Wheaton Warrenville South 57, Naperville Central 45
The DuPage Valley Conference leaders aren't the only ones having a say in deciding the eventual champion.
Wheaton Warrenville South's boys basketball team took a chunk out of Naperville Central's hopes by beating the Redhawks 57-45 Friday in Wheaton.
With two DVC games remaining, including one tonight, Naperville Central is a game back and tied with West Aurora for second place. Wheaton North, which beat Glenbard East on Friday, is alone in first place.
"It's tough to see your cross-town rival get a shot at conference, but it's good to beat a DVC team on your home floor in front of a good crowd," said Tigers senior Byron Given, who scored a team-high 19 points. "It is kind of nice to be the spoiler."
The Tigers (14-9, 6-6) broke out to an 18-8 first-half lead, knocking down five of their seven 3-pointers on the night. Given had three of them and added two more in the fourth quarter.
The only thing keeping Naperville Central (17-7, 9-3) close was 6-foot-4 sophomore center Matt Neufeld, who scored all of his team's 14 first-half points to hold the Redhawks within 21-14.
Despite a fourth-quarter flurry of points, Naperville Central never pulled closer than 6 points. Drew Crawford scored 15 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. Neufeld finished with 16.
The loss ends the Redhawks' six-game winning streak overall, as well as their nine-game winning streak in the conference.
"I don't think we did a good job of moving the ball and being patient on offense, and that's a credit to them," said Redhawks coach Pete Kramer. "We fell behind and we played catch up the rest of the night. It's a good learning experience, and we just have to get it back on track."
The Redhawks play host to West Chicago tonight before finishing DVC play Wednesday at Wheaton North. The Tigers go for a sweep of their three DVC games this week in tonight's game at home against Naperville North.
WW South's torrid perimeter shooting continued for a second straight game -- as did the Tigers' balanced scoring. Dane Olson tallied 9 points, Sam Carlson had 8, Kendrick Perry 7 points and Derek Babb and Dan Phillip each scored 6 points.
The Tigers nailed 16 of 20 fourth-quarter free-throw attempts to seal the win.
"We'll be happy for a little bit, but then it's back to work," said Tigers coach Mike Healy. "It's that time of year where you have to keep moving forward."
-- Kevin Schmit
Wheaton North 56, Glenbard East 51:ŒWhen Wheaton North was putting the finishing touches on a key comeback win over Glenbard East, the Falcons had no idea just how big the win would be.
The 56-51 DuPage Valley Conference win, coupled with a Naperville Central loss to Wheaton Warrenville South, put the Falcons in sole possession of first place in the DVC with two games to go.
"We did a pretty good job," Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos said. "We put ourselves in the position, with two games left, to play these types of games."
By these types of games, Nazos means a trip tonight to perennial DVC powerhouse West Aurora and a home date with Naperville Central on Wednesday. Wins in both games would make the Falcons conference champions for the first time since 1986.
"We have two big games (left)," Wheaton North senior John Bagge said. "Coach just made us focus on Glenbard East all week, because if we lose tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday don't mean anything. Our goal is to win out. We want to win it solely."
Bagge took that message to heart in the fourth quarter for the Falcons (19-5, 10-2) Friday. Glenbard East (11-12, 6-6) took a 40-36 lead into the fourth quarter before Bagge took over. He scored the Falcons' first 8 points of the fourth, including a miraculous shot in the lane while falling down backward, to help open a 44-42 lead with 3:22 left. Bagge wound up with a game-high 23 points.
"Fourth quarter, I think we had to stick with what we do and believing that things will start happening good for us," Nazos said.
It didn't hurt to have a senior-dominated team in crunch time. Though Wheaton North shot only 4 of 22 from 3-point range in the game, Dave Pilalis drilled a critical 3-pointer, Kristian Rosenberger scored 6 of his 13 points and Tom Fitzpatrick put the exclamation point on the win with a thunderous, two-handed dunk. All of those points came after the Falcons took the lead and were trying to preserve it.
While the Falcons relied on experience, the Rams, who have lost nine of 11 games overall, tried to fend off a solid team on the road with a young, inexperienced group. With a freshman, a sophomore and a junior transfer who arrived at midseason (Paul Sanders, who scored a team-high 19 points) seeing big minutes, the Rams could not hold up in the fourth.
