Westminster regains edge just in time

Westminster Christian lost its edge and a big chunk of the 18-point lead it held after three quarters of Thursday night's Northeastern Athletic Conference boys basketball game at Christian Liberty.

But seniors Ian Dutcher and Luke Carani made sure the Warriors (7-1, 1-1) regained it in the final 3½ minutes of their 57-43 victory at Grace Gym in Arlington Heights.

"I think we thought, 'Oh, we're up 18 and we took the gas off," said the 6-foot-9 Dutcher after a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, "and we slowed down a little, enough for them to come back."

Luke Comerouski (17 points) and Mike Hennek (11 points) hit consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 12-2 tear in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter and cut Christian Liberty's deficit to 47-39.

But Dutcher scored off a miss and was fouled with 3:22 left. He missed the free throw but 1 of 16 offensive rebounds by Westminster by Carani (14 points, 10 rebounds) led to his layup and a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

"We talked about how our tools have to be sharp and I thought we went dull in the fourth quarter," said Westminster coach Bruce Firchau, whose team had a 36-17 rebound edge. "Really good teams don't do that."

Westminster was without senior starting guard Andrew Mason because of a knee injury. Firchau said he didn't know if it was twisted or if there was another problem.

Dutcher had to sit the last 4:48 of the first half with 2 fouls with Westminster ahead 23-16. Steve Hoeflich (9 points) and Brandon Cork (8 points, 5 assists) hit 3s to help push the lead to 32-21 at halftime.

"They played really well without me and that's really encouraging," Dutcher said. "It was great to see Steve knock down those (three) 3s."

Christian Liberty never led and trailed 45-27 after three quarters.

"We have to recognize what the other team is doing and what our team is doing and work together," said Chargers coach Ken Kramer, whose team is off until Jan. 5. "Our goal is to get them to understand that."

The start of the second half was delayed nearly 15 minutes when a Christian Liberty cheerleader fell during a routine. She was taken off on a stretcher by paramedics and went to the hospital, but she was moving and talking and Christian Liberty athletic Director Steve Rowland thought she would be OK.

Palatine gets forfeit win: Palatine improved to 5-4 without taking the court Thursday. The IHSA ruled Phillips had to forfeit 6 victories including a 58-51 season opener over the Pirates for using an ineligible player.