Griffith, Driscoll lead West Chicago past WW South
West Chicago didn't give Wheaton Warrenville South much room to breathe Friday night in the DuPage Valley Conference opener for both teams.
The Wildcats displayed a smothering defense and a sharp offense, topping the host Tigers 57-42. Juniors Tyler Griffith and Chad Driscoll led the way for West Chicago, working inside and outside, respectively. Griffith finished with a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds, while Driscoll added 16 points as the perimeter opened up. The Wildcats found ample openings as they exploited a slight height advantage.
"We knew they were downsized a little bit this year, so that was our main focus - to swing the ball and punch it in," Driscoll said. "It kept working, so we kept doing it the whole first half."
West Chicago's defense controlled the pace in that first half. The Wildcats led just 8-4 after one quarter and 19-12 at halftime.
The second half turned a bit more up-tempo, and the Tigers briefly rallied. A driving layup by Derek Babb knotted the score 24-24 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter and gave hope to the home crowd. Driscoll responded just seconds later, though, taking the ball at the other end of the floor and draining a long 3-pointer.
West Chicago (3-3) never gave up the lead again. A basket by the Tigers' Dan Hohenstein made it 27-26, but then West Chicago went on a 12-0 run led by Griffith and Charles Jacques that effectively put the game away.
"We really did a nice job," West Chicago coach Kevin Gimre said. "We prepared well, and the kids worked hard. That's what it's all about."
The Tigers, meanwhile, found their shooting as cold as the outside air most of the night. They did make six 3-point baskets, but they attempted about four times that many. Shots from other spots also struggled to find the mark as West Chicago's relentless defense gave them few breaks.
"We tried not to give them any straight-up looks at the basket," Gimre said. "I wanted us to get a hand in their faces and not let them just shoot, and for the most part we did a great job."
Driscoll also felt good about the defensive effort.
"Our defense has improved tremendously," he said. "We're causing turnovers left and right. We're getting into guys' heads, and that's how we're pulling away."
Babb accounted for more than half of the Tigers' points, finishing with 23. Will Dolatowski added 8 points, and Hohenstein led the team with 7 rebounds. Jacques had 8 points off the bench for West Chicago.