Tigers bring down house
For the first time in 17 years - and for the last time ever - Tigers fans chanted their favorite words inside Hubble Middle School's Colin Gymnasium.
"This is our house!"
Wheaton Warrenville South's boys basketball team closed the historic gym in style Saturday night with a 48-35 DuPage Valley Conference win over Wheaton North.
The Tigers' home for decades before the high school moved to the current WW South location in 1992, Hubble Middle School will be closing at the end of this school year.
Returning to the gym brought back a wave of memories for many in the packed house of 2,000 fans, especially for the Tigers (14-6, 6-3) faithful as they defended the court one last time.
"It was pretty easy to get pumped up," said Tigers sophomore Reilly O'Toole, who hit four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points. "All the tickets were sold out, and everyone was loud. It was a lot of fun."
It became a lot more fun for WW South as it began to build a lead on the feisty Falcons (5-14, 1-8) in the third quarter.
Wheaton North led by as many as 5 points in the first half before taking a 20-19 lead to the break. Following a halftime ceremony where former players, coaches and administrators were honored, WW South seized control.
O'Toole drained a pair of 3-pointers and Mason Kienzle scored on a putback as the Tigers extended the lead to 38-29. Another putback by Dan Hohenstein, who scored 15 points, made it 42-31 with 5:42 left in the game.
"They really ran their offense well in the second half," said Falcons coach Jim Nazos. "They did some things real well in the third quarter to get a little separation."
The Tigers notched their sixth straight win and their eighth in nine games on the strength of their defense. Holding Wheaton North to just 4 fourth-quarter points, the defense allowed fewer than 43 points for the eighth time during their recent streak.
Greg McAndrew scored 13 points for the Tigers while Jeff Schalk tallied a game-high 17 points for Wheaton North.
"When we play defense the right way, we relax a little bit offensively and we're not tight," said Tigers coach Mike Healy. "We eased some of that tightness in the second half."
BOX SCORE
Wheaton Warrenville South 48, Wheaton North 35
Wheaton North - Small 1 3-4 6, Fitzpatrick 1 0-0 2, Dungee 1 1-4 4, Martin 0 0-0 0, Schalk 8 0-0 17, Bradley 2 0-0 4, Matosian 0 0-0 0, Finley 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 4-9 35.
WW South - Babb 1 0-3 2, O'Toole 5 2-2 16, Dolatowski 0 0-0 0, McAndrew 4 4-4 13, Hohenstein 7 1-6 15, Kienzle 1 0-2 2, Phillip 0 0-0 0, Smedinghoff 0 0-0 0, Peterson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-17 48.
Wheaton North 6 14 11 4 -35
WW South 8 11 19 10 -48
3-point baskets: WN: Small, Dungee, Schalk. WWS: O'Toole 4, McAndrew. Fouled out: WN: Small.