Wheaton Warrenville S. 44, West Chicago 38
With one starting senior in the lineup, West Chicago's boys basketball team will need a little time to sort things out this year, and part of that sorting process occurred Friday despite the Wildcats' 44-38 loss to visiting Wheaton Warrenville South.
"We've been trying to find out who we are, and certainly we'd like to win the ballgame," said Wildcats coach Kevin Gimre. "But I thought tonight was a positive step for us."
West Chicago defended well throughout the DuPage Valley Conference opener and hit some big shots to keep things close, but Wheaton Warrenville South defended better in a crucial fourth quarter in securing the win.
Afterward, Tigers coach Mike Healy quickly tipped his hat to the Wildcats, and then struggled to find positive words to say about his team's night.
"I thought defensively we did a much better job in the second half, and rebounded the ball all right at both ends," said Tigers coach Mike Healy. "But that's about it."
"Decisions," said Tigers senior Byron Given, in citing the Tigers' problem area. "The difference between taking good shots and bad shots, being where you're supposed to be, cutting hard, and just getting down the whole rhythm of our offense."
Given led all scorers with 17 points on the night and also pulled down a game-high six rebounds, while West Chicago got 14 points from sophomore guard Chad Driscoll and 10 from fellow sophomore Tyler Griffith.
The Wildcats (0-5, 0-1 in DVC play) were patient offensively led 11-10 after a quarter, over a Tigers (5-0, 1-0) team that was quick on the trigger from behind the arc.
The Tigers won the second quarter and led 25-21 at halftime, getting a few inside buckets from Stephen Mueller and a pair of three-pointers from Given, who hit five treys on the night.
"Byron Given can sure shoot the ball, and that helped them out significantly," Gimre said. "Byron had his share, and that's just going to happen, but I thought we did a nice job defensively on their other kids."
West Chicago outscored the Tigers 10-9 in the third quarter, with Driscoll scoring seven points on a trey and two mid-range jump shots. Griffith also stole a pass and threw down a breakaway dunk in the third, as the Wildcats trailed 34-31 heading into the fourth.
The Tigers played tough defensively throughout the final period, however, earning a 10-7 scoring edge and holding on for the win despite finishing 2-of-14 from the free throw line.
"If we just knocked down five more free throws -- there's just a lot of things we need to do to make things easier on us," Healy said.
-- Gary Larsen
South Elgin 46, Lake Park 38:ŒThis was a victory that didn't feel like one.
South Elgin shot only 40 percent from the free-throw line, failing to put away Lake Park until late in the fourth quarter as the host Storm beat the Lancers 46-38.
"In my eyes we don't deserve to win," Storm coach Chaz Taft said. "We can't have too many of these where we miss that many free throws, miss that many box outs and still come away with a victory."
South Elgin (3-2, 1-0 Upstate Eight Conference) was able to overcome its 8-of-20 free-throw shooting by holding the Lancers to 32 percent shooting and forcing 21 turnovers.
The Storm led 16-13 at halftime despite missing 7 of 8 free throws. But Lake Park (2-3, 0-1) wasn't much better as the Lancers turned the ball over 12 times and shot 4 of 14 in the first half.
Lake Park didn't hit its first field goal until one minute remained in the first quarter when Trent Patterson hit a free-throw line jumper to tie the game at 6-6.
"They took us out of our offense," Lancers coach Cray Allen said. "We've got to learn to get open."
The Lancers came out of halftime with a designed play for Danny Baylis, who hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to tie the game at 16-16. Lake Park eventually took its first lead since 2-0 later in the third quarter on a Michael Pavone three-point play gave the Lancers a 25-24 lead with 1:48 left.
With Lake Park up 27-24, South Elgin senior Adam Hodge hit a 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining in the third as the game was tied 27-27 heading into the fourth.
The Storm scored the first 5 points of the fourth as Hodge and Jordan Dobler hit jumpers and Daniel Lopez made 1 of 2 free throws. The lead never went below 3 the rest of the way, but the Storm were never comfortable as they made only 5 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter.
"We made it closer than it should have been with all the free throws we missed," said Hodge, who led the Storm with 14 points and 8 rebounds. "We could have done the little things better. That kept them in the game I think."
The Storm's Alex Sanchez, who frustrated Lake Park point guards all night, finished with 10 points, 8 in the fourth quarter, and 4 steals. Josh Glenn also added 10 points.
Pavone scored a game-high 14 for Lake Park. Baylis finished with 13 points, 9 coming in the second half.
