1996-7 KANELAND BOYS BASKETBALL

Click here for
[A PHOTO SALUTE TO THE 1996-97 KNIGHTS BASKETBALL SEASON]
[KANELAND FRESHMAN BASKETBALL]
[ROSTERS]

1995-6 season: 16-11 overall and 6-2 in Suburban Prairie Conference - White.

1996-7 strengths: Quickness and perimeter shooting.

1996-7 Weaknesses: Inexperience and lack of numbers, the latter because of key injuries to two players (Paul Schuppner and Shane Bird) before the season. Both injured players are not expected to return until at least February 1997.

Coach John Rutter (second year) says: "Our biggest goal is to improve each and every game. As a young team we know we'll be out of control at times and make some errors, but we hope to learn from our mistakes and become a better and more consistent team by the end of the season."

BOYS SOPHOMORE/VARSITY BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
Day Date Opponent V/S Time Location Varsity Soph.
Mon 11/25/96 Tip-off Classic Kirkland V 6:30 Byron L 63-78 . .
Wed 11/27/96 Tip-off Classic Plano V 5:00 Byron W 82-55 . .
Fri 11/29/96 Kaneland Soph Tourn
Genoa-Kingston
S 11:30 Maple Park . . L 39-57
Fri 11/29/96 Tipoff Classic
Lena-Winslow
V 6:00 Byron W 67-59 . .
Sat 11/30/96 Kaneland Soph Tourn
Sycamore
S 11:30 Maple Park . . W 55-50
Sat 11/30/96 Tip-off Classic
Rockford Lutheran
V 3:00 Byron W 56-44 . .
Thur 12/05/96 Sycamore(Soph) S 7:00 Sycamore . . L 27-57
Fri 12/06/96 Sycamore (Varsity) V 7:00 Sycamore L 47-64 . .
Tue 12/10/96 Westmont B 5:30 Westmont L 53-54 L 32-50
Sat 12/14/96 Harvard B 5:45 Harvard W 73-71 L 39-44
Tue 12/17/96 Aurora Christian B 6:00 Aurora L 56-83 L 41-65
Fri 12/20/96 Yorkville B 5:30 Yorkville L 59-64 L 27-54
Mon 12/23/96 Plano Christmas Tourn V 7:00 Yorkville W 85-80 OT . .
Mon 12/23/96 Somonauk Soph Tourn S 9:30 Mendota . . L 43-61
Thur 12/26/96 Plano Christmas Tourn V 7:00 Byron L 64-69 OT . .
Thur 12/26/96 Somonauk Soph Tourn S 8:00 Plano . . L 32-52
Fri 12/27/96 Plano Christmas Tourn V 5:30 Earlville W 84-70 . .
Sat 12/28/96 Plano Christmas Tourn V 5:00 Sandwich W 89-68 . .
Sat 1/04/97 Hinckley Big Rock B 5:30 Maple Park L 50-54 W 40-36
Tue 1/07/97 Riverside Brookfield B 5:30 Maple Park W 67-47 L 43-45
Sat 1/11/97 Geneva B 5:30 Maple Park W 75-59 L 34-69
Fri 1/17/97 Morris B 5:30 Morris . Cancelled . .
Tue 1/21/97 Burlington Central B 5:30 Maple Park L 62-74 L 35-57
Fri 1/24/97 Sycamore B 5:30 Maple Park L 31-44 W 49-46
Sat 1/25/97 Rockford Christian Life B 5:30 Maple Park L 61-63 L 34-48
Sat 2/01/97 Marengo(Fr-So-Var) B+F 4:30 Marengo L 61-75 L 35-56
Fri 2/07/97 Yorkville B 5:30 Maple Park W 66-62 OT L 28-58
Tue 2/11/97 Glenbard South B 5:30 Maple Park W 78-75 L 47-53
Fri 2/14/97 Geneva B 5:30 Geneva W 68-65 L 32-52
Sat 2/15/97 Morris (Make-up) B 5:30 Morris L 70-75 L 41-49
Tue 2/18/97 Minooka B 5:30 Minooka W 60-50 L 42-46
Fri 2/21/97 Morris B 5:30 Maple Park W 60-56 L 42-59
Mon 2/24/97 IHSA Regionals
Burlington Central
V 7:30 Hinckley
Big Rock
W 60-51 . .
Wed 2/26/97 Regionals-Burlington V 6:00 St. Edward L 53-69 . .
Tue 3/04/97 IHSA Sectionals V TBA Kaneland . . . .
Tue 3/11/97 IHSA Supersectionals V TBA DeKalb . . . .
Fri 3/14/97 IHSA State Finals V TBA Peoria . . . .

