ACC perfect after topping Spartans

St. Francis' boys basketball team had a bad omen from the start.

When Aurora Central Catholic twin posts Nick Czaja and Mike Adams hit back-to-back jump hooks in the first quarter, the Spartans should have realized it was not in the cards.

The Chargers scored the opening 8 points of the Suburban Catholic Conference contest in Wheaton Friday, and St. Francis' numerous rotation mixes failed to find the right mix.

Aurora Central extended its season-opening winning streak to nine games with a convincing 53-30 victory over the Spartans, its third straight in the league. St. Francis fell to 4-2, 2-1.

"Our kids just shut them down defensively," said Aurora Central coach Nate Drye.

The triumvirate of Czaja, Adams and his older brother Mark Adams operated seamlessly all evening for the Chargers, ultimately producing 45 points as each finished the game with 15 each.

The three had dominant individual quarters to pace the Chargers' unexpected blowout.

Czaja had a 3-point play 11 seconds into the game to start the Aurora Central rout, and the junior forward ended the first with 9 points to pace the early assault.

Mike Adams took the cue in the second, and when the junior banked home a 24-foot 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer, the Spartans' nightmarish first half was over.

Unfortunately, St. Francis' 29-17 deficit at the intermission would only grow. The younger Adams augmented his play with 6 rebounds and 5 steals, and his 9-point second quarter was trumped in the third by his older sibling.

Mark Adams put the game out of reach after halftime with his inspired third-quarter play.

The senior had an electrifying corkscrew, reverse layup for one of his 5 field goals in the frame, and he later raced coast to coast with a steal and dunk.

"Mark can basically do it all," Mike Adams said. "Our half-court (offense) is pretty much unstoppable."

St. Francis, meanwhile, was in the midst of a bedeviling quarter in front of the home folks.

The Spartans endured a scoreless quarter, turning the

ball over 8 times while missing all 6 of their shot attempts from the field.

"I would like to think it was coaching," Drye quipped.

"We didn't take care of the ball very well," St. Francis coach Shawn Healy said. "We weren't doing the fundamentals we needed to do to beat a zone. They're obviously undefeated for a reason."

St. Francis' second-half drought from the field finally ended when Dan McCoy hit the last of his three 3-pointers with 5: 13 to play.

Dave Palash led St. Francis with 12 points, and McCoy finished with 11.