Wrap: Warriors' Beachler hits 1,000
It was an historical night for the Westminster Christian boys basketball program, in particularly historical to senior Tyler Beachler.
With 9 points, Beachler reached the 1,000 career-point milestone, and then some nabbing 1,001 and 1,002 finishing the game with 11 points while helping the Warriors to a 56-26 victory over Durand.
"It was awesome," said Beachler. "What a great feeling. It would have been even better at home, but it was still incredible.
"More than anything, I want to thank my teammates.. I was able to do all of this because of them."
Beachler becomes just the fourth player in Westminster history to accomplish such a feat, the second to do so during the 2007-08 campaign.
"To think about the fact that this kid scored 98 career goals as a soccer player, and scored 1,000 points in basketball is just remarkable," said Warrior coach Bruce Firchau. "It is a rarity.
"It is not only quite a milestone for Westminster Christian School, but I'm sure it is quite a milestone in the IHSA. They will be talking about Tyler for years to come."
Teammate Joel Benson led the Warriors with 18 points, and ironically enough, Benson was the other player to reach the 1,000 mark this year back on December 8.
Beachler hit the 1,000 mark with his ninth point at the conclusion of the first half, and Durand got word of it.
"What a class act Durand was," said Firchau. "They acknowledged Tyler before the start of the second half which was great.
"I have been fortunate enough to see a lot of those points, and am blessed to have coached a kid like Tyler. Although, I think the credit should go to his mom," Firchau laughed.
As for what's next, Beachler says, "Now state!
"If we keep playing the way we have been playing, we can do it. Forget the numbers. That is what is on my mind, and it is what has been on my mind."
Boys basketball
Waubonsie Valley 48, Dundee-Crown 38: Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber knew his boys basketball team would have a tough time winning Friday night at Waubonsie Valley, but he devised a scheme to make sure things wouldn't come too easily for the Warriors.
Huber's Chargers managed to slow down the fast-paced Warriors attack in the second and third quarters to keep the game close, but it was Waubonsie's defense that ended up doing in Dundee-Crown as the hosts prevailed 48-38 in the low-scoring affair.
"Our game plan was to try and win 38-37, but they scored 11 more points (than that)," Huber said. "They're pretty good, though. You have to guard all of their guys."
Waubonsie (17-3) jumped head 16-9 in the first quarter as Justin Peaster, Jelani Johnson and Josh Daniels each put down 3-pointers. But the 7-7 Chargers slowed things down a little after the first quarter and limited the Warriors to 20 points over the second and third quarters combined and, after trailing 36-25 after three quarters, clipped the margin to 41-36 with 2:45 left to play. It was a pair of 3-pointers by Rob Stupar and a three-point play by Jeff Beck that brought Dundee-Crown within 5.
"They were passing 10, 11 times a possession. It was crazy," said Daniels, who scored 10 points for the Warriors. "They had a lot of triple screens and double screens. We just had to stick with it."
Waubonsie coach Steve Weemer, whose team has won six straight, credited his team's defense for helping hold the Chargers to a 15-of-44 shooting night and for carrying the team on a night when its offense was not at its best.
"They're a team that likes to play a half-court game, and they cut real hard," he said. "They keep working and they almost lull you to sleep and then they get great opportunities.
"Our defense carried us. It was one of our best on-ball defensive efforts. That was the key."
Another key was a balanced attack that saw Johnson lead three scorers in double figures with 15 points, as well as Kyle Obendorf's 8 rebounds.
"We missed a lot of shots and they had a couple runs," Johnson said. "We knew we just had to keep playing defense."
After the Chargers closed to within 41-36, Waubonsie guard Kevin VandenBerg split the Dundee-Crown defense with a driving layup through the lane, then added a free throw to increase the lead to 44-36 with 2:05 left to play. All the visitors could muster from there was a fastbreak basket by Kyle Vickstrom.
"They're better than their record indicates," Weemer said of the Chargers. "They're a dangerous team, and this is a good win for us."
Freddie Parson scored 8 points off the bench to lead the Chargers, while Justin Strzelczyk had a pair of 3s and David Bernard added 8 rebounds.
-- Stan Goff
Marian Central 78, St. Edward 72: The play could have been a gam- winner.
