Boys basketball notes: Time is NOW for Cary-Grove, Burlington Central

The Burlington Central and Cary-Grove girls and boys basketball teams will get to experience playing on a professional court Tuesday night.

The two Fox Valley Conference schools will play a varsity doubleheader at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. The girls play at 5:45 p.m., followed by the boys game at 7:15 p.m.

The NOW Arena, a multi-purpose facility that opened in 2006 and was called the Sears Centre Arena until 2020, is the home of the Windy City Bulls, the G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls.

Tickets for Tuesday’s games are $20 and can be used to attend the Windy City Bulls' game against the Westchester Knicks at 7 p.m. Saturday. The first 1,500 fans at Saturday’s game will receive a bobblehead of Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu.

For C-G’s boys, Tuesday’s game comes during a stretch of four games in eight days. The Trojans lost to visiting Crystal Lake South 61-30 on Friday night before bouncing back on their home court the next day to beat Vernon Hills 49-47.

C-G (13-5, 3-3 FVC) visits first-place McHenry (13-2, 6-0) in conference action Friday night.

“We’ll see what we’re made of,” coach Adam McCloud said after his team’s loss to South. “We got to respond.”

Samson’s strength: Jacobs' 49-40 win over visiting Lake Zurich on Saturday capped a 3-0 week for the Golden Eagles, who take a season-best four-game winning streak and an 11-4 record into Wednesday’s game at Crystal Lake Central.

A big part of Jacobs' success has been the play of forward Samson Averehi, who’s provided muscle in the low post. The 6-4 junior was brought up to the varsity late last season. His season high of 21 points came in Jacobs' second game of the season, a 61-54 win over Lake View at Lakes.

Averehi has scored in double digits in 12 of the Eagles' 15 games.

”He’s got a ton of ability,“ coach Jimmy Roberts said after his team’s 42-38 win over Hampshire on Wednesday in which Averehi had 12 points, six rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot. ”He’s just got to keep getting more game reps and game experience.“

What Roberts also likes about Averehi is that he doesn’t lament when something goes wrong on the court.

“That’s really the best thing about him,” Roberts said. “He wants to learn. He’s super coachable, and with his talent and ability, as he keeps coming, he’s going to keep getting better and better.”

Nitz’s niche: Woodstock senior guard/forward Joey Nitz has been productive in a sixth-man role this season.

Nitz had 10 points and six rebounds coming off the bench Saturday, helping the Blue Streaks rally from a nine-point deficit at halftime to beat visiting Crystal Lake Central 46-43 in a nonconference game.

Nitz said after the game that he wouldn’t mind starting but wasn’t sure if it was going to happen.

“We’ve toyed with starting him a little bit, but we like bringing him off the bench because he can really go in for anybody, he can play any position, and he can really guard anybody,” said coach Ryan Starnes, whose Blue Streaks (11-7) have won six of their past seven games heading into Tuesday’s home contest against Plano. “He’s like a Swiss Army Knife. He asks us, ‘What do I got to do to start?’ We tell him, ‘Joey, you play more minutes than just about anybody.’ It’s not about who starts, but who finishes, and he’s finished most of our games that are close because he matters so much for us.”

Starnes jokingly calls the skilled but low-key Nitz a “silent assassin.” Few players are less animated on the court than Nitz, even if he makes a big play.

“I don’t have a lot of emotion, I guess,” Nitz said. “I just try to stay calm the whole game. I think that’s best for me.”

FNBO Challenge: Marengo will host Harvard in the First National Bank of Omaha Challenge on Friday.

The full slate of events begins at 5 p.m. with wrestling. The girls basketball game takes place at 6:30 p.m., followed by the boys game at 8:15 p.m.

Before the boys game, Marengo will recognize retired coach Roger Cannon on being selected for induction into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Cannon, a former longtime assistant under boys coach Bill Barry, will be inducted May 3.

Cannon was Barry’s assistant for 27 years. During that time, Marengo won 552 games, 16 regional championships, four sectional titles, a supersectional and a trip to the state finals during the 1989-90 season.

Cannon took over the program in 1997 and led it for three seasons, going 79-16 with three conference championships along with two regionals and a sectional crown.