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Last year, Unique Shaw was part of the DeKalb team that beat Sycamore for the third straight time in the trophy game between the rivals.
This year, Shaw is on the Sycamore team looking to win at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center against DeKalb for the first time since 2013.
“It’s going better than we thought, first year, winning like this,” said Shaw, whose Spartans enter the game 17-5, already their most wins since a 21-10 mark in 2019-2020. “It definitely boosts the team’s morale. We feel good.”
Shaw and Isaiah Feuerbach come in as two of the top scorers for the Spartans. DeKalb (16-6) is led by sharpshooter Sean Reynolds and forward Davon Grant.
Reynolds said it’s going to be different going up against Shaw.
“Unique and I, we’re pretty close,” Reynolds said. “I’ve never been against him, really. But we’ll see Friday. We’ll step on the court, and it’s DeKalb vs. Sycamore. Off the court we’re friends, brothers, but on the court we’re going to try to beat him.”
Sycamore won the 2021 game in the series, played at Sycamore, the only loss DeKalb suffered during the COVID-impacted season. But Reynolds and the other DeKalb seniors are 3 for 3 against the Spartans and looking for a clean sweep.
“We seniors, we want to finish out strong,” Reynolds said. “It means a lot. In middle school they always beat us, but in high school we flipped the switch. We just want to finish out strong, go 4 for 4 and finish out the right way.”
Both teams enter the game on a hot streak, despite the Barbs' 58-54 loss at Kaneland on Tuesday. They’re 12-2 in their past 14 games.
Sycamore also is 12-2 in its past 14 games and has won four straight.
“We have to match their intensity,” Shaw said. “We have get some stops. They have great scorers like ‘Von and Sean, so we have to get some stops and have to score with them.”
DeKalb coach Mike Reynolds said the Barbs are in the middle of a grueling stretch of the schedule. They haven’t played at home since winning the Chuck Dayton Holiday Tournament. They face nearby rivals with six total losses this week in Kaneland and Sycamore.
Then they play a highly-ranked Waunakee team in Wisconsin on Saturday before finally returning home Wednesday to face DVC power and ranked Waubonsie Valley.
“We designed our schedule for a reason,” Mike Reynolds said. “And it’s definitely helping us down the stretch.”
Sycamore coach Ethan Franklin said the Barbs present so many matchup problems that his team cannot afford to take any plays off.
“We’ve put together a great season, and they’re a fantastic team,” Franklin said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge. They present a ton of problems throughout and have had a very, very tough schedule. They’ve been playing great as of late.”