Burlington Central’s Zach Schutta had a chance to break the program’s all-time scoring mark in Tuesday’s Kishwaukee River game against Marengo.
The senior guard managed to tie 2012 graduate Ray Hunnicutt’s 1,522-point mark, but the new record will have to wait another day.
Schutta’s 21-point, 10-rebound effort helped the Rockets to a 64-60 win on senior night that stretched their winning streak to a program-record 19 games.
A victory Friday at second-place Johnsburg would seal the conference title for Burlington (22-2, 9-0).
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Schutta said. “All the hard work I put in is definitely paying off. It means a lot, knowing that this is my last game on my home court. I would have liked to break it, but it’s still an unbelievable feeling.”
Burlington coach Brett Porto, a former standout for the Rockets, coached both Hunnicutt and Schutta.
“It was a pleasure to coach Ray, and a pleasure to coach him (Schutta),” Porto said. “That means a lot to me. I think it means a lot to Zach’s teammates. Zach already set the career wins record, and that means a lot to him.
“He doesn’t necessarily like moments like this, but he’s worked so hard and he’s such a good player. It was nice to at least tie it here at home so the home crowd could at least acknowledge that.”
Both the record and the win seemed a foregone conclusion at halftime. Schutta poured in 15 points, helping the Rockets to a 40-31 lead.
Marengo (13-10, 4-5), a Class 3A sectional champion last season, rebounded in the second half. The Indians limited the Rockets to 10 points in the third and held Schutta scoreless, taking a 60-57 lead with 2:58 to go in the game.
Burlington scored the final seven points, however, to secure the win. Schutta hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to tie Hunnicutt’s record.
Burlington’s only two close games since the final of the Plano Christmas Classic have been against Marengo.
“I honestly don’t know (why that is),” Schutta said. “They always play well against us. They always have a good game plan and they execute it. We just have to play better to grind it out.”
Patrick Mayfield added 15 points for the Rockets, including the go-ahead free throw in the final minute. Dejsani Beamon and William Hough each added eight points. Schutta also had three assists, two blocks and two steals.
Close calls make the 19-game winning streak even more impressive to Porto. The Rockets had two overtime wins at Plano and two four-point wins over Marengo in the streak.
“It’s a testament to them,” Porto said. “That’s a long stretch where in games like this, you never know what is going to happen. To always come out on that end, it shows how they’ve prepared and how they’ve worked and the type of focus and effort that they put in.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News