-- Brian Schaumburg
Oak Park 45, Glenbard West 26: Glenbard West looked to establish its style of play in Friday's West Suburban Silver basketball showdown against Oak Park. In the early going, the Hilltoppers were effective at doing that. They slowed down the tempo of the game with their patient halfcourt offense and their 2-3 zone on defense gave the Huskies some fits.
But it was only a matter of time before Oak Park's quickness and athleticism took over. The host Huskies got rolling in the second quarter fueled by some turnovers and cruised to a 45-26 victory over visiting Glenbard West.
"(The Huskies) are so quick and athletic," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder. "We were able to sustain it for awhile, but we couldn't sustain it for four quarters. We will get better from this -- playing against kids with this level of athleticism."
Playing in his second game of the season after being out for a week because of an injury to his thumb on his shooting hand, standout Hilltoppers center John Shurna was the focus of the Oak Park defense. The Huskies pressure kept Shurna from getting the ball and when the Northwestern-bound senior had it, the defense swarmed all over him.
Shurna did finish with a team-high 14 points but was held without a point in the second quarter. As a team, Glenbard West (3-2, 0-1) had its struggles finishing on offense, scoring in the single digits in each of the four quarters.
"We lost three of the last four times we played them because of John Shurna," said Oak Park coach Al Allen. "We are glad to be able to beat John Shurna and Glenbard West. They run a great program."
Shurna led the way in the first quarter, scoring 6 points as the Hilltoppers led 8-5 at the end of the first eight minutes of play.
But in the second quarter, Oak Park used its quickness on defense to get some momentum. The Huskies fullcourt press and half-court trap forced Glenbard West into 9 turnovers and the Hilltoppers managed only 5 points -- a 3-pointer from the right wing by Bryant Venson off a feed from J.T. Wiebe and Shurna fed Wiebe on a nice cut to the basket. Oak Park led 16-13 at halftime.
The Jesse White Tumblers entertained fans at halftime and the exciting action continued when the Huskies (5-2, 1-0) took the court for the second half. Players such as Iman Shumpert, Dan Barnes and Adam Taylor pushed the ball up the court for shots and in the fourth quarter, they got to the foul line as the Hilltoppers were forced to foul to stop the clock.
Oak Park finished the game with a 13-1 run. Shumpert, a senior who will play at Georgia Tech next year, had 9 points during that run, including slamming home an alley-oop dunk. He scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter. Barnes and Taylor finished with 10 points apiece.
"Give Oak Park credit -- they know their strengths, which are their guards," Shurna said. "They get it and put the pressure on."
-- Brian Pitts
Downers Grove South 63, Willowbrook 56, OT:ŒWhen you're a young team trying to find your way through the world of varsity boys basketball, any win is a big one.
But when that win is the result of erasing a 13-point deficit with six minutes to play, the ramifications could resound throughout the season.
Time will tell if that's the case for Downers Grove South, but if the Mustangs go on to great things this season, they could look back to a cold Nov. 30 evening as the jumping off point.
Trailing visiting Willowbrook 48-35 early in the fourth quarter, Downers South (3-1, 1-0 West Suburban Gold) fought back to tie the game at 50 at the end of regulation before sprinting away from the Warriors (3-2, 0-1) in overtime for a 63-56 triumph.
"The never-give-up attitude these guys have shown so far has been great," said Downers South coach Paul Runyon.
Truth be told, it could have been easy to give up when faced with such a deficit, but instead of packing it in, the Mustangs turned up the defensive pressure on the Warriors. After committing just 6 turnovers through 3 quarters, Willowbrook gave the ball away 10 times in the fourth, resulting in numerous easy baskets for the Mustangs.
Spearheading the defensive effort for Downers South was Malcolm Herron, who had 4 steals in the fourth quarter and overtime on the way to a game-high 18 points, while he also grabbed 10 rebounds.
"The pressure sparked us the most," he said. "We had some steals and defensive stops -- and a lot of heart."
When Herron wasn't turning the steals into baskets of his own, he was setting up Andrius Simulis for big shots; together the pair combined for 15 of Downers South's 16 points in the fourth quarter.
On the other side Willowbrook coach Tim Lavorato saw his team look like the inexperienced squad over the final six minutes, plus the four minutes of overtime -- during which the Warriors had just one field goal -- after they had efficiently built their big lead.
"We hurt ourselves and that's the bottom line," he said. "You need good decision-making in game situations and we didn't play well in those situations and they did. We're a good team and it's early in the season, but we're a team that has to learn to play in those situations."
