Scouting Wheaton Academy vs. Crane
Class 3A Riverside-Brookfield sectional semifinals
No. 4 Wheaton Academy (27-1) vs. No. 1 Crane (23-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Riverside-Brookfield, LaGrange Park
Road to the sectional: Wheaton Academy beat No. 20 Clark, 67-49, and No. 6 North Lawndale, 66-52. Crane beat No. 16 Noble Street Charter/Rowe-Clark, 70-31, and No. 11 St. Joseph, 58-55, in overtime.
Outlook: Wheaton Academy last got this far when it beat Hampshire 47-42 to reach the 2009 Class 3A Rochelle sectional championship. (The Warriors lost to Rochelle, 61-57.) With possible exceptions of red-hot Aurora Christian and Walsingham Academy (Va.), which dealt Wheaton Academy its sole defeat, North Lawndale was the Warriors' top foe. Crane is better. North Lawndale coach Lewis Thorpe admitted his team "didn't have an answer" for Wheaton Academy 6-foot-9, 235-pound center Luke Johnson, who scored 22 points with 15 rebounds and also was a beacon for Warriors guards Drew Sandberg, Lars Olson and Wes Koral when trapped. Wheaton Academy will need another huge night from Johnson, but this time he'll be up against 6-8, 230-pound Crane center Kaylen Shane. The Cougars, who've lost only to Young and to Farragut, twice, also offer 6-4 forward Lee Giles and 6-4 swingman Willie Connor, but the senior guard tandem of 6-3 Kory Billups and especially 6-2 Kieran Woods lead this team. Wheaton Academy coach Paul Ferguson, Crane's Tim Anderson and St. Joseph's Gene Pingatore all have mentioned Woods in the same breath as East Aurora's Ryan Boatright among Illinois' top guards. Woods' 3-pointer against St. Joseph sent that game into overtime, and his 21 points lifted Crane to its second straight regional title. Like last game, Wheaton Academy will want to handle defensive pressure, own the paint, hit free throws. "We feel we're playing our best basketball of the year," Ferguson said, "and peaking at the right time."
Advancement: The winner advances to play Wednesday's winner between No. 2 Riverside-Brookfield (22-5) and No. 7 Orr (16-8) in Friday's sectional final.
Dave Oberhelman