DeKalb tops Waubonsie Valley to earn share of DuPage Valley Conference title

DeKALB – After jumping out to a 30-19 halftime lead, DeKalb staved off Waubonsie Valley’s second-half comeback efforts to hand the Warriors their second loss of the season, 49-41 in the teams’ DuPage Valley Conference finale on Friday.

With the win, the Barbs now share the league crown with Waubonsie Valley. Both teams finished the season with 8-1 conference records.

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The DeKalb bench celebrates as the time expires in their win over Waubonsie Valley Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at DeKalb High School. (Mark Busch)

Davon Grant’s inside scoring and DeKalb’s controlling the boards were the keys to the Barbs’ successful first half. Grant’s 13 first-half points were all from in the paint. The junior led DeKalb (24-6) with 18 points.

“Defense, rebounding and doing all the little things we didn’t do the first time we played them were the keys,” Grant said.

Senior Sean Reynolds, who was honored before the game for breaking the all-time DeKalb boys scoring record, scored nine of his points with three long 3-pointers in the first sixteen minutes.

“We harped on trying to get the ball into the paint. We knew we had a mismatch with Davon down low,” Reynolds said. “We tried to get the ball into him and when they keyed on him, we got the ball out and shot it from the perimeter.

The Barbs out-rebounded the Warriors 19-5 in the first half.

The teams’ first encounter was also on DeKalb coach Mike Reynold’s mind.

“We lost to them in December on the road and we knew we had to run the table,” the Barbs coach said. “We knew the focus would be on Sean (Reynolds) so we got the ball into Davon. We knocked down just enough shots.”

Led by Tyreek Coleman, Waubonsie Valley, ranked fourth in the Class 4A Associated Press poll, rallied in the third quarter.

Coleman scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the third period. The Illinois State commit’s last two points, on a lay-up with 1:37 left in the quarter, pulled Waubonsie Valley within five, 34-29. Following a bucket by DeKalb’s Marquise Bolden (nine points) and Warriors' free-throws by Josh Tinney (nine points), the gap remained at five.

Jackson Kees’ layup at the third quarter buzzer followed by a 3-pointer to start the final frame extend DeKalb’s lead back to 10 at 41-31. The senior finished the night with 13 points.

A Kees’ 3-pointer from the left corner with 3:22 left to play extended the Barb’s margin to 13 at 44-31.

Waubonsie Valley (29-2) rallied again and pulled with six at 45-39 on a Coleman free throw with 1:04 left on the clock.

A scoreboard malfunction in the waning seconds of the game added to the drama. With 15 seconds left to play, Kees sank two free throws for a 49-39 lead. The clock did not restart when the ball was put back into play. After a Tinney layup, the referees stopped the game.

Play resumed with no working scoreboard. The officials decided Tinney’s layup counted, and nine seconds were left in the game. DeKalb inbounded the ball and passed it around until the buzzer went off.

“They outplayed us, it was a simple as that,” Waubonsie Valley coach Andrew Schweitzer said. “They had a good game plan. We didn’t shoot the ball well, that’s a credit to them, they played their tails off.”