West Chicago tops Harlem
DeKALB — Winnebago coach Joe Murphy, now in his 27th year, was huddled with a longtime assistant at one end bleacher, at the opposite was Al Biancalana and staff from host DeKalb, all intently watching the fifth game of Saturday's opening eight at the 88th annual Chuck Dayton Holiday Tournament.
What they saw was a West Chicago squad constantly crashing the boards, racing end to end for layups or defensive stops, answering any runs that Harlem mounted after starting the game with an 8-point deficit.
The shared thought at the end of the West Chicago's 58-46 triumph had to be: “And they're in our half of the bracket?”
Yes, it's the Wildcats who certainly don't resemble anything like last year's 7-18 ballclub. Virtually the same crew lost 63-56 in a 2014 YouTube video clip still available among the Barbs' highlight reels. Not to say DeKalb was counting on this year's field not including defending champ St. Charles East or 2013 victor Hinsdale South.
Winnebago, which captured the 2012 title for the state's oldest continuous tournament, defeated Schurz 62-47 and now has Monday's 8:15 p.m. quarterfinal against West Chicago. The Wildcats could be DeKalb's foe in Tuesday's first semifinal.
So what's behind the turnaround from seven wins a year ago to the current 9-1 record?
“Maturity. We're older, more experienced,” Tai Bibbs said. “The first few wins this year gave us some confidence. The more we tasted victory, the more we desire it. It's addictive.”
Coach Bill Recchia hopes the later is true and certainly agrees with the first half of the assessment.
“After a year of taking our lumps when we won only seven but competed in the other 18, we're bearing the fruits of learning,” Recchia said. “The work they put in over the last year and a half shows in how much better we can execute.”
Word of warning to Winnebago, DeKalb, etc., Recchia summarized the win over Harlem: “We know this was far from our best executed basketball.”
Perhaps the 8-0 start lulled the Wildcats into a false sense of security as a Harlem rebound putback ended the opening quarter at 8-7. Maybe the 23-16 halftime lead wasn't cause for concern. Looking far more athletic than their 1-9 record, the Huskies were within 2 points with 3:36 left in the third quarter when West Chicago scored 6 straight prompting a Harlem timeout.
Entering the fourth quarter up 7, two free throws got the Huskies within 5 only to have West Chicago take a 42-32 lead and continually regain that margin up until a final 3-pointer by Harlem produced the final 58-46 tally.
“Ideally, our offense generates open looks for everyone,” Recchia said.
That's why all 11 Wildcats had at least a shot and 10 contributed points with Devonte Pascal and Quinn Ricci both scoring 13 with Bibbs adding 11.
“We've learned not to panic. We try to play with the same focus we use in practice,” said Ricci, who led the Wildcats with 8 rebounds and had a trio of assists and 2 steals. “I try to make an all-around contribution. I had some good plays but also made some stupid errors, so I'm looking forward to our next game. The whole team is because it's good to play a lot, the more repetitions we have the better we can become.”