North, South go right direction at Wheaton Shootout
Wheaton North found its silver lining.
Bouncing back from a crushing loss the night before, the Falcons eased the sting with a 56-48 boys basketball victory over St. Francis at the second annual Wheaton Shootout on Saturday at Wheaton North.
"The toughest thing is to sit around for a week after a loss like we had," said Falcons forward John Bagge, who had a team-high 20 points and 8 rebounds. "It was nice to have a chance to come back out and play right after losing.
"We would have liked to have won last night, but this was a good win for us."
Bagge referred to his team's gut-wrenching 55-50 overtime loss at home to West Aurora in Friday's battle for supremacy in the DuPage Valley Conference.
The Falcons (13-3), though, showed no ill effects early against the Spartans. They stormed to a 23-10 lead after one quarter, which turned out to be their widest margin of the game.
It didn't take long for St. Francis (11-5) to rally. A 16-3 run opened the second quarter, capped by three straight 3-pointers by Dan McCoy that tied the game at 26-26.
McCoy, who knocked down six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points, gave the Spartans their only lead at 31-30 on another 3-pointer early in the third quarter.
Wheaton North pulled away to an 8-point lead later in the third, but McCoy's 8 straight fourth-quarter points narrowed the gap to 45-44. The Falcons finally gained some distance with a 7-0 run over the next four minutes.
"I don't know if we ran out of gas, but those last three minutes we had some shots rimming out and it was heartbreaking out there," said Spartans coach Shawn Healy, who did not substitute the entire game.
"We didn't stop playing, and that's why I'm extremely proud of my kids."
Brian McMahon backed up McCoy's effort with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
Steve Pierotti scored 13 points and Tom Fitzpatrick added 12 for the Falcons, who committed only 6 turnovers while breaking a six-game winning streak for St. Francis.
"I thought we started out real good, which was nice to see," said Falcons coach Jim Nazos. "You always wonder how a team will respond after a tough loss, and I thought we responded well."
-- Kevin Schmit
WW South 47, Wheaton Academy 30:ŒBookend basketball got it done for Wheaton Warrenville South.
A dominant performance in the first and fourth quarters allowed the Tigers to pull away to a 47-30 victory over Wheaton Academy in the opening game at the second annual Wheaton Shootout at Wheaton North.
WW South (10-6) outscored the Warriors 25-4 in the first and last periods, including an 11-1 start in the opening quarter. The gap came in handy when Wheaton Academy (10-4) rallied within 25-24 late in the third quarter.
But after an 8-3 run boosted the Tigers' lead to 33-27 at the end of the fourth quarter, they scored the first 7 points of the fourth to seize command at 40-27.
"Since we were only up 1, there was some concern," said Tigers forward Kendrick Perry, who had a team-high 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 steals. "We just had to get the game back under control, and we were able to do that with our defense."
Five different players scored for WW South as the Tigers' jumped out to their first-quarter lead. They committed no turnovers while holding the Warriors without a field goal.
Wheaton Academy rallied through the next two quarters behind Ben Euler, who scored 19 of the team's 30 points. Euler scored 7 straight points as the Warriors pulled within a point with 2:34 left in the third quarter.
Perry and Sam Carlson combined for the Tigers' next 13 points as the team settled down. Carlson also guarded Euler in the final quarter, limiting him to a breakaway basket as the Warriors' lone field goal over the final 8:19.
"We had two quarters where we were just atrocious offensively," said Warriors coach Paul Ferguson, whose team has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. "We fought hard, made our run. It just wasn't enough."
Carlson scored 12 points and Derek Babb had 11 for the Tigers, who broke a three-game losing streak by winning twice this weekend.
"Our kids play hard," said WW South coach Mike Healy. "And what we try to instill in them is let's play smart and hard. They're really starting to use their heads out there."
-- Kevin Schmit
Hinsdale Central 55, Glenbard East 45:ŒChris Chana wouldn't lie -- a 4 p.m. start Saturday in Downers Grove was a tough sell after a long Friday night in Hinsdale.
"It was very difficult coming off our first home game of the season, against Oak Park (a 12-point loss)," the Hinsdale Central senior said. "It was hard finding the motivation. We were drained emotionally and physically."
The Red Devils shook off the hangover from Friday and shook free of Glenbard East with a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter of a 55-45 win on Saturday at the Downers Grove North Winter Classic.
Glenbard East (9-7), itself coming off a tough loss Friday to Glenbard North, took a 38-34 lead with 7:20 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Matt Trefilek.
John Whitelaw's jumper touched off Hinsdale Central's decisive stretch, and a Chana 3-pointer with 6:20 left gave the Red Devils the lead for good at 39-38.
Clay Foster scored from in close, Abe Saleh added a running jumper and a steal and score, and Jason Rafferty's layup on a feed from Whitelaw after a Glenbard East turnover made it 47-38.
The Rams went more than four minutes without a score until Derak Stanback's 2 free throws with 3:14 left.
Glenbard East played minus two injured regulars, including sophomore starting guard Jack Merrithey.
"One of the teams was going to have to crank it up and take control," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said, "and we were hoping we would. But they took it to us. We're a little tired and a little banged up. Not that that's an excuse -- Hinsdale Central went out and got it."
Neither team led by more than 4 points over the first three quarters of an up-and-down game.
Hinsdale Central (10-5) took a 24-23 lead at halftime, Chana hitting a 3-pointer as time expired. This, despite 9 Red Devils turnovers in the first half.
