Boys basketball: Crystal Lake South holds off Marian Central, wins season opener

JOHNSBURG – Even when the shots weren’t falling, Crystal Lake South sophomore A.J. Demirov didn’t lose focus.

After going a combined 0 for 6 from the field during the second and third quarters against Marian Central on Monday night, Demirov caught fire late, scoring 12 of his 18 points during the fourth quarter.

He made five of his final six shots, as the Gators held on for a 54-51 victory in the opening round of the Johnsburg Thanksgiving Tournament.

“Coach [Matt] LePage has a lot of confidence in me and encourages me to keep shooting when I’m struggling,” Demirov said. “You never want to let dry spells affect your aggressiveness. I tried to just stay confident in my abilities and tried to step up and help my team win.”

Demirov also had four steals.

His teammate, Cooper LePage, scored a team-best 26 points and had 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

LePage also sank the front end of a 1-and-1 at the foul line with 9.4 seconds left in regulation, putting the Gators ahead 53-51.

After LePage missed the second free throw, the Hurricanes had multiple chances to tie the game or take the lead.

But a missed 3 by Sean Truckenbrod on the ensuing Marian possession, followed by an offensive rebound by Christian Bentancur – and putback try that spun in and out of the basket – ended the Hurricanes’ comeback hopes.

Bentancur, who had a double-double for Marian with a game-high 32-points to go with 12 rebounds, drew constant double-teams from the Gators, who weren’t afraid to mix it up with him at either end of the floor.

“Real tough loss to take,” Bentancur said. “Because this was definitely not your typical season-opener. This was an absolute physical battle between two really good basketball teams who will both make a lot of noise this season.

“It was great to be back out there on the court. I’m confident we have the talent to bounce back from this loss soon. Just a great matchup that could’ve gone either way.”

Bentancur, who shot 11 of 14 from the field, also got rave postgame reviews from Cooper LePage.

“That kid is an absolute beast,” LePage said. “Just a massive handful. I’m real proud of my teammates for the way they stepped up tonight. Such a hard-fought win to start the year with.”

There were 12 lead changes in the game, and the biggest lead by either team was seven by the Hurricanes midway through the third, at 32-25.

But South finished the third quarter on an 8-2 run, and neither team led by more than four in the fourth.

Marian got 13 points and eight rebounds from Cale McThenia, including three 3s.

Even though the Hurricanes shot 7 for 11 from the floor in the fourth, the Gators bested those numbers, shooting 8 for 11 themselves, during the same span down the stretch.

“We went through some rough patches shooting the ball tonight, which is atypical for us,” Matt LePage said. “We kinda felt that it was just a matter of time before some of our shots started to fall.

“And that’s exactly what happened. Fortunate for us, it happened during some big moments late, when the game was on the line. Gutsy win by our fellas against a real good Marian team. That’s a real good basketball team over there.”