It wasn’t a blowout this time, but the outcome was the same as this season’s previous meetings when Prairie Ridge sprinted past Dundee-Crown 65-50 Friday night to claim the Elgin Class AA sectional crown.
Senior guard Brett Cole scored 21 points, including two three-pointers, as the Wolves (29-2), the sectional’s top-seeded team, beat the Chargers for the third time this season.
“Any time Brett’s got the ball, I feel pretty good about the way things are going,” said Prairie Ridge coach Corky Card, whose team reached the supersectional for the first time.
The 7-year-old Crystal Lake school meets Moline in Tuesday’s Rockford supersectional for a berth in next Friday’s Class AA quarterfinals in Peoria.
Dundee-Crown (15-14), which had lost 82-35 and 71-50 to the Wolves during the regular season, kept it closer this time as senior C.C. Kilbert scored a game-high 24 points.
The Chargers remained within striking distance entering the final quarter, trailing 46-35. But Prairie Ridge mounted a 12-5 run over the quarter’s first four minutes for an insurmountable 58-40 lead.
Todd Babington joined teammate Cole in double figures with 17 points. Sam Lynch had 15 for Dundee-Crown.