** Channel 17 will show the first game of the regionals the next day Tues Feb 25th at 6:00

Front row left to right: Sophomore Assistant Coach Denny Miller, P.J. Fleck (co-captain and assist leader), Kirk Anderson (co-captain, leading rebounder, best Free-throw shooting, best offensive player, most improved player, and most dedicated - The Ken Anderson Award), Kyle Schrader (best defensive player), and Paul Schuppner.
Back row left to right: Sophomore Coach John Pavlak, Head Coach John Rutter, Assistant Coach Tom Fedderly and Freshman Coach Ken Neahring.

Varsity Basketball

Kaneland 63 Kirkland 78

In Kaneland's first game of the season, youth and inexperience showed as the Knights were out scored 28 to 11 in the forth quarter, in the opening round in the Byron Tip-off Classic. Going into the final quarter Kaneland was leading 52-50, but Kirk Anderson fouled out leaving only Tom Biddle as the only player from last years on the floor.

Kirkland had only 17 fouls to the Knights 26. P.J. Fleck lead all scorers with 20 points, Biddle added four 3-pointers for 14 points. Nobody else was in double figures. All 10 Kaneland players on the team saw playing time.

Kaneland 82 Plano 55

Kaneland dominated the Plano Reapers in the first half using a vicious full court press to gain a commanding 46-18 half time lead. This was a sharp contrast from Kaneland's first game where poor ball handling keep them from winning. Against Plano, it seemed like youth and inexperience had became quickness and aggressiveness.

Click here
for NEWS
on Scott and
Craig Lyon

In the second half the Knights called off their full court press and coasted to an easy 82-55 victory. This leveled the season's record at 1-1 and advanced the Knights to the second round of the consolation side of the Byron Tip-off Classic. Kirk Anderson lead all scorers with 21 points, P.J. Fleck added 18 points - all in the first half, Reed Overhaug netted 14 and Eric Delaney had 12. In addition Fleck had four spectacular first half assists that would have left Michael Jordan smiling. All ten players on the roster scored.

Fleck said, "When we came out we were pumped". And Coach John Rutter added, "The difference between this game and our first game was we got over the jitters. We're a young team and this is how we can play, but being so young some nights we may not look as good as tonight."

Kaneland 67 Lena-Winslow 59

Kaneland took on a pesky Lena-Winslow team in the Byron Tipoff Classic, and came out the victor 67-59. The win earned the Knights the right to play in the final round of the consolation bracket - not a small feat in the 16 team tournament.

Kaneland jumped to an early 7-0 lead but the Knights shooting turned cold and the panthers came back to take a 21-13 lead in the second quarter. Then the Knights took control for a 20-1 run and ended the first half leading 35-25.

In the second half, the Knights tried to extend their lead to 20 but kept falling short, allowing the Panthers to stay in the game. Then with 2 minutes to play Kaneland's lead was down to 3. Reed Overhaug hit one of two free throws and P.J. Fleck hit a bucket and added two from the line to bring home the victory.

Eric Delaney and Kirk Anderson lead the team in scoring with 19 each, Fleck had 12, Reed Overhaug netted 9, and Tom Biddle finished with 8.

