High school boys basketball: Marengo nips Woodstock North on Matthew Volkening's last-second shot

MARENGO – Marengo sophomore Matthew Volkening could not have been cooler under pressure.

The 6-foot-5 guard took the inbound pass with 9.7 seconds remaining, dribbled out a few seconds, then stepped just inside the top of the key and nailed the game-winning shot over two Woodstock North defenders.

The ball swished through the net as time expired, giving the Indians a 50-48 victory over the Thunder in their Kishwaukee River Conference game Tuesday night at Homer “Bill” Barry Gymnasium.

“We were supposed to set a double screen for me to get the ball on top and a side screen for Aiden [Smith] to get the ball in the corner,” Volkening said. “I didn’t really see he was open, so I let the time run down so they couldn’t get a shot at the end to win, and just took a shot. It’s a shot I’ve taken many times, and it went in. It was crazy. Definitely something to celebrate.”

The win kept Marengo (21-3, 5-0 KRC) in first place ahead of the Thunder (13-8, 4-2). Volkening finished with 17 points, with most of those coming from the free-throw line before his final two baskets.

“It was a play the coaches drew up and wanted it in Matthew’s hands,” Marengo guard Evan Shepard said. “I just saw Matthew do what he always does. He takes that shot 100 times, and I knew it was going in. He shoots that all the time.”

The game turned into a struggle on both sides, with Marengo grabbing the largest lead, at six points in the fourth quarter. North kept battling back.

Austin Zieman’s rebound basket with 1:02 made it 48-46, then Rex White’s layup after a steal tied the score at 48 with 33 seconds to go. Indians coach Nate Wright then called timeout with 9.7 remaining.

“The idea was [a shot] with 4 seconds or less to give us an opportunity to get an offensive rebound,” Wright said. “We didn’t need it. [Volkening] kind of got stuck in a situation and had to pull up and shoot, and the ball goes in. He’s had a lot of big shots.”

North’s Cole Brey was guarding Volkening and got help from Joe Chase, but both are 6-1 and were giving up 4 inches.

Shepard added 12 points for the Indians, while Jonah Pace and Michael Jennett each scored seven. Brey led North with 14 points, and Chase added nine, along with nine rebounds.

North coach Dale Jandron lamented his team’s 6-of-13 free-throw shooting down the stretch, but not the Thunder’s effort.

“We played hard, we just didn’t make a lot of easy bunnies,” Jandron said. “It came down to a shot [Volkening] made. We played good D – we doubled him, and he made a tough shot.”

STAR OF THE GAME

Matthew Volkening

Marengo, soph., F

Volkening scored a game-high 17 points and hit the game-winning shot at the top of the key just ahead of the final buzzer.

THE NUMBER

29.6

Woodstock North's field-goal percentage for the game (16 of 54).

AND ANOTHER THING

The Indians (21-3) have their fourth 20-win season in six years with Nate Wright at head coach. They won 27, 21 and 25 in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Marengo 50, Woodstock North 48

WOODSTOCK NORTH (48)

Chase 4 1-2 9, Pena 1 2-2 4, Brey 4 5-6 14, Zieman 3 1-2 7, Salas 0 0-0 0, White 2 2-6 6, Ortiz 2 3-4 8. Totals: 16 14-24 48.

MARENGO (50)

Cannon 1 0-0 3, Smith 1 1-1 4, Jennett 2 3-4 7, Volkening 4 9-13 17, Pace 3 1-2 7, Schirmer 0 0-0 0, Shepard 5 2-5 12, Kunde 0 0-0 0, Ferden 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 16-25 50.

Woodstock North 12 15 6 15 – 48

Marengo 12 15 10 13 – 50

3-point goals: Woodstock North 2 (Ortiz, Brey), Marengo 2 (Cannon, Smith). Total fouls: Woodstock North 23, Marengo 18. Fouled out: Ortiz.