DeKALB – After giving up 30 points in a back-and-forth first half, DeKalb boys basketball coach Al Biancalana told his Barbs something needed to change defensively – and they listened.
The Barbs held Kaneland to just nine points in each of the last two quarters, pulling away late for a 57-48 win.
"All week, Coach B was saying our defense has to be better and we have to be more of a unit," said DeKalb senior Matt Montavon, who led the Barbs with 14. "That's what we did today."
After forcing a DeKalb turnover, Kaneland (7-13 overall, 1-4 Northern Illinois Big 12 East) trailed 50-48 with about 1:30 left. Brett David took a contested 3-point shot from the corner which would have put the Knights back on top for the first time in the fourth quarter.
But the shot missed, DeKalb got the rebound, and the Barbs (10-9, 5-0) made enough free throws down the stretch to hold on.
"We were right where we wanted to be," Conroy said. "We played incredibly hard. We talked about it was going to come down to rebounding, and when I think we look at the film later, we're going to find out we got out-rebounded on that end pretty bad. I think they got a lot of offensive rebounds that led to points."
The game was back-and-forth throughout, with 15 lead changes – all in the first three quarters. There were also six ties, but also none in the fourth. DeKalb took the lead or good on a 3-pointer by Montovan with 55 seconds left in the third to start a 7-0 run that staked the Barbs to a 44-39 lead early in the fourth.
Biancalana said a combination of factors contributed to the slow start – including Michael Vilet and Marcus Bobo each picking up two quick fouls. That forced the duo to sit a lot of the first half, as Biancalana said the teams needs those two in the game late. Bobo fouled out in the final minute.
But Biancalana said he was impressed with a trio of sophomores that got more playing time than they have all year – Scott Sands, Avery Medina and Trenton Kyler, who scored eight as the trio combined for 15, all in the first half.
"We had foul problems, we had some performance issues, it kind of forced our hand to play some younger guys, and I thought those younger guys were fantastic," Biancalana said. "Trenton Kyler with the eight points in the first half, and Sands and Media combining for five more, that's a lot of points out of those guy. It kept us close."
The Knights held Bobo to five points, though he had a game-high eight rebounds.
Conroy said the plan was to get the ball into Blake Feiza – he finished with 15 – and hope he could cause Bobo problems inside.
"That's what we did, and he got into some foul trouble early," Conroy said. "He never got into a rhythm because he's a very good basketball player. If we can knock a good basketball player out of his rhythm, that's going to help us tremendously."
By the numbers: Luke Brost led the Knights with seven rebounds, while Michael Vilet also seven boards for the Barbs. He and Blake Williams each scored eight points for DeKalb, as did Kyler in his varsity debut. Rhett Espe had nine points for Kaneland.
Beyond the stats: With the Barbs up three in the fourth, Vilet it a runner in the lane to push the lead to five for DeKalb – which at the time was their biggest lead since scoring the first five points of the game.
They said it: "Vilet's rip and go was huge when we were up three," Biancalana said.
Up next: The Barbs turn around for an NIB12 crossover game Saturday at home against Geneseo, with the tipoff at 5:30 p.m. The Knights are off until Friday, heading to Yorkville.