Earlier in the day the Sophomores had their first game of the season, losing to Genoa-Kingston in the Kaneland Sophomore Tournament 57-39. Shaun Wenz lead all scorers with 14.

Kaneland 56 Rockford Lutheran 44

Kaneland took on a tough Rockford Lutheran team for the Byron Tipoff classic Consolation trophy, and the Knights came home with the trophy winning 56-44. The Crusaders had beaten Geneva by 18 points just nights earlier, and Spillman Valley the night before, while Kaneland came in 2-1 for Tournament and the young season.

After a slow start, Kaneland made a 19-0 run in the first half, to spend their halftime enjoying a 35-19 lead. But the Crusaders, kept fighting back against a Kaneland team in foul trouble to get within 5 points near the end of the game. However, Kirk Anderson's work inside, generated half of his team's second half points, to hold the Rockford team at bay.

Anderson ended the night with 12 points, Reed Overhaug added 13, and P.J. Fleck who scored 17 points in the first half, ended the evening with a season high 22 points.

Earlier in the day the Sophomores also won the consolation prize by beating Sycamore 55-50, in the Kaneland Sophomore Tournament. Colin Baumgartner lead the team in scoring with 19, Brain Zielke netted 13, and Shaun Wenz added 11.

Kaneland 47 Sycamore 64

Sycamore jumped off to a 34 to 18 halftime lead, and the Knights where never able to recover, resulting in Kaneland's lowest scoring game of the season. Only one player scored in double figures. Kirk Anderson had 16 points, Kyle Schrader had 9 and P.J. Fleck added 8 more, allowing for only three players to score over three quarters of the teams points.

The day before the Sophomores also lost to Sycamore 57-27.

Kaneland 53 Westmont 54

Westmont benefitted from poor free-throw shooting by Kaneland to pick up their first win of the season (1-4). It was a tight game from the beginning and up for grabs to the end. Kaneland led by 2 after one, led by 1 half, trailed by 1 after three quarters, and ended up losing by 2.

Westmont made only 1 3-pointer, as they used the inside game for 23 baskets. Free throws spelled the big difference. Westmont sank 5 of 10, while the Knights made only 4 of 12. Prior to this game the Knights had been hitting 70 percents of their foul shots. Eric Delaney lead all scorers with 16, with fellow sophomore P.J. Fleck netted 12. The Sophomore team also lost 50-32.

Kaneland 73 Harvard 71

Kaneland outscored Harvard 22-13 in the third quarter and 20-11 in the fourth quarter to squeak out a 2 point win over Harvard 73-71. At halftime things looked pretty bleak with Harvard holding a 47 to 31 lead. But, Kaneland's outside shooting brought them back into the game.

Kaneland balanced their scoring with Kirk Anderson leading the charge with 22, Eric Delaney with 14 and Kyle Schrader with 11.

The Sophomores weren't quit as fortunate as Harvard held on to win 44-39 over the Knights. Shaun Wenz led all scorers with 15 and Colin Baumgartner got 10.

Kaneland 56 Aurora Christian 83

Aurora Christian scored 29 points in the second quarter to gain an 18 point half time lead. In the second half Kaneland's cold shooting continued for the Knights worst loss of the year 83-56. The Knights where only to drop two 3's all night. Kirk Anderson was able to scored 17 down low points, and P.J. Fleck added 10.

The Sophomore score was Aurora Christian 65 and Kaneland 41.

Kaneland 59 Yorkville 64

What is becoming Kaneland's mode of operandi - is to fail behind in the first half , then hustle their way back into the game. The Yorkville game was no different as Kaneland fell behind by 4, 10, and 15 points, at the end of each respective quarter.

However, midway into the fourth quarter trailing 55-40, the Knights came charging back. Eric Delaney swished a three, Kyle Schrader made two base line lay-ups, Kirk Anderson made a strong three point play, and Tom Biddle added a trey. With 1:40 left the Knights had closed the score to 53-59. But the Foxes lead to big, as they held on for the win. Anderson led the scoring with 17 points, Schrader had 13, and Delaney 11.

