Westminster Christian comeback falls short
Had the home rims been a bit friendlier to Westminster Christian's boys basketball team early in Tuesday's Northeastern Athletic clash with Rockford Christian Life, its second-half comeback might have stood a better chance of succeeding.
Instead, after falling behind by 18 points in the first half, the Warriors rallied to within 4 points of the lead four times in the final quarter only to fall 52-47.
Westminster Christian (11-7, 4-3) missed 15 of its first 18 shots and made only 26 percent of its attempts from the field before halftime (6 of 23).
"We were depending too much on our outside shots instead of finding the openings in the lane and taking the wide-open layup they were giving us," Westminster Christian sophomore Ben Versluys said.
"We really didn't hit our shots, but we knew we could pick up the intensity and bring it to them in the second half and get it a little closer," senior guard Dillon Rejman said. "It was never over in my mind."
Versluys scored 6 third-quarter points, but the Warriors still trailed 44-33 early in the fourth quarter after a baseline drive by Christian Life senior guard Eli Sanchez. He led all scorers with 18 points.
Then the Warriors made their move. Junior Elliot Brandon sparked a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from the corner. Scott Graziano followed with 2 free throws and Rejman drilled a jumper on Westminster's third shot of the possession to draw his team within 44-40 with 3:19 to play.
"These kids, they're pretty resilient. They don't quit," Westminster Christian coach Andy Zielinski said. "That's the thing we've been teaching them all year: you can't quit. We chipped away."
Versluys notched 7 of his 9 rebounds in the fourth quarter, including 3 offensive rebounds, but the Warriors were unable to get any closer. Trailing by 5 with three minutes left, they missed a pair of 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, Treye Tucker sank 6 of 8 fourth-quarter free throws to protect the lead for Christian Life (16-5, 7-1).
"We were down 4 a couple of times and we had 2 roll out and another I think we got hacked and didn't get the call," Rejman said. "It was frustrating because it's always nice to get it to one possession."
Rejman scored 16 points to lead the Warriors while Versluys added 9 points..
Tucker finished with 9 points and Adam Ambrogio scored 9 points for the Eagles.