Willowbrook's advantage was built on yeoman work on the boards as it outrebounded the Mustangs 49-26 in the game, while their 24 offensive rebounds -- most of which were grabbed by Milton Colbert, Joe Flood, Jamell Hunter and Kevin Pohl -- led to 25 of the Warriors' 56 points.
-- Chris Traczek
York 61, Downers North 46: Full team contributions.
That's what must happen this season for York. Friday night at Downers Grove North, the Dukes got it.
Starting guards Kevin Kahovec and Tom Judge scored in a decisive 9-0 run, but reserves Joe Santiago and Will Sullivan also keyed the flurry, which paved the way to the Dukes' 61-46 West Suburban Silver victory.
"No matter who we brought in off the bench I thought they played just as hard -- whether it was for 15 seconds or for three minutes -- than any of the starters," said York coach Al Biancalana.
Off to a nice start in the game and the season, Downers North (4-1, 0-1) led after the first quarter and at halftime, 26-24.
Over a span of 3:23 in the third quarter, scrappy York (3-2, 1-0) turned a 5-point deficit into a 34-30 lead.
"They kind of went to an individual-style offense and we stayed with our team defense, and that's really what pulled it out for us," Judge said.
Free throws, too. York made 31 of 41, including 20 of 29 in the fourth quarter.
"We'll keep them level-headed, watch some film, correct things that we've done wrong and get better because of it," said Downers North coach Jim Thomas.
Steve Ganser led York with 17 points. Roger Coffin added 11 and Kahovec 10. Deon Thomas led the Trojans with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
-- David Oberhelman
Glenbard South 59, Geneva 58:ŒFirst Glenbard South junior Ralondo Shumate gave his boys basketball team a lift. Then the Raiders and their fans returned the favor.
Shumate's 2 free throws with 12.3 seconds to play boosted the Raiders to a thrilling 59-58 Western Sun Conference victory against Geneva on Friday night in Glen Ellyn.
Geneva (4-2, 1-1) had one last shot, but it hit off the rim, the Raiders' Sam Mitchell clutched the rebound at the buzzer, then they celebrated by lifting the 5-foot-5 Shumate to their shoulders at midcourt.
"It feels good," Shumate said. "It feels real good."
It feels especially good to the Raiders (3-2, 1-1), who already are just two wins shy of last year's total.
"It feels great," said second-year Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke. "The kids really over the summer -- and the tail end of last year -- started buying into the program, understanding what we were trying to get done. They kept that going through the summer. The kids have been working hard and playing hard. Every day in practice is a battle, kind of like what you saw out here."
The Raiders got a fast start, jumping out to a 21-9 lead after one quarter on a Shumate 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"We just need to start playing a little bit harder," Geneva coach Tim Pease said. "The first quarter was something that wasn't very pretty to watch. Take that away and we played a decent game on the road over here."
But Pease's teams are built for comebacks, with a frenetic, attacking style of play and a mean trapping defense. They didn't disappoint, cutting the Glenbard South lead to 3 at halftime and tying the game at 34 on a Jeremy D'Amico lay-in midway through the third quarter. They finally took their first lead with 6:43 to go in the fourth quarter on a pair of Max Cary free throws.
"I knew that our kids weren't going to lie down, I knew they were going to come back," Pease said. "We just wanted to start that process a little bit sooner, like when we got off the bus."
The teams fought tooth and nail down the stretch, with Geneva taking its last lead on a pair of D'Amico free throws with 33.0 seconds to play. That set up Shumate's heroics.
"I was pretty nervous because I missed my first five (free throws), they went in and out," Shumate said. "But I had to get focused and knock them down for the team."
It didn't help that he was playing on a wobbly ankle he injured and had to get taped earlier in the game. He was still limping afterward.
"Ralondo went down in the fourth quarter with his ankle, really kind of a gutsy performance there," Hardtke said. "He stepped up down the stretch."
-- Orrin Schwarz
Fenton 61, Elmwood Park 45:ŒDamian Sieradzki scored a game-high 27 points as the visiting Bison (2-3, 1-0) claimed victory in their Metro Suburban Conference opener. Gozie Umeadi added 12 points and Billy Gratzl netted 11 points.
Lisle 46, Manteno 32:ŒThe visiting Lions (1-6, 1-0) notched their first win of the season to open play in the Interstate Eight Conference. Andrew Rapciak led all scorers with 20 points, knocking down six 3-pointers.
Lyons Twp. 54, Hinsdale Central 44:ŒJohn Whitelaw led the Red Devils (3-1, 0-1) with 16 points in their West Suburban Silver loss on the road.