St. Edward coach Keith Chuipek drew the play up during a timeout as St. Edward was trailing 75-72 to Marian Central with 14 seconds remaining in Friday night's Suburban Catholic Conference contest in Elgin.
Unfortunately, all that materialized was Brett Manning dribbling down the right side of the court and throwing the ball to an unaware Riley Coleman. Coleman cut to the basket with the ball going out of bounds in the opposite direction sealing the Green Wave's fate.
With St. Edward forced to foul, Marian Central's Andrew Stochl split a pair of free throws and Chris Casey (10 points) got a steal and basket as time expired giving the Hurricanes a 78-72 victory at St. Edward.
"We needed to execute that play," said Manning, who was one of 9 players in double digits with 14 points. "That was the turning point. (But) It's more frustrating to lose the lead we had."
St. Edward (6-13, 0-9) grabbed a 63-60 lead with 4:16 left in the game when Josh Dix nailed a long 2-pointer. Dix finished with 20 of his 23 points in the second half, including 9 in the fourth quarter.
Marian Central (3-17, 2-7) responded with an 18-9 run to close out the game. Stochl, who finished with 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, nailed a 3-pointer on the next trip down the court.
St. Edward would miss 6 shots in a row after Dix gave it a 63-60 lead. Dix also brought St. Edward to 75-72 when he made a double-pump 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining. After going 1 of 3 in the first half, Dix was 7 of 10 in the second half.
"I was feeling it so I let it go," Dix said. "In the first half, I wasn't in the flow."
Dix had originally tied the game at 57 when he took a pass from Manning (6 assists) and connected on a layup.
Marian Central turned on the heat after that.
"When it was 57 up, we came out scoring 21 points," Hurricanes' coach Curtis Price said. "We never really relaxed. We kept bringing it to them."
Steve Martin (16 points) and John Sheehan (10 points) each finished in double figures for the Green Wave. Jack Gilleland (18 points) and Matt Everly (10 points) contributed for the Hurricanes. Marian Central forward Jordan Peart scored all 11 of his points in the first half, before fouling out with 6:32 reaming in the fourth quarter. In Peart's absence, Stochl converted 9 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
"We got their best player (Peart) out of the game early," Chuipek said. "We ran some isolation plays with Brett. (Stochl) took over the game when (Peart) went out."
-- Matt Stacionis
Girls basketball
Hampshire 52, Harvard 29: The Hampshire Whip-Purs' girls basketball team fell behind in the first quarter against the Harvard Hornets, but quickly turned things around and went on to win 52-29 Friday in a Big Northern East Hampshire.
The Whip-Purs (13-7, 5-1) started the game off slow and had trouble beating the Harvard press. Hampshire scored the first basket of the game, but Harvard took advantage of some careless turnovers to go on a 10-0 run.
"It was kind of like we were standing around and waiting for someone to take over. When you only have one senior (on the team) it is sometimes (tough) to find that leader out on the floor," said Hampshire head coach Sue Ellett.
It was all Hampshire from there on out though. With 1:32 left to play in the opening quarter, that one senior, Mallory Koster, knocked down a 12-foot jumper from the corner that started a 26-3 run for the Whip-Purs.
"We came out and were rushing things and getting out of hand, so we just needed to slow it down and play at our pace," said Koster, who added 6 of her 10 points during the run. "We all play like seniors. I don't feel like I am the only one out there, so I don't feel like I am the only one they depend on to score and pick us up."
Hampshire's defense held the Hornets to only 1 field goal in the second and third quarters combined to help give the Whips a 20-point lead, causing Harvard to turn the ball over 38 times in the game.
"We always have defensive goals for every game and today it was to hold (Harvard) to under 30 (points), and we accomplished that. I know we can score more than 30 (points)," said Ellett. "(52) points is fine. We played under control. There were a few too many turnovers for my liking, but a good part of that was because of the physical (play) in the game."
Chrissy Heine led all scorers with a game-high 13 points. Most of her points were in the paint where she also grabbed a game-high 8 rebounds.
"I think we really stepped it up and started talking more," said Heine. "One of our main goals to box out and get the rebounds. We wanted to do our best and play hard and run the score up so everyone could get in and play, because everyone works hard in practice."