The Sophomores lost too, 54-27. Brian Zielke had 8 points, Colin Baumgartner added 6 and Josh Blatner added 5.

Kaneland 85 Yorkville 80 OT

This was the first round of the Plano Christmas Classic, and Kaneland was playing the same team that had just beaten them the week before. But, with Kaneland trailing by 18 points at halftime, and looking sloppy, Coach Rutter must have given his team one heck of a halftime speech, as they came roaring back in the second half.

"We coaches decided to stop coaching and let them (the players) go play," Rutter admitted. "And they did. They competed their tails off in the second half".

The Knights scored 33 points in the third quarter (14 more points than they had in the entire first half), to end the period deadlocked at 52. Both teams scored 19 points in the 4th quarter to send the game into overtime. That's where the Knights out scored the Foxes 14-11. Tom Biddle who was unstoppable in the second half had 27 points with 6 3's, Kirk Anderson had 16, P.J. Fleck 14, and Kyle Schrader 12.

The Sophomores playing in the Somonauk tournament earlier in the day lost 61-43 to Mendota. Colin Baumgartner had 19 points.

Kaneland 64 Byron 69 OT

Trailing by 4 to 11 points throughout the game, Reed Overhaug hit a dipsy-do layup with 4 minutes to play in the forth quarter, to inspire the Knights to an exciting comeback. His 2 points cut the Byron led to 7 points. The battling Knights then tied the score with less than a minute to play. Byron held for a last second shot, but missed - sending the game into overtime.

Byron scored 10 of the first 12 points in the extra session to out last the Knights 69-64. Kaneland (5-6) suffered throughout the night from 3-point range, hitting only a 4-of-23 3's. Kirk Anderson led the way with 19 points, while P.J. Fleck and Kyle Schrader chipped in 17 and 13 points, respectively.

The Sophomores playing in the Somonauk tournament earlier in the day lost 52-32 to Plano to be eliminated from the tournament. Shaun Wenz and Allen Griffin lead all scorers with 8 points each.

Kaneland 84 Earlville 70

After a heartbreaking loss the night before the Kaneland Knights came back and used the second half the soundly trounce the Earlville Red Raiders 84-70. The victory earned the Knights the right to play Sandwich for fifth place Saturday night, in the 16 team Plano Christmas tournament.

Kaneland trailed 40-34 a half time, but out scored Earlville in the second half 50-30 for the win. P.J. Fleck had a season high of 34 points, Kirk Anderson added 22, and Senior Tom Biddle dropped in 12.

Kaneland 89 Sandwich 68

Kaneland took home fifth place in the Plano Christmas Classic, by whipping the Sandwich Indians 89-68. The Knights only loss in the tournament was a overtime thriller to Byron ending up with a 3-1 tournament record. Kaneland took a commanding 54-28 led into halftime, then played Sandwich even in the second half for the easy victory. P.J. Fleck lead all scorers for the second game in a row with 26. Kirk Anderson added 23 and Kyle Schrader had 13.

Tournament points of interest: P.J. Fleck was named to the Plano Classic all-tournament team. Fleck lead the team in scoring with 91 points over 4 games, while Kirk Anderson was a close second with 80 points. Byron nearly won the 16 team tournament, but got beat with a last second shot by Hinckley-Big Rock. It took overtime for Byron to beat Kaneland, indicating that with a little luck the Knights could have won the whole thing. More importantly - Kaneland proved it could play with any team in the tournament, showing how far this team has come as it enters the second half of the season.

Kaneland 50 Hinckley-BigRock 54

Hickley-Big Rock came to Kaneland riding high with a 9-2 record fresh from winning the Plano Christmas Classic and leveled the Knights record to 7-7 with a 54-50 win. It was the Knights first home lose of the season, but it was also their first home game.