Glenbard East turned the ball over six times in the fourth and hit only 13 of 22 free throws in the game.
"That's what we told them," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "Those are the three areas where if we're going to try to come in and pull off an upset on their home court, you have to make your free throws, you have to make your layups and you have to take care of the basketball. We had about a three-, four-minute spurt where we didn't do that. You have to give them a lot of credit. Senior-dominated team, they've been there before."
-- Paul Johnson
Benet 69, Joliet Catholic 56:ŒWith nine seniors on the roster, Benet coach Marty Gaughan could not start all of them on senior night.
But that's not to say each and every one of them did not get to partake in a special evening in Lisle. With a new starting lineup featuring all seniors, the Redwings jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead on visiting Joliet Catholic (11-13, 4-7) en route to a solid 69-56 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory.
Seniors Brian Gaughan, Ryan Haggerty and Chris Blaney each came up big off the bench, but the tone was set by senior starters Tom Runger, Emmett Carrier, Matt Mills, Alex Gasick and Giancarlo Cecchini.
"Tonight there was a lot of emotion and for all of the seniors it was our last Friday night in this gym," said Blaney, who finished the game with 14 points and 7 rebounds. "We all talked and we said we had to just go out and give it all you've got to make it a night to remember."
The Hilltoppers' Pat Devine did his best to crash Benet's party by scoring a game-high 26 points, including four 3-pointers. But the Redwings, who led 30-20 at the half and 49-36 after three quarters, were not about to let this game slip away.
Benet (13-10, 7-5) handled the Hilltoppers' late press and turned the ball over just seven times all night. Even more impressive was the Redwings' work from the free-throw line, where the hosts buried 16 of 18 shots in the fourth quarter to fend off any Joliet Catholic hopes of a comeback.
"They did everything they needed to do to win," said Joliet Catholic coach Mike O'Toole, whose team had beaten Benet early in the year at home. "They didn't turn the ball over and they hit their free throws. They finished the game strong."
Haggerty had 14 points and 6 rebounds, with 5 baskets coming inside off nice passes into the post. Brian Gaughan and Carrier each rifled several passes down low that turned into layups, while Gaughan added a pair of 3-pointers to score 12 points of his own. Gasick and fellow senior Jono Davern also sank 3-pointers as part of a balanced Benet attack.
"They all got in and they all contributed," coach Gaughan said of his seniors. "I'm very happy for those nine kids. They're special kids and this was a special win for us."
For the younger Gaughan, the strong play from the new starting five coupled with the support from the fans helped make the night special.
"It was really good that a lot of the guys got in to play and they got us off to a good start," Brian Gaughan said. "We came out with a spark and the crowd tonight was great."
-- Stan Goff
York 36, Glenbard West 34:ŒGetting a road win in Glen Ellyn was about as difficult as getting a shot up over the long arms of John Shurna.
But York's Dukes got it done.
Down eight in the third quarter, the Dukes rallied to beat Glenbard West 36-34.
York (17-8, 8-4 West Suburban Silver) withstood Shurna's 16 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks and looming presence in the paint. Shurna missed a 3-point shot for the win as time expired.
"It was a wonderful effort by our kids to persevere and grind one out on the road," York coach Al Biancalana said. "Glenbard West has been playing very well, obviously they have a special player, and the guys around him are playing with confidence."
Glenbard West (13-11, 4-7) led 19-14 at the half behind Shurna's 11 points, and Bryant Venson's 3-pointer with 5:56 left in the third quarter gave the Hilltoppers their biggest lead at 24-16.
The margin was 27-23 after three quarters, and Tom Judge hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter to pull York within a point.
Steve Ganser's stickback with 4:48 left gave York its first lead since the opening minute of the second quarter. Ricky Aleman's steal and score seconds later made it 30-27.
"We got defensive stops," Biancalana said. "That was the difference."
Glenbard West's Chris Cochrane tied it at 32-32 with a 3-pointer with 2:56 left, but at the other end Roger Coffin was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made 2 free throws to make it 34-32.
Aleman then knifed into the lane and fed Ganser for a score and 4-point lead.
