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ROCHELLE – For a quarter Tuesday night, it looked like Sycamore and Crystal Lake South were going to be in a shootout in a Class 3A Rochelle Sectional semifinal.
But then the Spartans managed eight total points between the second and third quarters in a season-ending 66-37 loss to the Gators.
“We started off really well,” Sycamore coach Ethan Franklin said. “We executed everything we were trying to do. We kind of had a lid on the rim the last three quarters. They’re an extremely talented team and we didn’t have any room for error.”
The Spartans (24-9) led by as much as six in the first quarter. But the Gators (30-4) scored 20 of the first 22 points, part of a larger 33-6 run between the second and third quarters to put the game away.
After shooting 2 for 5 from long range in the first quarter, the Spartans finished 3 of 26 from beyond the arc for the game.
“We didn’t execute on offense well enough and they just scored on offense well,” said Sycamore junior Carter York, who led the Spartans with 10 points and added six rebounds. “We just couldn’t stop them in the end.”
Carson Trivellini led the Gators with 19 points, Nick Stowasser had 11 off the bench and Tony Santarelli had 10 and a team-best seven boards.
AJ Demirov, approaching 2,000 career points, finished with seven.
“Once we got going, our ball pressure started dictating the tempo and the pace,” said South coach Matt LePage of his team’s 15 forced turnovers in the first three quarters. “We settled down and started playing our game.”
The season comes to a close for the Spartans with their first regional title since 2017. Their 24 wins were the most for the program since the 2001-2002 season.
The Spartans also won seven of their last 10 games playing without junior guard Isaiah Feuerbach, who led the team in most statistical categories before hurting his knee in early February.
“It was definitely tough without Isaiah. He’s one of the best guards in the conference,” York said. “But we just gathered together and said we don’t want to go home. We want to keep going.”
Franklin said he preaches resiliency and was glad to see his team respond after Feuerbach’s injury.
“It’s something I try to instill in them,” Franklin said. “Keep playing hard until the final whistle blows. They stayed resilient, stayed positive and they worked really hard throughout the entire season.”
“I’m very happy for my guys and my coaches,” York said. “We got a regional championship, that was our goal at the end of the season. It [stinks] the way we went out, but I’m proud.”
Michael Chami had eight points, seven rebounds and two steals for Sycamore. Unique Shaw had six points, six rebounds and two steals.
Wrapping up his third year with the Spartans, Franklin said it was a good season.
“It was a beautiful season,” Franklin said. “We went 24-9, kind of got ourselves back going. I’m excited for the future. The six seniors we had set the tone for the program since I came in. They’ve been kind of the cornerstone.”