The Knights never let H-BR take control. In the third quarter H-BR had managed to build a 39-30 and the game was a critical state when Jason Self hit a trey just before the third quarter buzzer to ignite the Knights. The Knights made their first four shots of the final stanza to take a 44-43 lead with 4:20 remaining. However, from there H-BR held the Knights to four Kirk Anderson free throws until there was only12 seconds left for a 53-48 lead and the fat lady was singing.

Kaneland, a perimeter team which starts four guards, was a victim of poor shooting hitting just 19 of 49 shoots and only 1 of 15 from behind the arc. Anderson lead the Knight's scoring with 18 points and Kyle Schrader added 9 more.

The Sophomores won with a end of game comeback.

Kaneland 67 Riverside Brookfield 47

Kaneland rolled to a victory at home as P. J. Fleck tossed in 19 points and Kirk Anderson added 18 more, for a 20 point margin of victory over Riverside Brookfield, 67-47.

The knights jumped off to a modest 11-9 first quarter lead, but continued to outscore RB in every quarter. Eric Delaney also hit double figures with 12 and Kyle Schrader had 8.

The Sophomores didn't fear as well as Riverside Brookfield sneaked out a 2 point victory 45-43.

Kaneland 74 Geneva 59

With Kirk Anderson leading the way, five Kaneland players scored in double figures as the Knights routed the Geneva Vikings 75-59, for Kaneland's first conference win. Anderson scored 23 points on 9 FG's, Tom Biddle hit three treys for 15, Eric Delaney and Kyle Schrader each added 11 points, and P.J. Fleck totaled 10.

"Andy had stepped in to give us strong senior leadership," said Kaneland Coach John Rutter. Kaneland improved their record to 9-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play

The Sophomores weren't as lucky as Geneva handed them a 69-34 setback. Colin Baumgartner and Scott Peterson each had 9 points.

Kaneland 62 Burlington Central 74

Kaneland's battle with local rival Burlington Central, lived up to its annual tradition, featuring hard hosed, in-your-face, sticky defense with fast breaks and jarring picks on offense. In the end, however, Kaneland fell to defeat, 74-62.

Things looked bleak for the Knights as they trailed 30-15 half way into the second period. However, the Knights reeled of 13 straight points to cut the lead to 30-28. But 6 points by Burlington before half and the Knight where down by eight, 36-28. That's where the score stayed in the second half as the Knights couldn't cut into Central's lead.

Kirk Anderson lead all scorers with 20, and P.J. Fleck added 13 more. The sophomores also lost, but kept the game close until the fourth quarter.

Kaneland 31 Sycamore 44

It was "pack-the-house" night and the result was most unique game of the season. However in the end, Kaneland had lost to Sycamore 44-31. The Knights jumped out to an early 14-8 first quarter lead, but the second quarter was quite different.

Just two minutes into the quarter Sycamore found themselves in foul trouble so they decided to play a tight 1-3-1 zone defense. The Knights on the other hand decided they didn't like the packed in defense and went into a stall offense. What resulted was no ball movement for the rest of the quarter. Kaneland literally held the ball, sometimes one player holding the ball for minutes just switching it from hand to hand, as time ticked away. Sycamore just stayed in their zone not going out after the Knights. This resulted in in Kaneland scoring zero points and Sycamore just 4. By half time the gym was a buzzing and Kaneland had a narrow lead of 14-12.

In the second half both teams decided to play. Unfortunately for the Knights, Sycamore played better outscoring Kaneland 32-18 for the win. Kirk Anderson was shutout for the first time this year as he fouled out. P.J. Fleck had 13 points and Kyle Schrader had 10, but no one else had more than 5.

The Sophomores played what may well have been their best game of the year as they beat Sycamore 49-46 with a rounded attack. Shaun Wenz and Josh Blatner had 11 points each, Colin Baumgartner added 10, Al Griffin had 9, Scott Peterson tallied 8.

