Most games, Crystal Lake South can be found playing a 1-3-1 zone defense. On Thursday against Fox Valley Conference rival Cary-Grove in the Jacobs Holiday Classic Consolation B bracket final, the Gators switched it up with a man-to-man defensive effort and came away with a 42-32 victory over the Trojans.

South (9-4) started off strong and never let Cary get into the game, going on a 10-2 run to begin play and opening up a 22-8 lead in the second quarter which led to a 24-13 halftime lead.

Cary went on a mini 9-4 run to get back within six but South scored seven of the next nine points and led 35-24 after three quarters of play.South extended their lead to 40-26 before Cary scored six straight points to pull within eight but could get no closer.

South coach Dan DeBruycker said that the defensive switch was due to the shooters on the Cary roster.

"I think for them (Cary) to get in good position, they need to get (Richter) some open shots and (Guay) some open shots and we didn't want to give those up," DeBruycker said. "With our man-to-man, we told them to make every shot difficult for them."

DeBruycker added that he was pleased with the team's overall effort on the day and in the tournament.

"I think we did a pretty good job, made a couple of silly turnovers. We handled the basketball well and played good defense," DeBruycker said. "I think we got better, had some good competition with Barrington and St. Charles North. Hope is a good basketball team and Cary is always going to play you tough. It prepared us for the conference."

Kevin Rogers led the Gators with 11 points and said that the tournament was overall good even though the team didn't reach their complete goal.

"I think we played really well, we finished 4-1 here," Rogers said. "We obviously didn't play for the championship but we did good and succeeded in the Consolation B bracket."

Cary coach Ralph Schuetzle said that South was better in many aspects and the fact the Trojans went 1-for-7 at the line didn't help matters.

"When they're bigger, faster and stronger, it's difficult," Schuetzle said. "The adjustment we made got us back in the game, playing slower, spread the floor and made them chase us. Not much else to say. When you are down ten and miss five free-throws in a low-scoring game. It makes a big difference."

Cary-Grove plays next on Jan. 5 vs. Elgin at home while South will play Jan. 11 at Huntley. The two teams will see each other on Jan. 14 in Cary and Feb. 8 at South.