"Boy, that first half, it was about as ugly a first half as we've played this season," Red Devils coach Ed Lynch said. "It looked like we were moving in quicksand."
Trefilek scored 15 points and Stanback 8 for Glenbard East. Lee Skinner added 6 points and 6 rebounds.
Chana had 13 points and 9 rebounds, Saleh 12 points and Foster 10 for Hinsdale Central.
"We expended so much energy in that Oak Park game," Lynch said. "To the kids' credit, in the fourth quarter they gutted it out and found a way to win."
-- Joshua Welge
Naperville Central 42, Downers Grove South 41:ŒOn one bad ankle Drew Crawford couldn't play hero for Naperville Central.
The Redhawks junior guard missed a tough jumper from the right wing in the closing seconds of a 42-41 loss to Downers Grove South at the Downers Grove North Winter Classic.
"It didn't feel good leaving my hand," Crawford admitted. "It wasn't the best attempt. I should have probably tried to go to the basket."
Crawford, who turned his ankle late in the third quarter, hit game-winners against Naperville North and Notre Dame in December.
With Naperville Central trailing 42-41 and 5.8 seconds left, Crawford took an inbounds pass from midcourt and couldn't connect from 15 feet with Downers Grove South senior Billy Dillon draped right on him. A last-second heave on the rebound by the Redhawks fell short.
"Billy Dillon's been our best defensive guard all year," Mustangs coach Paul Runyon said. "Everybody in the gym knew they were going to Crawford. Billy did a nice job staying in front of him and forcing a tough shot."
Downers Grove South (10-6) took a 40-38 lead with 1:08 left on a Malcolm Herron 3-pointer. Crawford's three-point play put Naperville Central ahead 41-40, and Dillon's layup on a feed from Andrius Simulis with 12 seconds remaining put the Mustangs back ahead.
"This puts us at 10 wins," Runyon said, "which for a young team with only two seniors, to get 10 this early in January is pretty good."
Crawford scored 9 of his game-high 19 points during a 9-0 Redhawks' run that turned a 21-15 Downers Grove South lead into a 24-21 Naperville Central advantage with 3:39 left in the third.
But he turned his ankle on a wet spot on the floor in the final minutes of the quarter, and with Crawford out Downers Grove South took a 26-24 lead into the fourth.
Harrison Daniels' 3-pointer with 6:49 left gave the Redhawks the lead back at 28-26, and neither team led by 2 points the rest of the way.
Nick Linne had a tying 3-pointer, Mike Schmitz a backdoor layup and Matt Jones an inside score with Crawford on the bench to keep the Redhawks close.
Crawford re-entered with 1:56 left, and Jones' 2 free throws gave the Redhawks a 40-38 lead with 1:42 to play.
Herron scored 11 points, Alex Gorniak 9 and Dillon 7 for Downers Grove South. Jones scored 7 for Naperville Central (11-6).
"It's a tough game -- it could have gone either way," Redhawks coach Pete Kramer said. "It came down to who would make the last shot, and they did."
-- Joshua Welge
Lyons Twp. 42, Glenbard West 36:ŒDespite Lyons Twp.'s best efforts, Glenbard West's John Shurna still managed to score 19 points and grab 16 rebounds.
The bad news for Glenbard West? Its yearlong battle for offensive balance continued without success, as the Hilltoppers dropped a 42-36 decision in Glen Ellyn.
Bryant Venson scored 7 points to serve as the Glenbard West's second-leading scorer, and only four other Hilltoppers besides Shurna registered any points at all.
Still, Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder sees progress on the offensive side of the ball.
"I think people are getting more shot attempts, and the next step is to make some shots," Hoder said. "A lot of times we'll have kids who play the whole game and they might have three shots. I think we're getting six and seven shots from some kids, and the next step is to start making them."
While tough times continued for Glenbard West (8-6, 1-3 West Suburban Silver) on offense, the Hilltoppers managed to play tight defensively, holding Lyons Twp. to just 19 first-half points.
"The thing I asked the kids to do is to go out there and compete. They're physically stronger than us at probably every position," Hoder said. "They still got a lot of offensive rebounds and some junk, but it wasn't because of our lack of effort, and so in that respect the kids did what I asked."
The Hilltoppers pulled to within one point of Lyons Twp. three times in the fourth quarter, yet each time fell short of tying or taking the lead. A Shurna layup with 1:33 remaining made the score 36-35 before Matt Hirt responded with a clutch jumper to give the Lions some breathing room.
After a Hilltoppers turnover in their own end, 6-foot-8 center Jeff Adams rebounded his missed free throw and converted the layup, giving Lyons Twp. (14-2, 4-1) a 40-34 lead and all but icing the game.
"Every possession was important," Lions coach Conte Stamas said. "The pressure was on every possession, and we were fortunate."
While close games give his team valuable experience for the playoff push, they're not the easiest games to handle.
"It makes my heart hurt a little bit, because there's no breathing room," he said. "If you look on the positive side, maybe it helps us to being in close games and to be in those pressure situations."
-- Matthew McClarey
Benet 57, St. Patrick 56: Earning its biggest victory of the year while dealing St. Patrick its first East Suburban Catholic Conference loss, Benet (7-7, 3-3) traveled to Chicago and exploded for a 23-point first quarter. St. Patrick (10-5, 5-1) led 44-38 after three quarters before the Benet Redwings outscored St. Patrick 19-12 in the fourth. Brian Gaughan scored 22 points, Jono Davern 12 and Ryan Haggerty 11 to lead Benet. Tim Traversa's 21 points led St. Patrick.