Kaneland 61 Rockford Christian Life 63

1996-97 Final Suburban Prairie
White Conference Standings
. Conference Overall
. W L W L
Sycamore 6 1 17 5
Morris 5 2 12 8
Kaneland 4 4 14 12
Yorkville 3 5 14 11
Geneva 1 7 7 15

Kanland jumped off to a commanding 21-10 lead over Rockford Christian Life by the end of the first period. But the Knights got outscored by 23 to 5 in the second quarter to find themselves behind by 7 at halftime. The Knights battled back to cut the lead to two as they started the forth quarter. But Rockford Christian just wouldn't let Kaneland take back the lead except 54-52, and went on to win 63-61 to drop the Knights record to 9-10.

Kirk Anderson lead the scoring parade with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Kyle Schrader also had 6 boards along with 4 steals. P.J. Fleck banged in 14 points 11 in the the second half comeback and Reed Overhaug added 9 points.

The sophomores lost too, 48-34, despite a super game by Colin Baumgartner who had 18 points, 6 boards, and 3 steals. Shaun Wenz and Scott Peterson each added 6 points.

Kaneland 61 Marengo 75

Wow! What may have been the best game of the year the Kaneland Knights showed that on any given night they can play with any team. Marengo which is rated in the top 10 in the state came into the game 19-0, fresh off a 39 point victory over Burlington Central and playing to a full house on their home court. But Kaneland wasn't impressed as they battled to a within a point 50-51, with five and half minutes left in the game.

Kaneland fell behind 16-10 at the end of the first quarter and stayed within ten trailing 38-29 at the half, thanks in large part of solid defense, hustle, and P.J. Flecks' 8 of 8 from the line. However, the Knights did commit 15 turnovers in the half. In the second half the Knights handled the ball better and pecked away at the led as they ended the third quarter only down 48-46. Then trailing 51-50 with 5 1/2 minutes left Marengo hit 4 free throws, a three, and a deuce, jumping to a 61-51 led. From that point the Knights where only able to cut it to a 7 margin.

P.J. Fleck lead the Knights with 17 points hitting 11 of 14 from the charity line. Eric Delaney added 11 more and a third sophomore Kyle Schrader had 10.

The Sophomores also lost 56-35, with Al Griffin scoring 9 points and Colin Baumgartner and Shaun Wenz adding 6 each. Wenz also had 6 steals while Griffin pulled down 7 boards.

Kaneland 66 Yorkville 62 OT

Kaneland vs. Yorkville has turned into one of the most exciting match ups in IHSA basketball. Just weeks after rallying for a 5 point overtime victory against the rival Foxes the Knights did it again this time outscoring their visitors 11-7 in the extra four-minute period for a 66-62 win.

The stats alone tell how even matched these teams are. Yorkville is 11-10 for season while the Knights are 10-11. The teams met three times during the season with Yorkville winning first by 5 and the Knights winning the next two both in overtime. The Knights have scored 210 points in the three games and 14 periods and Yorkville has scored 206. That's a difference of .28571 points per period played!

Kirk Anderson scored a co-game-high 16 points to led the Knights, with P.J. Fleck contributing 13 and Eric Delaney 12.

The sophomores meanwhile continued their losing ways against the Foxes losing 58-28. Scott Peterson lead the scoring with 7.

Kaneland 68 Geneva 65

There's nothing like a rivalry to heat up a Friday evening. A noisy crowd to vent its feelings on every call and non-call, coaches pacing and yelling, each and every possession meaning something. That was the case in the battle between conference rivals Geneva and the Kaneland Knights.

The visiting Knights, broke out to an 8-0 lead, withstood more than one Geneva Viking rally to end up with a hard fought 68-65 win.

Eric Delaney led the Knights with 21 points despite fouling out with 4 minutes to play, and classmate P.J. Fleck contributed 16. Kirk Anderson added 10 points. But it was Fleck's 6-of-8 success rate from the foul line in the final 2:30 minutes that cemented the victory for the Knights.

