DeKalb downs G-K in Franklin’s return to alma mater

DeKALB – It might have technically been a different building, but Ethan Franklin was home.

The second-year coach of the Genoa-Kingston boys basketball team took his Cogs to his alma mater DeKalb on Wednesday for a nonconference matchup, falling to the Barbs, 61-44.

And although he never played a game on the new DeKalb campus, he called it an interesting experience coaching against the Barbs.

"I still have a lot of close ties here, a lot of good people that have impacted my life in some way or another," Franklin said. "It was cool to do that. Most of my friends and family that are out here came out here and supported me and it was really cool for me."

The Cogs (7-3), a Class 2A school, hung with the 4A Barbs for most of the contest. DeKalb led wire to wire, but didn't push the lead past 10 until Christian Grays hit a pair of free throws with 1:19 left in the third quarter, part of a 14-1 run that finally put the Barbs in command.

"When you're the one that's supposed to win, it's always nerve wracking when the score doesn't stretch a little bit," first-year DeKalb coach Mike Reynolds said. "I thought our guys were playing hard. Offensively we weren't playing with the pace we would have liked. Defensively, you hold a team like that – the other night they had 15 3s in a game. We held them down and I thought we played well for the most part."

The Barbs (5-3) led 15-5 early, but the Cogs got as close as 21-18 in the second on a 3-pointer by Connor Schwichtenberg. They got to within as close as six in the third, but the late run put the game away.

"We compete no matter who this is," Franklin said. "I tell these kids every day no one cares about the enrolment. They have 15, we have 15, and we've going to line up and do it. I think that our guys compete not matter what. It doesn't matter if it's 2A or 4A, we're going to be at it."

Reynolds said he knew some of the players and coaches – including assistant Julian McElroy – knew Franklin, who played for both DeKalb and Kishwaukee College. He said he was impressed with the effort the Cogs showed.

"JuJu, our assistant, knows him really well, our players know him," Reynolds said. "I don't know him per se, but watching them on film, three or four times, they've got a really great team and he's done a great job with them. I would suspect they're one of the teams in the area in 2A that are going to do nice things."

The Cogs turned the ball over 22 times in the contest, something Franklin said has cost the team all year. He said the team's defense kept the game close despite committing twice as many turnovers as DeKalb.

"We have to continue to get better at it," Franklin said. "We have to be able to handle pressure more and good things will come. For right now it's a work in progress."

The Barbs did turn those 22 turnovers into 27 points, but Reynolds said he felt that number could have been higher.

Overall he said he was pleased with the defense, holding the Cogs to 44 points and 4 of 15 shooting from long range. On Monday, the Cogs drained 15 3-pointers in a blowout against Woodstock.

"Defensively we've been good all year and that's something we're trying to hand our hat on," Reynolds said. "I wish we could have converted a few more of those turnovers into points but it wasn't meant to be on that end."

By the numbers: Joe Owens led the Barbs with 17 points and seven rebounds. Trenton Kyler added 16 points, four rebounds and four steals. Colin Nesler had seven rebounds and three blocks for the Cogs, while Jaylen Mullins scored 11 for the Cogs.

Beyond the stats: The Cogs are playing at the 2A level this year after being a 3A club since the 2013-14 season.

They said it: "I've been at a small school, and we're a small school sometimes going against teams," Reynolds said. "I don't think it really matters.You put five guys out there, they got five, six guys that play really well. I thought our defense was the difference tonight, where them down then make that little run and extend it. It was good to see us buckle down and get some live ball turnovers."

Up next: The Barbs play a home game against Waubonsie Valley in a key early-season DuPage Valley Conference game. The Cogs start play in the E.C Nichols tournament 6 p.m. Saturday in Marengo against Crystal Lake Central.