Favela comes up big for St. Edward

Danny Favela originally wasn’t excited about coming off the bench for the St. Edward boys basketball team.

The junior has begun to enjoy it.

Favela scored 16 points and had 9 rebounds Friday night to help the Green Wave to a 56-48 Suburban Christian victory over Marian Central in Elgin.

“At first, I was a little hesitant,” Favela said about his sixth-man role. “But with the spark I bring I think it’s a good role for me.”

St. Edward, which hadn’t played since Dec. 30, struggled in the first half. The Green Wave shot just 33 percent (8-for-23) and turned the ball over 9 times in the first two quarters. The Hurricanes (8-9, 2-2) led 28-20 at the break.

Favela scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor.

“He is our sixth man and we like him in that position,” Green Wave coach PJ White said. “That’s a huge lift for us. He really does crash the boards and that’s where we need him.”

The Green Wave got the deficit down to 4, 36-32, at the end of the third quarter. The deficit was still 4, 40-36, was 6 minutes remaining. Luke Duffy and Joseph French scored consecutive baskets to tie the game with 4:53 remaining. John Butzow hit a pair of free throws with 4:44 to go to give St. Edward a 42-40 lead, its first lead since 14-12 with 6 minutes remaining in the second quarter. A Duffy basket extended the run to 8-0 and a 44-40 lead with 4:18 remaining.

Butzow hit 6-of-6 free throws and added a lay inthe final minute to seal the victory.

St. Edward shot 13-for-17 in the second half.

“The first half we looked to shot the first time we got the ball,” Favela said. “The second half we started passing the ball and running the offense, four or five passes and wide-open shots.”

Duffy finished with 11 points. Butzow added 10. Davontae Elam added 8 points and 6 rebounds.

Adam Pischke led Marian Central with 10 points. Matthew Ricchiuto had 8 points.