WW South tops West Chicago
For the Wheaton Warrenville South boys basketball team this season, it’s all been about the process — the process of getting better as a team.
So when the Tigers defeated visiting West Chicago 48-32 on Friday night for their first DuPage Valley Conference win of the season, the fact that they got into the win column in league play was less of a big deal than how they achieved it.
“I’m proud of our kids for consistenly battling for 32 minutes. This was a step in the right direction,” said coach Bob Szorc, whose team improved to 4-9, 1-3 in the DVC.
That’s not to say that this was an easy night for WW South. West Chicago’s defense made life tough in the first half with the Wildcats (3-9, 0-4) leading 16-14 at halftime.
“I think we finished a lot better in the second half. We had some good looks in the first half, but West Chicago was tough. They did a good job of bodying you up inside,” Szorc said.
The Tigers opened up the game in the third quarter for more than one reason. There was their 8-of-13 performance from the field. WW South committed just 1 turnover during the period after having committed 8 during the first half.
The Tigers’ defense stood firm as the Wildcats coughed up the ball six times during the third to add to their total of 16 turnovers for the night. And WW South played a big part in limiting West Chicago’s scoring opportunities as the team went just 4-of-5 during that span.
“In the first half the shots were not falling,” said Tigers senior Tim Zyburt, who shared game-high scoring honors with West Chicago’s Dylan Hedmark at 11 points. “In the second half we were getting good shots, good layups.”
WW South closed out the third quarter on a 7-2 run to lead 33-25 going into the final period of play when the Tigers enjoyed a double-digit lead for most of the time.
Zach Zlabis contributed 9 points and 7 rebounds for the victors. Teammate Danny Roadman also scored 9.
For West Chicago, Hedmark had 7 rebounds, and Justin Mundt was next on the stat sheet with 9 points.
Neither team has much time to think about this game as they both jump right back into DVC play Saturday night. West Chicago hosts No. 18 Glenbard East at 7:30 p.m. and WW South hits the road for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Glenbard North.
And for the Tigers, the process of trying to continue to improve keeps going forth.
“Any DVC win is a good win. It always goes down to the wire at the end of the season. Hopefully, we’ll be playing our best at the end,” Zyburt said.