Wheaton Academy benches St. Edward

It was a good night to be a Wheaton Academy reserve.

After watching the starters roll to a 30-point halftime lead, the Warriors substitutes took over in the second half and carried Wheaton Academy to a 70-33 Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division victory over St. Edward on Saturday.

“Our bench gave us great minutes and played with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm,” Wheaton Academy coach Paul Ferguson said. “It was great to see those guys do so well out there.”

After the Green Wave’s Zach Brewster opened the game with a 3-pointer, Wheaton Academy took control, scoring the next 15 points. The Warriors led 22-5 after one quarter, 40-10 after two.

“We knew it was going to be a big hill to climb,” Green Wave coach P.J. White said, “but we’d like to play a little bit better.”

Starter Wes Koral led Wheaton Academy (19-1, 6-0) with 13 points, and fellow starter Luke Johnson added 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in limited time. Senior Jeremy Lenich came off the bench to knock down three 3-pointers in the second half.

No Wheaton Academy starter played in the second half.

Senior Ben Lehman led St. Edward (6-15, 2-6) with 10 points.

“You’ve got to hit shots, and we didn’t hit shots,” White said. “That had a lot to do with their defense. But they’re an excellent team, very well-coached, and we’re struggling a little bit.”