"I'd rather shoot them at the end than in the middle of the game because at the end they really matter," Fleck said. "I think I'm a better free-throw shooter at the end of the game than at the beginning."

The Geneva sophomores weren't as good a host as Kaneland lost 52-32. Shaun Wenz was the leading scorer with 11.

Kaneland 70 Morris 75

Morris playing at home jumped off to a commanding 25-10 first quarter lead, and it looked like Kaneland was in for a long night. But like so many times this basketball season the game isn't over until the fat lady sings, when the Knights are involved, and tonight was no different.

Kaneland outscored Morris 18-15 in the second quarter, then got a slight 17-16 advantage in the third period, and outscored the team from down south 25-19 in the final stanza, only to find themselves on the losing side 75-70 when all the points were totaled. All during the second half you had the feeling Kaneland would pull it out - but down by 3 points with 30 seconds left they could not get any closer.

Kirk Anderson had a stellar game with with 27 points and double figures in rebounds. P. J. Fleck added 16 more and Kyle Schrader pitched in with 10.

The Sophomores continued to have trouble winning and lost a closer game than the score indicated 49-41. Colin Baumgardner had the game of the year with 24 points and 12 rebounds!

Kaneland 78 Glenbard South 75

In of the highest scoring games of the year Glenbard South ran out of time in this run and gun game to loss 78-75 to the Knights. The offense for both teams was hitting on all cylinders as Kaneland hit 27 field goals while going 19-24 from the line. Glenbard South hit 32 field goals

Six Knights scored at least 8 points. Kirk Anderson had a fun night with 19 points going 5 for 5 at the line, P.J. Fleck had 16, Eric Delaney had 15, and Kyle Schrader, Reed Overhaug, and Paul Schuppner had 8 each.

The Sophomores also had a high scoring game, losing 53-47. Leading scorers were Shaun Wenz with 18 points and Scott Peterson with 16.

Kaneland 60 Minooka 50

Trailing early to Minooka 26-21 at the half the Kaneland Knights came back in the third quarter to take a 2 point lead and went on the win 60-50. Tom Biddle shot four three-pointers, one field goal and went 2-2 from the line to ultimately accumulate 16 points to lead the Knights. P.J. Fleck hit two 3-pointers of his own and was 6-6 at the stripe to add 12 more points.

Adding to Fleck's and Biddle's points starters, Kirk Anderson had 10 points, Kyle Schrader with 9 and Eric Delaney -7. The Knights shoot 15-for-18 from the charity line.

The Sophomores took it on the chin 46-42 with Al Griffin scoring 10 points.

Kaneland 60 Morris 56

Poor Morris - they had to be one of the unfortunate teams that had to play Kaneland twice this year, and except for Sycamore every team Kaneland meets a second time they beat. And this time was no different as boys from the land of the giants got beat 60-56.

But it wasn't easy for the Knights as they trailed at half time (sound familiar) 32-25. But as they entered a very entertaining 4th quarter the game was knotted up at 44. Thanks to some good free throw shooting (12-of-15 for the night) the Knights were able to squeak out the win.

Kaneland had nice balanced scoring from their starters - P.J. Fleck had 13, Kirk Anderson and Reed Overhaug with 12 each, Eric Delaney with 8, and Kyle Schrader with 7.

The sophomores however, came up empty as Morris took home a 59-42 victory. Colin Baumgratner had 10 points and Scott Peterson added 9 of his own.

Kaneland 60 Hinckley-Big Rock 51

For over half the Kaneland Knight's team it was their first taste of Illinois High School playoff basketball action and that could very well be why they only scored 5 points in the first quarter and were only able to double that in the second quarter. However, the second half was an entirely different story as the Knights scored 45 points to defeat a team had beaten them earlier in the year, Hinckley-Big Rock 60-51, in the Burlington Central Class A Regional.

