St. Edward breaks regional drought, will play for title
History has a way of playing on the nerves.
Aware the St. Edward boys basketball program had not won a playoff game since its 2008-09 regional championship season, the top-seeded Green Wave found themselves trailing No. 4 Chicago Christian by a point through the first eight minutes of Tuesday's Class 2A Lisle regional semifinal.
However, as St. Edward coach P.J. White would later put it, his team's eventual 65-39 victory was "just a matter of getting the jitters out."
St. Edward (23-5) outscored the Knights 14-6 in the second quarter to take a 23-16 halftime lead and the Green Wave used their transition game to open a 14-point, third-quarter cushion.
"This is when it really counts," said St. Edward senior guard Joe French, who led all scorers with 17 points. "I think as soon as we settled down after the first quarter things really got rolling."
It was a balanced effort from the Wave. Sophomore guard Kelvin Cortez-Harvey scored 14 points, 6-4 senior Nick Duffy contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds, point guard Gino Domel had 10 points and 5 assists and 6-2 senior forward Danny Favela added 8 points and 7 rebounds.
No. 1 St. Edward advances to Friday's 7 p.m. regional title game against No. 3 IC Catholic Prep, which defeated No. 2 Aurora Christian 54-46 in the second semifinal.
St. Edward defeated ICCP three times during the regular season, most recently 61-57 in overtime in Elmhurst on Feb 4. "They were all battles," White said of the previous meetings with the Knights.
St. Edward trailed Chicago Christian 13-11 until a 10-0 tear in the second quarter put the Wave in charge. Favela ignited the push with an inside bucket, Domel followed with a steal for a breakaway layup and Duffy scored an easy layup on a pick-and-roll feed from Domel.
A timeout called by the Knights couldn't curb the Green Wave momentum as Cortez-Harvey scored on a strong drive and French was fouled in the lane and sank 2 free throws for a 21-13 lead.
Chicago Christian (14-14) drew within 31-25 midway through the third quarter, thanks to an inside bucket from 6-7 junior Anajuwon Spencer, who led the Knights with 13 points.
Then came a 14-4 St. Edward surge to put the game out of reach. Three of those baskets were scored on the break by Cortez-Harvey, Duffy and Favela.
"We wanted to get the pace a little bit up and down the floor," White said. "It loosened us up a little bit and that really helped."
St. Edward's 23 wins are the most for the program since the 1995-96 Class A sectional championship team coached by Kevin Dix. More meaningful for these players, however, is the program's first playoff win in six years and the chance to advance in the tournament.
"It feels great," Domel said of the playoff win. "We've worked hard all season. It's about time."
"It's pretty special to finally get one in basketball," said French, who has been part of soccer and football playoff victories at the Elgin school. "I mean, we've been here in the same regional for as long as I can remember. To finally get a win is awesome."