Kaneland overcomes slow start, wins

Published in the Kane County Chronicle on
February 20th, 2008


Kaneland overcomes slow start, wins
By KEVIN JENISON - editorial@kcchronicle.com
Comments (No comments posted.)-->MAPLE PARK – It took all four quarters, but Kaneland finally overcame its slow start.On a night when the Knights needed a jolt, they found it in senior forward Nick Wagner and sophomore center Dave Dudzinski, who led Kaneland to a 62-55 Western Sun Conference win Tuesday against Yorkville.Wagner was a major weapon for the Knights (9-15 overall, 5-9 WSC), scoring a game-high 28 points. Wagner hit four threes en route to his game high.“That was probably Nick’s best shooting game in a long time,” Kaneland coach Dennis Hansen said.Dudzinski came alive in the second half with 10 points for the Knights. He also made all six of his free throws on the night. “[Dudzinski] had some big offensive rebounds in the second half,” Hansen said. The first half was forgettable for both teams. Yorkville committed nine first-half turnovers, giving Kaneland multiple chances to cash in.But all Kaneland seemed to offer in response was an endless supply of quick, and mostly missed, shots.“Our first quarters haven’t been very good; we can’t seem to get jump-started [until] after that,” said Hansen, whose team came back from a 29-3 deficit Friday to beat Geneva.Then came Wagner, who scored on a four-point play and followed with two more baskets to chop eight straight points off Yorkville’s lead and bring Kaneland within 22-21 with a little more than 3 minutes until the half.“It just all felt good coming off my wrist,” Wagner said.With Yorkville leading by six points at the break, both sides came out with visions of team play on their minds. Instead, the half started with a compelling individual battle between Dudzinski and Yorkville’s Tavis Gibson, who both came out smoking.“Getting the ball inside was one of our halftime adjustments,” Dudzinski said.Still down by four heading into the final quarter, Wagner and Dudzinski continued their roll.A three by junior guard Brody Root gave the Knights a 46-45 lead with 6 minutes remaining, a lead they would not relinquish, thanks in part to a 9-of-10 team free-throw performance in the fourth.“We did enough to hang around,” Hansen said. “We played a good fourth quarter, and that was the difference.”