Guilford bids to be the 4th school to go undefeated in NIC-10 boys basketball in 40 years
Guilford has never won back-to-back NIC-10 boys basketball titles.
Nor has Guilford ever gone undefeated in the conference.
That may be about to change. Guilford’s 59-45 home win over Freeport on Wednesday night knocked the Pretzels out of a second-place tie with Auburn, which beat fourth-place Belvidere North. The win also clinched at least a tie for Guilford’s second consecutive league title and put the Vikings (20-4, 15-0) within three games of becoming only the fourth school to go unbeaten in the conference in the last four decades.
“It means everything,” Guilford senior guard Malachi Johnson said. “Every day at practice we chase history. Every game in the NIC-10 is one step closer to that history. It would be awesome to reach it.”
Boylan has gone unbeaten in the conference nine times in the last 40 years. Auburn has done it twice and East once. That’s it. And only the 1984 and 1987 Boylan teams and East’s 2019 team have gone 18-0. Guilford could be the fourth ever to win 18 conference games if it wins out against Boylan, Belvidere North and Auburn.
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“I think we can do it,” said forward Cinco Gary, who led Guilford with 14 points. “We have been having big plans all season. I feel we can push it out and finish this season strong.”
Guilford had one only one NIC-10 title in the last 46 years before edging East and Auburn by one game last year. Now they have clinched at least a tie for their sixth title in the school’s 61-year history. Guilford also tied for conference titles in 1968 and 1971 and won by three games in 1976 with a 14-2 mark.
“It was a fun game, from start to finish,” Gary said of turning back Freeport in front of a three-quarters full Guilford gym on senior night. “I just love playing with my guys. Tonight, with family here, everybody here to watch us play. We showed out.”
Ten minutes after the game, Johnson, a two-time all-conference pick, stood autographing sneakers for a line of Guilford students.
“I’ve signed autographs once or twice before, but it ain’t never been like this,” said Johnson, who scored 12 points. “It’s all fun. I am grateful to be in this position. Grateful to have people look up to me in that way.”
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It hasn’t been easy. Guilford turned back Freeport by out-working the Pretzels (13-12, 9-4 NIC-10) on the boards. Guilford shot only 4-for-21 in the second quarter, but still led 28-20 at halftime by grabbing nine offensive rebounds in that quarter. And the Vikings scored their first three baskets of the second half after grabbing offensive rebounds.
“That was our problem right there,” Freeport guard Dedric Macon said. “That cost us the game.”
“We pride ourselves on the glass,” Johnson said. “Not everything is going to fall, but as long as we crash the glass and keep on fighting for the points, one of them is going to fall eventually.
“That is our tenacity to score and our tenacity to fight for the ball. We want to win. When you want to win, you do stuff like that and stuff happens. We just want to win and will do whatever it takes to win those games.”
Jaden Webster (10 points) gave Guilford a third double-digit scorer, but rebounding is what Guilford did best Wednesday. A day, like all other days this year, that ended with Guilford being perfect in the NIC-10.
“It’s exciting,” coach Chris Dixon said. “Of course it’s exciting. But we’re very humble about it. We’re trying not to look ahead, but that (going undefeated) is another challenge. What we’re trying to do this season is face challenges and overcome them.”
Undefeated conference records since the modern NIC-10 began in 1963-64
1965, Freeport, 14-0
1967, Rockford West, 14-0
1969, Rockford West, 14-0
1974, Freeport, 16-0
1979, East, 8-0
1981, East, 16-0
1984, Boylan, 18-0
1987, Boylan, 18-0
1991, Boylan, 16-0
1992, Boylan, 16-0
1997, Boylan, 16-0
1998, Boylan, 16-0
2002, Boylan, 16-0
2011, Auburn, 16-0
2015, Auburn, 16-0
2017, Boylan, 16-0
2019, East, 18-0
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Guilford clinches first back-to-back NIC-10 titles, may go unbeaten
