West Chicago gets nonconference win over St. Francis
West Chicago is in a conference race that will go down to the wire. When the going gets tough the Wildcats can draw on experiences like Tuesday's nonconference game against gritty St. Francis.
St. Francis grabbed an early 4-2 lead, and though West Chicago quickly recaptured the lead for good, the Spartans never went away until late, a 58-49 Wildcats win on Tuesday in Wheaton.
"Perseverance," West Chicago coach Bill Recchia said in summary. "The belief that they weren't going to lose this ballgame.
"They didn't panic out there. They believed they were going to win the ballgame the entire time. They got the ball into the hands of the right guys at the right time. Everyone contributed. That makes for a solid team."
Several times St. Francis (7-18) was in position. Gabe Johnson, who led all players with 24 points, scored 6 straight to end the first half trailing 27-26. West Chicago (19-5) scored the first 2 points of the third quarter and edged ahead 33-28.
Two Nick Cooney free throws capped a 6-0 Spartans mini-run at 2:02 of the third quarter. West Chicago - tied for the Upstate Eight Valley lead with Glenbard East - scored on Jourdan Habecker's inbounds pass to Jacob Wiegele and followed with Tai Bibbs's easy two-handed dunk for a 41-36 lead entering the fourth.
"It took energy, effort and drive, diving for those loose balls," said West Chicago's Devonte Pascal, who scored 11 points with 6 rebounds, 4 on the offensive glass.
"They can capitalize," said Cooney, who scored 4 points and blocked 3 shots. "You can't give good players second chances. We've just got to do a better job of boxing out as a team."
West Chicago held a slim 46-42 lead with 3:23 left to play. Bibbs, who scored 15 points, extended the lead with 3 free throws and Quinn Ricci converted Pascal's transition pass for a 9-point lead with 1:28 remaining.
"I think defense was a huge part, and running the offense and attacking the basket really hard, trying to get fouls, was a really important part of the game," said 17-point scorer Ricci, who hit 2 of the Wildcats' 11 fourth-quarter free throws. Ricci, Pascal, Bibbs and Peter Dolan combined to go 11 of 14 from the line.
Johnson scored 16 of his 24 points in the first half, with Cooney, Will Purdom and powerful Shane Walker adding balance.
"They're a good team," said St. Francis coach Erin Dwyer. "We knew in the second half there would be a run, where two or three possessions in a row people have got to execute. Little plays, little things, and that's something that we've been trying to do all year. I was very proud of how we played."