AJ Demirov tallies career-high 43 points, Crystal Lake South battles back to win share of FVC title

HAMPSHIRE – If ever there was a time that Crystal Lake South coach Matt LePage had to give a fist-pounding, clipboard-breaking halftime speech to his team, Friday night might have provided that opportunity.

His team had committed nine first-half turnovers, scored just 27 points, and limped through a listless first half, all while giving up 39 points to a hot-shooting, high-energy Hampshire squad.

Instead, LePage simply wrote three things on his team’s whiteboard at the break: “Toughness. Maximum Effort. Continuous Growth.”

And his team responded brilliantly in all three categories.

Starting the third quarter on scoring runs of 23-0 and 39-2, the Gators completely overwhelmed Hampshire on senior night, and claimed a share of the Fox Valley Conference regular season title with a 77-53 victory.

South shares the conference title with McHenry, a 47-44 victor over Huntley Friday night.

And since it was senior night, though not his own, Gators' do-everything guard AJ Demirov made sure his team would be able to claim its share of the league hardware. Demirov scored 30 of his career-high 43 points after halftime, hitting five 3-pointers and relentlessly slicing the Hampshire defense on drives to the hoop that turned a 39-27 halftime deficit into a 53-41 advantage after three quarters.

“We knew what was at stake with the conference (title). Coach inspired us with those words at halftime, and I took them to heart. We came out and played much tougher in the second half,” Demirov said. “Obviously, it wasn’t our senior night, but this was my last game in this gym and we knew we had to get going. All those 3s weren’t all me. My teammates were setting me up and finding me all night.”

The teams battled to a 14-all tie after one quarter, then Hampshire (11-20, 6-12) came out of the gate on fire, outscoring South 25-13 in the second quarter. Ryan Prowicz (22 points) scored 12 points in the period and 18 in the first half to give the hosts their halftime edge.

“We came out with a lot of energy and we were assertive there in the first half,” Whips coach Mike Featherly said. “But we’ve struggled all season with consistency and consistent effort, and that showed. [Demirov] showed why he’s the best player in the conference in the second half.”

Demirov scored 16 points in the third quarter, in which South outscored Hampshire, 26-2. The Whip-Purs’ first basket of the second half came with 4:31 left in the game on a Prowicz jumper. By then, South had a 22-point lead. The Gators potsed a 50-14 scoring advantage in the second half.

Freshman Ryan Morgan scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half and was a force on the boards for South and earned praise from his coach.

“Ryan made his presence known and got some huge boards and points for us,” said LePage, whose soaked shirt showed the results of the post-game locker room celebration. “We talked about those things (on the board). We were not tough in that first half. Then our defense brought us back and we came out to play in the third quarter. Then AJ got going, and when you got a guy like him, well…”