Wave, Westminster ready to kick off postseason
With its starting lineup intact for the first time in three weeks, the St. Edward boys basketball team enters Monday's Class 2A Genoa-Kingston regional opener bent on gaining a rematch against a familiar foe.
No. 4 St. Edward (9-17) begins postseason play with a play-in game against No. 5 Amboy (5-17) Monday at 7:30 p.m. A win would advance the Green Wave to Wednesday's semifinal against top-seeded host Genoa-Kingston (17-9) at 6 p.m.
The Cogs have knocked St. Edward out of the playoffs two years running with victories in regional semifinals. They enter the playoffs on a 5-game winning streak.
"Hopefully, we can get to that second game against Genoa, who I think is probably the strongest team in that region," St. Edward coach Keith Chuipek said. "They're pretty good. We've played them the last two years and we haven't gotten past them yet, though the game last year at Aurora Christian was competitive."
Genoa-Kingston beat St. Edward 48-38 last year at the Aurora Christian regional by playing great perimeter defense. St. Edward shot 16 of 56 in that game and guard Josh Dix, then a junior, was held scoreless.
Dix (11.5 ppg.) and fellow senior Riley Coleman (11.0) are St. Edward's top scorers this season. Dix was weakened by a case of mononucleosis early in the season and suffered a leg contusion on Feb. 6 that kept him out of action until this weekend. He returned Friday in a 53-42 loss to Marmion.
Coleman was suffering from the flu last week during a lopsided loss to Quincy Notre Dame, a game starting forward Jim Waclawik (4.9 rpg.) also missed with illness. All were healthy and in the lineup against Marmion on Friday.
If the Green Wave advances to face Genoa-Kingston, senior forward Steve Martin will play an important role. Last year the Cogs left Martin single covered while concentrating on the perimeter. He scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to keep the Green Wave in the game.
St. Edward had lost 3 in a row heading into Saturday's regular-season finale at IMSA, a game they won 55-46, but the Wave played well recently in losses to Driscoll and Marmion.
"Even though Driscoll beat us by 12, it was a 2-point game until the fourth quarter," Chuipek said. "And I thought we played very well against Marmion, who I think might be the best team in the Suburban Catholic Conference because they can shoot and they're strong. Our shots started to fall and we played good defense against them. Hopefully, the kids will continue off that and continue to build on that for next week."
Amboy, which plays in the Big Rivers Conference, has lost 7 straight entering the playoffs. The Green Wave and the Clippers faced one common opponent this season: Stillman Valley. Amboy lost to Stillman Valley 51-45 on Dec. 15. St. Edward defeated the Cardinals 57-48 on Feb. 10.
Wednesday's second 2A semifinal at Genoa-Kingston pits No. 2 Plano (13-15) against No. 3 Aurora Christian (11-12).
The regional champion will advance to the Plano sectional to play the winner of the Rockford Christian Life regional winner, where Rockford Lutheran (16-8) is the top seed.
Class 1A: Westminster Christian has played playoff-style defense all season. Whether or not the Warriors have enough offense to advance in the eight-team Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock regional will be determined this week.
Westminster (15-10) has held its opponents to an area best 43.1 points per game this season. However, the Warriors also score less than any team around (45.0).
"I really believe in this team defensively," Warriors coach Bruce Firchau said Saturday. "Offensively, our players have to play for themselves. I can X an O it all I want but if they can't convert it, there's not much you can do. The key for us is we have to finish inside. If we don't finish inside, it's going to be hard for us."
Firchau said Friday's 44-30 Private School League loss to Aurora Christian could have been a different story had the Warriors converted multiple layup chances in the paint. Close-range attempts must translate to points if No. 3 Westminster Christian hopes to advance past Tuesday's quarterfinal against No. 6 Mooseheart (10-9).
The Warriors will depend on guards Mike Nicosia (8.0 ppg.) and Ryan Beachler (9.7 ppg.) and the inside presence of improving 6-foot-7 sophomore center Ian Dutcher (7.9 ppg., 6.8 rpg.)
The Mooseheart contest is a rematch. The Ramblers knocked off visiting Westminster 52-51 in overtime on Feb. 13 despite 19 points from Nicosia.
"It's going to be a hard game," Firchau said. "I like their team. They're long and athletic. They know what they're doing offensively and they do some nice things defensively. We're going to have to execute on both ends of the floor."
If the Warriors win, they would advance to a regional semifinal against the winner of Tuesday's quarterfinal between No. 2 Somonauk (16-11) and No. 7 Elgin Academy (5-17).
Elgin Academy sophomore Jivon McDonald has regularly eclipsed 20 points throughout the second half of the season and twice topped 30 points. Westminster Christian nipped Elgin Academy 46-42 at Westminster's Thanksgiving tournament on Nov. 25.
"I really believe those are winnable games for us, but you have to win the first one before you can even start thinking about the next game," Firchau said. "Just win the first one. We won't be looking ahead."
Top seed Newark (19-5) could await the winner in a regional final. The Hinckley-Big Rock regional winner will advance to the Somonauk sectional to play the champion of the St. Gregory regional.