by Cary-Grove is fourth most in school history.

AND ANOTHER THING ...

C-G coach Adam McCloud on Frericks: "He’s special, that’s all you can say. He puts in the time. The kid can go 3 for 20, and the next night he wants the ball and the big moment. I’m glad he’s on my team."

South Elgin 66, Cary-Grove 60

South Elgin 19 15 13 19 – 66

Cary-Grove 12 15 15 18 – 60

SOUTH ELGIN (66): Montgomery 11 2-6 25, Ashby 3 1-2 7, Miskiewicz 6 6-8 18, Warrick 2 1-2 7, McVicar 1 4-4 7, Errington 0 0-0 0, Cwik 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 14-20 66.

CARY-GROVE (60): Cunningham 0 0-0 0, Frericks 8 5-6 26, Rice 1 2-2 4, Aulert 3 0-0 6, Jakubicek 6 0-1 14, Weaver 2 0-0 4, Waco 0 0-0 0, Sowa 2 0-0 6, West 0 0-0 0, Szydlo 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 7-9 60.

3-point goals: South Elgin 6 (Montgomery 3, Warrick 2, McVicar), Cary-Grove 9 (Frericks 5, Jakubicek 2, Sowa 2). Total fouls: South Elgin 10, Cary-Grove 17. Technical fouls: McVicar.

IHSA 3-Point Showdown qualifiers: Jakubicek (CG) 9-7, Frericks (CG), Pennell (Jacobs) 9-7, Warrick (SE) 9-6. (Six shooters went to overtime shoot-off for four spots).