Ganser had 9 of his 13 points in the second half.
"With Shurna in there I think we didn't attack him as much as we should. We were a little afraid of getting our shots blocked," Ganser said. "Coach told us at halftime just to go after him."
Coffin and Aleman each added 8 points for York, which clinched third place in the conference.
"This is huge for us," Biancalana said. "This group was picked sixth in the preseason. "I don't know if I've ever been prouder of a group of kids."
Cochrane had 6 points and Bryant 5 for Glenbard West.
"You can't ask for much more defensively," Shurna said. "I thought our defense was fine. We just missed some shots here and there and they got on a little run."
-- Joshua Welge
Lake Park 71, Larkin 65:ŒLarkin found itself in a great position to win Friday night's game against Lake Park.
The Lancers found an even better position.
After Lucas Antioho scored a bucket and drew a foul with 52 seconds remaining, Larkin was whistled for a technical foul. Antioho missed the free throw, Danny Baylis sank both of his to help Lake Park to a 71-65 Upstate Eight Conference victory in Elgin.
"We've had a few games this year where we haven't been able to finish," said Baylis, who led all scorers with 25 points. "We've been in this situation before and we were determined not to lose. We played harder."
Larkin guard Jeff Saurbaugh scored off an offensive putback to bring Larkin to within 65-63 with 1:03 remaining. The 2-point deficit was the closest Lake Park (2-7, 8-16) had allowed Larkin (0-9, 1-22) since the closing minutes of the first half.
Antioho responded immediately when he scored and drew the foul on the Lancers' next trip down the floor. But it was Baylis' free throws that really sealed the deal.
Baylis, who finished the game 7 of 12 from the floor, extended Lake Park's lead to 69-63 with 52 seconds remaining. Messiah Lewis, who had 12 points, missed on Larkin's next trip down the court, with Antioho nabbing the rebound and getting fouled. He split his free throws to extend the lead to 70-63.
"They had too many old-fashioned three-point plays," Royals coach Larry Hight said. "We didn't have enough contact. They didn't pick people up on those layups."
Larkin allowed 5 three-point plays in the game, the most damaging when Baylis was fouled after making a basket 34 seconds before halftime. Baylis put the Lancers up 34-23 at the half after converting the three-point play.
Larkin led 25-24 with 1:30 left in the second quarter, but the Lancers got baskets by Pat Proctor and Danny Howard and a 3-pointer from Baylis. Lake Park finished the final 1:30 of the first half on a 10-0 run.
"The defense by our subs was big," Lake Park coach Cray Allen said. "We got some fastbreak opportunities. Our defense was big in making sure we got them."
Lake Park's bench contributed 40 points in the victory.
Lake Park went 11 of 27 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. The Lancers missed 6 of their last 7 attempts before Baylis sank his pair. Overall, Lake Park finished the game going 22 of 39 from the foul line, but Baylis was 10 of 10.
-- Matt Stacionis
Fenton 57, Ridgewood 52:ŒThe Bison (11-13, 5-3) broke a 37-37 tie after three quarters to win the Metro Suburban Conference game in Bensenville. Gozie Umeadi scored a game-high 18 points while Billy Gratzl added 13 points and Damian Sieradzki had 12 points.
Hinsdale South 59, Downers South 53:ŒDevin Smith knocked down four 3-pointers and led all scorers with 24 points as the host Hornets (13-10, 6-5) won in the West Suburban Gold. Eric Travis added 14 points. Malcolm Herron paced Downers South (12-11, 5-4) with 19 points.
Rochelle 79, Glenbard South 69:ŒAndy Manson poured in a game-high 30 points, but the visiting Raiders (13-10, 7-6) fell in the Western Sun Conference. Will Hill scored 13 points and Louis Erkins tallied 11 points.
Herscher 48, Lisle 36:ŒMatt Bryjak led the Lions (9-20, 6-5) with 16 points in their Interstate Eight Conference loss.
Naperville North 53, Glenbard North 36:ŒTom Walsh scored 14 points and Danny Grimley 13 to lead the Huskies (9-15, 4-8) in a DuPage Valley Conference road win. Reid Hulett's 14 points led the Panthers (5-18, 4-8).