WW South hits from deep
As a parade of Wheaton Warrenville South boys basketball players hit 3-pointers, it quickly became a feeding frenzy on the perimeter.
The Tigers enjoyed a hot hand in Tuesday's nonconference game against Glenbard West, rolling to a 63-45 victory in Glen Ellyn.
WW South (15-7) knocked down all 8 of its 3-pointers in the first half as five players contributed to the barrage. The Tigers attempted, and made, only one 2-point shot in the first quarter as they broke out to a 20-10 lead.
"When we get hot we just don't miss," said Tigers senior Ryan Farrar. "Everyone on our team is a good 3-point shooter, and that's what we want to do on offense, just get off the 3 as many times as we can per game."
Farrar, who scored 9 points in a balanced effort, led a stellar defensive night by the Tigers, who held Glenbard West (3-19) in check for virtually the entire game.
The Hilltoppers, behind Tyler Warden's game-high 18 points, used an 8-0 run late in the second quarter to pull within 31-28, but WW South soon regained its double-digit lead in the third quarter.
As close as Glenbard West came to erasing the deficit, the Tigers kept answering offensively. WW South led wire to wire.
"We're giving up 60 points a game, and that's at the root of our problems," said Hilltoppers coach Tim Hoder. "We're scoring 50, and I don't know if we're going to score much more than that, but we're giving up 60-plus consistently. Until we can get some stops and be better defensively, we'll have problems."
The Tigers are now 3-4 since notching a season-high five straight wins. They showed no ill effects from Friday's heartbreaking loss to Naperville North, a game in which WW South coach Mike Healy thought his team played terrific ball for the first 30 minutes.
Unlike Friday, there was no threat of a Glenbard West comeback. Will Dolatowski led the Tigers with 14 points, while Jason Schuman and Travis Kern scored 11 apiece. Reilly O'Toole had 9 points and 11 assists.
Glenbard West's Nick Burrello knocked down 3 first-half 3-pointers, which helped the Hilltoppers stay close, to account for his 9 points.
"Defensively, we just worked our tails off," Healy said. "We really disrupted what they wanted to do. It seems like when we play defense like that, things are a little more relaxed on the offensive end."