Senior guard Chris Orange and freshman center Cameron Krutwig helped stake Jacobs to its big early lead Wednesday at home, then Ben Murray put the finishing touches on a solid 52-40 win over rival Dundee-Crown.
The glue that held the whole Fox Valley Valley victory together for Jacobs, though, was a defense that held the Chargers’ starters to 12 total points — all by Cordero Parson.
“We’re still learning,” first-year Jacobs coach Jim Roberts said. “Down the stretch we still had three or four turnovers running our offense. The one constant is we keep defending. We just kept defending.
“We played OK but I looked up at the scoreboard at the end and I saw 40 points and thought, all right, that’s a good job by us.”
Orange scored 15 points despite second-half foul trouble, Krutwig scored eight first-quarter points to help Jacobs take a 15-8 lead going into the second quarter, and Murray made back-to-back three-pointers three minutes into the fourth quarter to turn a six-point lead into a 48-36 edge.
“Ben has been struggling,” Roberts said. “Ben hadn’t made a shot in four or five games. He’s been down on himself.
“But he’s a great competitor.”
Krutwig and Orange got the early points. Krutwig finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, and helped the Golden Eagles hit 7-of-8 first-quarter shots.
“Cameron is really developing now at this level,” Orange said. “His points were really big for us.”
Seven points by Orange during an 11-4 run in the first 3:30 of the second quarter gave Jacobs a 26-12 lead. The Golden Eagles never led by less than five again.
Robert Grant came off the bench for four points and nine boards as the Golden Eagles (10-10, 4-2) took advantage of their height edge. They outrebounded D-C 29-18. They also helped keep D-C on the perimeter, lending itself to 37 percent shooting (16-of-43).
“It was a tough night,” Chargers coach Lance Huber said. “It’s not unusual for us to have a hard time putting the ball in the basket.
“It’s a struggle for us offensively.”
D-C (4-14, 0-6) got 11 points from Juwan Stewart in the first half, but nothing after that. Kiwan Seals led the way for the Chargers with 14 off the bench, and sparked two mini-rallies in the third and fourth quarters.
“They ran their stuff well and executed and they got some big buckets when they needed them,” Huber said. “The three-pointers by Murray were a dagger.”
