Wheaton North gets start it needs vs. Lake Park
The visiting Lake Park boys basketball team and Wheaton North fought tooth-and-nail for almost three quarters with the Falcons prevailing 68-59.
The deciding factor in this contest? It was the completely dominant play of Wheaton North during the first 10 minutes that moved the victors to 10-3 overall and 2-2 in the DuPage Valley Conference.
"We were 0-2 at home coming into tonight and it was key that we got off to a good start," said Falcons coach Dave Brackmann. "With Lake Park it's always a battle and it's always a hard, physical game."
Wheaton North shot 7 of 12 from the field in the opening quarter to lead 15-5 after it. The Lancers (7-6, 2-2) were just 2 of 7.
Senior Luke Anthony, who led four double-digit Falcons scorers with 19 points, scored eight points in the first eight minutes.
Jack Bennett opened the second quarter with a steal and layup and teammate Rowan McGowen followed with two free throws to put Wheaton North up 21-5, its biggest lead of the game.
Lake Park then proceeded on a 12-1 scoring run that was capped on Diamanté Smith's basket to pull the Lancers to within 5 points with 3:45 remaining until halftime. The Falcons worked their way back to a 10-point lead on an Anthony layup converted from a turnover.
The Lancers' Tommy Zakic hit net to close the second quarter and his team trailed 30-22.
Wheaton North controlled the boards in the first half with a 9-2 advantage after the first quarter and 16-8 at halftime.
"Wheaton North is a very physical team and they killed us on the glass. They were getting too many second-chance opportunities and they hit them. That changed. And we started getting to loose balls and making them earn their first chance," said Lake Park coach Josh Virostko.
The Falcons led by 12 twice during the third quarter on a basket by Anthony that made it 36-24.
With 3:37 remaining, Matt Brcka hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. He made the free throw to put his team ahead 44-31.
And while the Lancers never got right on the heels of the Falcons, they stayed in range of Wheaton North until the very end.
Brady Olenek and Solomon Sangobowale went a combined 3 of 4 from the free-throw line over a span of 22 seconds to put the Lancers to with 48-41 with 1:06 left in the third quarter. Anthony sank two free throws 11 seconds later to help his team lead 50-41 at the conclusion of 24 minutes.
Wheaton North hit for just two field goals in the fourth period, but hot free-throw shooting kept it in the driver's seat. The Falcons were 13 of 16 in the fourth.
Two free throws by Bennett put Wheaton North up 60-46 with 4:12 left in the game. Lake Park kept battling and a free throw by Garett Fant ended a 10-2 Lancers run that cut the Falcons' lead to 62-56 with 52.2 seconds to play.
Fant scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. Jake Hianik followed with 11.
McGowen had 14 points for Wheaton North with Bennett and Ethan Block each scoring 12. Bennett had 10 rebounds.