Bunkenburg gets win No. 200 with Eagles

Last Thursday's 94-59 triumph over Rockford put the Benedictine men's basketball team at the .500 mark (7-7) in Northern Athletics Conference play, and the victory also had some historical significance for the Eagles.

It was the 200th career coaching victory at Benedictine for Keith Bunkenburg, who is currently in his 13th season at the helm of his alma mater.

After adding a 78-51 win over conference foe Maranatha Baptist Bible College on Saturday, the Eagles are now 201-133 since Bunkenburg took over the reins from his mentor and former coach Tony LaScala for the 1995-96 season.

The team has averaged 16 wins and has claimed four conference titles in the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC) and made four trips to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Last year, the Eagles joined the newly-formed 12-team NAC.

Under Bunkenburg's guidance, the Cardinals had a school-record nine consecutive winning seasons between 1996 and 2005.

"I guess this means I'm getting old," joked Bunkenburg when asked about the significance of the milestone. "Seriously, no coach can be successful without a combination of quality student-athletes, assistant coaches who mesh with your coaching philosophy and a supportive administration. I've been blessed to have all three of these components during my time at Benedictine."

A native Chicagoan, Bunkenburg, 41, graduated from St. Patrick High School, where he was an all-conference baseball and basketball player as well as each team's MVP. He continued that two-sport success in college, starting in basketball for four years and as a catcher for the Eagles baseball team.

As a junior, he was named MVP for both baseball and basketball. He also played varsity golf all four years.

In the four years Bunkenburg, a 1989 graduate, played basketball at then Illinois Benedictine College, the Eagles had a 68-34 record and four NIIC regular-season titles. Bunkenburg, who made all-conference three times, ranks ninth on the school's career scoring list with 1,432 points. He was a major contributor to the 1987-88 team that won 21 games, second-most in school history.

Since returning to his alma mater as an assistant to the legendary LaScala, Bunkenburg has also served as head coach for men's and women's tennis and for men's and women's golf.

Bunkenburg said he enjoys the challenge of coaching whether the team is having a winning or a losing year.

"The years we have talented teams, there's not a whole lot of coaching you have to do," he said. "In other years you have to dig really deep to find any combination or advantage that will work. There are different challenges from team to team, but I always love the teaching, the varsity competition and the relationships we build with the kids."

CCIW basketball: Two products of local DuPage colleges earned the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Conference player of the week awards for last week.

Barbara Williams of North Central won the award for the women for the second time this year, while Andy Wiele of Wheaton was the recipient of the award for the men.

Williams, a senior forward, scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 65-55 win over Carthage last Saturday for her fourth double-double of the season. She also racked up 13 points against Elmhurst last Tuesday.

For the week, Williams totaled 43 points and 15 rebounds. She leads the Cardinals in points per game with 14.2 and field goal percentage with .568. She ranks fifth in the CCIW in scoring and field goal percentage.

Wiele, a junior center, helped lead the Thunder to a pair CCIW road wins over Carthage and North Park last week. He averaged 19 points and 11.5 rebounds, while shooting 65.4 percent from the field.

"Andy has done a good job for us," said Thunder coach Bill Harris. "He has gotten stronger and has worked very hard on his inside game, making him difficult to defend in the post."

DuPage: The men's basketball team (14-11, 5-2) won its fifth straight game Saturday, a 68-48 victory over conference rival Rock Valley. The win moves COD into a first-place North Central Community College Conference (N4C) tie with Triton and Joliet.

"My players are believing in themselves and playing well," said Chaps coach Don Klaas. "They have a lot of confidence now in our defensive schemes and they're playing the best defense of the year."

All-American Tim Niles led DuPage in scoring with 20 points against the Golden Eagles.