Timothy gets edge over Wheaton Academy in PSL
Wheaton Academy's Warrior Dome was filled to the gills. Dressed in black, the shrieking student body spilled onto the floor. Fans lined the west baseline as well as both stairways leading to the overlooking weight room - where more pressed near the glass for a view.
Timothy Christian would require something special to steal a win in this atmosphere.
"The main word tonight was 'relentless,'" Trojans forward Peter Tameling said, "and we really were."
The Trojans escaped West Chicago with a 70-62 victory on Friday, maintaining their Private School League lead while dealing Wheaton Academy its first PSL loss.
Timothy Christian (14-5, 6-0) got 20 points from Tameling, 14 from Reggie Greenwood and 13 from Robert White to outlast Tim Rusthoven's 29 points and 9 rebounds for Wheaton Academy (10-6, 4-1).
"Wheaton's such a good team, they just kept coming," said Timothy Christian coach Jack LeGrand. "Rusthoven's an outstanding player. He made some big shots, but I thought our kids together just really stepped up."
Relentless was LeGrand's message and it was a good one. There were 5 ties and 12 lead changes in the first half, capped by Greenwood's 11-foot pull-up jumper that gave Timothy a 32-30 lead.
Wheaton Academy led 34-32 on an Anthony Ritchie free throw and a Rusthoven three-point play, but Timothy's Jaaron Holmes - a three-year starter like Tameling - lit a fire by hitting a pair of 3s. White made another, then Tameling banged home a fourth, all part of a 17-3 run that gave the Trojans a 49-37 lead.
"It's a big win, in their own gym, it's a packed crowd. The intensity is very high," Holmes said.
Trailing 49-41 entering the fourth quarter, Wheaton Academy roared nearly all the way back. The Warriors were within 60-59 with 2:14 to play and missed a free throw to tie.
"We thought we had them, but another game in the clutch, we just kind of let it go," Rusthoven said.
Tameling's lefty lay-in started the Trojans on a 10-3 game-ending run. Greenwood had 2 decisive steals and the Trojans made all 11 fourth-quarter free throws.
"We played a pretty good game," said Wheaton Academy coach Paul Ferguson, who got 11 points from Tim Streets and 10 from Ritchie. "If we could just take out the last minute-40 of the first half and the last minute-40 of the second half."