Wheaton Academy stands tall against Timothy

One of the best if not the best tickets in Private School League boys basketball was Wheaton Academy-Timothy Christian.

The PSL's dissolution meant the teams' sole meeting this season came Saturday at the eighth annual Glenbard West Holiday Classic.

Each bringing returning All-Area players - Wheaton Academy center Tim Rusthoven, Timothy guard Reggie Greenwood - the crisp-passing Warriors smothered Timothy Christian 68-48.

Greenwood edged Rusthoven 25-24 in scoring and the Trojans came nearer to the full 32-minute effort coach Jack LeGrand seeks, but his postgame comments included a particularly telling one regarding the mastery of Wheaton Academy (10-0).

"I don't know what the word is," LeGrand said, "but I thought it was odd that I thought we competed hard and lost by 20 points."

Announced as a guard, 6-foot-4 Anthony Ritchie was still taller than 6-2 Timothy big man Rob Stein, and the Warriors' distinct height advantage created a 39-15 rebounding edge - which halted the up-tempo pace Timothy Christian (7-4) enjoys.

"They were bigger than us, but we can never use that as an excuse," said Greenwood, who hit pull-up jumper after 3-pointer after pull-up while Rusthoven likewise excelled, shooting 10 of 14 from the floor with 9 rebounds.

Coasting to a 36-25 halftime lead, however, was insufficient for Wheaton Academy coach Paul Ferguson.

"We played last night, it was a 4:30 game (Saturday), we just looked a little flat in the first half. And Timothy played well," he said.

At halftime Ferguson sought a little defensive pick-me-up. Three-year varsity guard Quinn Gorski picked up on it.

"We focus a lot on team defense, it's not just about one player, so we did a good job of picking it up, all five guys. It was really just stepping up your mental toughness and going harder," Gorski said.

Timothy Christian shot only 38 percent in the first half but got icy in the third quarter. The Warriors limited them to 2 of 14 with blocks by the 6-9 Rusthoven and 6-8 Luke Johnson, who scored 13 points.

Wheaton Academy outscored the Trojans 13-6 in the third to enter the fourth leading 49-31. Despite Greenwood's 10 fourth-quarter points, the Warriors' overall floor game eased the margin further.

"The game plan was get it inside early and often," Gorski said. "That's what we do just about every game. I think we executed it well today."