Talented big man Alex Timmerman leads Crystal Lake Central past Cary-Grove

SHARE Talented big man Alex Timmerman leads Crystal Lake Central past Cary-Grove
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Crystal Lake’s Alex Timmerman (55) goes up strong. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

Alex Timmerman, Crystal Lake Central’s 6-9 senior, is clearly a force in the post. He scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Tigers’ 65-61 win against Cary-Grove on Saturday.

Timmerman is more than just a back to the basket big man though. The Bucknell recruit is also a talented passer, able to find his teammates on the perimeter or slashing through the lane.

“That’s what Bucknell likes about him, his court vision and his ability to pass,” Crystal Lake Central coach Rich Czeslawski said.

Timmerman hit a huge free throw with 22 second to play that put the Tigers (6-4, 4-0 Fox Valley) up by two.

“I was just trying to be aggressive and strong whenever I got the ball and also just facilitate for my teammates and get them open shots,” Timmerman said.

Trojans junior Beau Frericks had a chance to give his team the lead but missed a three-pointer with three second to play.

Frericks was terrific throughout the game. The 6-1 guard is a tricky playmaker. He finished with 32 points and five assists.

“We didn’t execute great against him but we were really focused on making sure only one guy got off for them and he did,” Czeslawski said. “He’s a heck of a player. He made tough shots.”

Frank Jakubicek had nine points and 15 rebounds for Cary-Grove (6-3, 2-2) but no one else scored more than four points.

“The way we started both halfs really cost us,” Czeslawski said. “To start the second half we had two or three turnovers in a row and we missed two layups. I felt like we had them on the ropes there.”

Senior Deonta Dungey scored 17 off the bench for Crystal Lake Central. He made a key basket with 1:15 to play that held off Cary-Grove’s late charge. Senior Christian Lerum added 10 points and Ryan Mendoza scored seven.

“We have lofty goals with this group,” Czeslawski said. “We have ten seniors back and they want to win big things. They have their eyes on conference title and beyond.”

The Fox Valley conference is playing a load of conference games at 1:30 on Saturday afternoons. There was a decent crowd on hand at Crystal Lake Central, but likely nothing like the game would have drawn on a Friday night.

“I hate it,” Czeslawski said. “It is terrible. It feels like a Saturday morning JV game. This is what they’ve decided so we are playing the schedule they give us. It gets worse every year. We have seven Saturday games this year. We barely play on Friday night anymore. Our league voted unanimously against it, the coaches hate it. It hurts the league, hurts the crowds. But I don’t make the rules.”

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