-- Todd Johnson
Burlington Central 50, Marengo 45: Burlington Central's defense was solid throughout. Its offense finally got untracked in the second half and the Rockets downed Marengo, 50-45, in Big Northern East action in Marengo.
The final score was deceptive. The Rockets led by 8 to 10 points for most of the fourth quarter. But they missed 4 straight free throws at one point. The Indians took advantage with a 7-0 run to make it 48-45 with 8 seconds to play. Brianna Conran then made 2 free throws with 6 seconds remaining to clinch it.
Melanie Laird came up huge with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots for the Rockets. Cory Bazany had 14 points and 6 boards. Jordan Maisto scored all of her 13 points in the second half.
"I was happy with our defensive effort tonight," said Central coach Darlene Guyett.
Central (14-6, 4-1) led just 16-13 after a first half in which neither team could find the range offensively.
After the break, Marengo got within a point twice.
Burlington then broke the game open with a 7-0 run consisting of 2 Bazany baskets sandwiched around a Maisto 3-pointer.
"We knew if we stayed patient we would end up starting to knock down some shots," Guyett said. "Jordan Maisto stepped up there and Melanie Laird hit some big free throws. It was just a matter of taking care of the ball."
The Rockets attempted 27 free throws to just 7 for the home team. Although they only made 14, it was more than enough.
Laird was 3 of 4 from the line in the fourth quarter, and Conran was 4 of 6.
Marissa Haskins and Brooke Martin scored 12 points apiece for Marengo, and nearly shot the Indians back into the ballgame.
Martin's 3-pointer made it 45-37 after the Rockets had led by as many as 14 in the final period. With the Indians down 48-40, Haskins made a basket and, after 2 missed free throws, Martin nailed another 3 to get the Indians within 3 points. But they could get no closer.
-- Allen Oshinski
Jacobs 48, McHenry 47: Trailing 36-28 going into the fourth quarter, Jacobs (11-9, 2-2) took over the reigns for this come from behind victory in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action.
Maria Tamburrino (15 points) and Hailey Cnota (14 points) led the Golden Eagles who outscored McHenry 20-11 in the fourth quarter to nab this one-point win. Markie Rahn added 8 points.
Huntley 63, CL Central 33: With a career-high 17 points, Shannon Callahan (3 steals) led Huntley (12-8, 2-2) to this Fox Valley Conference Fox Division victory. Katie Bergquist added 10 points in the Red Raider win.
Durand 50, Westminster Christian 37: Despite solid offensive efforts from Sarah Rodgers (10 points) and Rachel Doby (8 points), Westminster Christian (0-13) dropped this nonconference match-up.
St. Charles East 55, Elgin 28: Caris Alan led all scorers with 13 points for Elgin (0-20, 0-7), but it wasn't enough as the Maroons fell to the Saints in Upstate Eight Conference play. Katie Quick scored 6 points.
Marian Central 70, St. Edward 58: Despite a 29-point showing from Katie Yohn, which included two from behind the arc, St. Edward (9-8, 5-4) dropped this Suburban Catholic Conference contest. Celeste VonAhnen contributed with 19 points.
Prairie Ridge 62, Grayslake Central 55: Prairie Ridge (9-12, 3-1) put on a strong show earning this Fox Valley Conference Fox Division win over Grayslake Central in overtime. With 20 points, Jackie Schwartz led the Wolves as well as all scorers. Sister Julie Schwartz added 13 points in the win.
South Elgin 66, East Aurora 41: With double-digit scoring from both Genevieve Johnson and Courtney Kumerow each with matching 14-point efforts, South Elgin (11-10, 3-4) took this Upstate Eight Conference win from East Aurora.
Gymnastics
New Trier d. Elgin/Larkin: New Trier etched out the Elgin/Larkin co-op 139.55 to 110.10. The Elgin Larkin coop was led by Brady Kirkland who had an 8.8 on floor exercises for fifth place, Lizzy Niles who finished fourth on the vault with an 8.4 and Andrea Vercelli who took fourth on the floor with an 8.09.
Wrestling
Zinke at 499: Dundee-Crown defeated Crystal Lake South Friday night to give Chargers coach Al Zinke his 499th win.
Zinke will go for No. 500 today when the Chargers host a triangular meet at 10 a.m. with Machesney Park Harlem and Rockford Jefferson.