Lutheran vs. Boylan is Rockford private school basketball royalty showdown
Boylan is Rockford basketball royalty, playing in the biggest local conference and winning 20 or more games 26 of the past 30 years.
Rockford Lutheran has gone undefeated in the Big Northern four years in a row, but had only played Boylan once in recent history — in regionals during one of the three years Lutheran was bumped up to Class 3A by the success formula.
But when Boylan brought back its annual Thanksgiving tournament in 2019, it also invited Lutheran into its gym. The two Rockford private schools, one large and one small, now meet annually in one of the showcase games of Boylan’s tournament.
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“This is the only time we’ve seen each other, other than the one time in a 3A regional a few years back,” Lutheran coach Tom Guse said. “It’s great for the kids. We’re appreciative to be invited here. Very rarely do you get an opportunity over Thanksgiving to play in front of a great crowd. The kids enjoy it. Both teams do.
“It’s an honor to be invited. That means we’ve done some things right in the past. Nothing compares in Rockford to the Boylan tradition, but we’re trying to become that as well.”
Lutheran added a notch in its belt by beating Boylan 69-61 Friday night. Boylan had opened 2-0 in its tournament while the Crusaders, after graduating a trio of three-year key varsity players, were 0-2 going in. But Vontez Dent scored 19 points and Marquis Haynes 14 to lead the Crusaders to a late comeback win.
“It’s always fun,” Haynes said. “We like bringing energy and they bring energy back. It’s always a good game.”
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The gym was two-thirds full — an unusually large crowd for a November basketball tournament. Boylan led most of the way, by as much as 34-24 midway through the second quarter. Dent’s dunk off a back-door cut put Lutheran ahead 37-36, its first lead since 2-0. The game stayed close from there, with Ryan Starck giving Boylan its last lead, 57-56, with 4:24 to play. A pair of long 3s by Dent and Zach Vanblaricom put Lutheran up 63-58 and Boylan’s only points in the last two minutes was a 3 by Jeremiah Ezeofor (17 points).
“It’s always great to play Lutheran,” said Starck, who had 15 points. “It’s a crosstown rivalry and it’s always exciting to have them come in here. It’s definitely one of our personal favorites because it’s two storied programs and both schools play in great conferences. The whole city seems to come out. It’s fun every single year.”
Boylan jumped ahead early by making 12 of its first 14 shots. But Lutheran’s comeback began when the Titans shot 2 for their next 16.
“They came out really hot,” Dent said. “Coach (Guse) stressed getting up on them on defense. We started off in a 1-3-1 zone. When they started making shots continuously, we got into a man-to-man and full-court pressed them. We didn’t take the foot off the gas after that. We just kept going after them.
“This (win) means a lot to us. We often get under-estimated. Getting a win like that shows how we can compete with NIC-10 teams. It’s a lot of fun. I love the crowd and the atmosphere.”
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: Both Boylan and Rockford Lutheran appreciate annual basketball battle
