Wheaton Academy keeps Montini at bay
Montini, having had the day off from school Tuesday, struggled to get any kind of rhythm or momentum going in its Suburban Christian Conference crossover boys basketball game with Wheaton Academy.
Despite the slow start the Broncos used a furious fourth-quarter rally, trimming a 23-point deficit to only 5 with two minutes to go.
However, the Warriors, behind accurate free-throw shooting, were held on down the stretch for a 68-57 road victory.
“It was a byproduct of not having school today,” Montini coach Brian Opoka said. “Our guys didn't have the energy to start the game, but in the fourth quarter we never quit.”
Montini (8-6, 3-2) missed its first 8 field-goal attempts and didn't connect on one until Matt Brachmann's putback with 3:50 left in the first quarter. A 3-pointer by Montini's Logan Goss tied the game at 9-9 with 1:36 left in the first quarter, but Wheaton Academy (10-8, 4-1) held onto the lead the rest of the way.
A tap-in, followed by a turnaround jumper from Wheaton Academy's Gordon Behr and two free throws from Cameron Harvey started a 13-0 run that extended from the end of the first to the beginning of the second quarter.
Montini's Rich Bodee ended the Wheaton Academy run with a 3-pointer at the 4:20 mark of the second quarter. However, the Warriors continued to build their lead behind the inside play of Behr who scored 10 of his 15 points in the third quarter, mostly inside the paint.
Wheaton Academy held its largest lead of the night at 51-28 heading into the final eight minutes.
“I thought we executed and played with a lot of intensity,” Wheaton Academy coach Paul Ferguson said. “I was very pleased with our effort.”
The Broncos started their fourth-quarter comeback on the strength of a 14-0 run in the first three minutes as Jim Miller connected on both of his 3-point attempts during that stretch.
“They made some plays and we didn't have the right matchups,” Ferguson said. “Montini played hard until the end.”
A layup by Wheaton Academy's Lars Olson with 4:45 left ended the Broncos' run, but Montini continued to inch closer behind 7 points and a steal from TyShawn Johnson in the final four minutes. Johnson's final basket of the night cut Wheaton Academy's lead down to 58-53, as close as the Broncos would get. He finished with 15 points.
The Warriors connected on 8 of 10 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
“We spend about 15 to 20 minutes a day working on our free-throw shooting,” Harvey said after finishing with a game-high 18 points and shooting 6 of 8 from the free-throw line. “I thought we came out very aggressive tonight and executed our game plan.”