As cold as the Knights were in the first half they were hot in the second as they came out of the locker room for a run of 23 straight points!!! Tom Biddle was the catalyst as he hit 4 treys for half the points. With Kaneland pulling away like a run away train HBK was able to hit 2 three's at the end of the third quarter to enter the final stanza with a fighting chance 38-29. However, Kaneland was able to maintain a 8-13 point led throughout the forth quarter for the win.

Biddle ended up with 18 points and Kirk Anderson matched him with 18 of his own. P.J. Fleck added 12, half of them coming from the charity strip, and Paul Schuppner netted 10. The win brought the Knights season record to a very respectable 15-12 and will tackle Elgin's St. Edward on Wednesday night.

Kaneland 53 St. Edward 69

The Kaneland basketball season came to end in the second round of the regionals, as they fell to the St. Edward Green Wave 69-53. Kaneland played a strong first half trailing by seven at halftime 33-26. Knowing the history of the Knights for strong second half comebacks it was still anybody's game.

But in the second half the Knights got cold making only 8 of 30 shots, making a comeback out of the question, as St. Edward methodically keep building the lead. The Knights were never able to switch the momentum despite their high intensity style basketball. On another night, maybe - but this is High School tournament basketball and there just isn't any more nights.

The leading scorers where Kyle Schrader with 12, P.J. Fleck with 11 and Kirk Anderson added 9 more. This was the final game for three seniors - Kirk Anderson, Shane Bird, and Tom Biddle. The Knights ended the season with a 15-13 record exceeding just about everyone's expectations.

Following St. Edward

St. Edward continued to proceed to Peoria in the boys Class A IHSA state Tournament, by beating Burlington Central to win the Regionals. In the Sectionals, held at Kaneland, St. Edward first met undefeated Marango and pulled off an amazing 62-60 win. Then went on to win the sectionals by beating Winnebago easily 61-46. The Super Sectionals played at NIU Spring Valley Hall 70-51. The Green Waves were ahead at 24-17 but Hall's Red Devils (24-5) went on a 30-28 run for a 30-28 halftime lead.

Spring Valley Hall basketball team followed in the footsteps of its football team which reached the state finals last November, by making the final 8 at the Peoria Civic Center. In the quarterfinals they beat Nashville 57-55. Then in the semifinals they beat Normal University High 68-54 earning the right to play Warsaw in the Class A Companionship game.

In the state Championship Hall took a 24-14 first quarter lead but at the end of regulation the game was tied. In overtime Hall played with 3 players fouled out of the game as Warsaw outscored them 19-12 for an 92-85 win and the State class A championship.

1996-7 Kaneland Boys Basketball Rosters

1996-7 Kaneland Boys Varsity Basketball Roster
10 P.J. Fleck 5'9 150 10 G
12 Tom Biddle 5'10 160 12 G
14 Kyle Schrader 5'10 165 10 G
20 Kirk Anderson 6'3 180 12 C
22 Shane Bird 6'3 175 12 F
30 Jason Self 5'9 150 11 G
32 Reed Overhaug 5'10 150 11 G
34 Josh Miller 6'1 170 11 F
40 Eric Delaney 6'3 185 10 F
44 Paul Schuppner 6'3 185 11 F
50 Ken Lippold 6'4 200 10 C

1996-7 Kaneland Boys Sophomore Basketball Roster
34 Colin Baumgartner Sophomore 6'1 165
24 Josh Blatner Sophomore 5'10 150
22 Scott Peterson Sophomore 5'10 130
30 Matt Frye Sophomore 6' 170
54 Al Griffin Freshman 6'4 185
12 Eric Rogers Sophomore 5'5 110
42 Keith Synder Sophomore 5'8 200
10 Brian Tegtmeier Sophomore 5'3 110
32 Shaun Wenz Sophomore 5'9 165
52 Brian Zielke Sophomore 6'4 175


Photos by and compliments of Dan Anderson

Return to the beginning of boys basketball

Go to winter Sports

Go to Kaneland Knights homepage