Boys basketball: Baumann’s big night lifts Aurora Christian over Wheaton Academy
Senior guard Jacob Baumann scored 8 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, including 6 consecutive free throws in the last 2 minutes, to help lift Aurora Christian’s basketball team to a 54-50 road victory over Wheaton Academy Friday night in West Chicago.
With the win, the Eagles (14-3, 3-0) took over sole possession of first place in the Chicagoland Christian.
“I feel like there’s four or five of us that have a chance to win conference,” said Eagles coach Dan Beebe. “For us to win on the road against a top team is big.”
Aurora Christian controlled the game early, forcing 9 first-quarter turnovers while building a 13-5 lead, then extending it to as many as 16 points midway through the second quarter.
The Eagles led 28-19 at halftime.
“Defensively, we had a good plan against their best player — Hayden Schroeder,” said Baumann, who added 4 assists and 3 steals. “We doubled down on him and got a couple charges on him. He came out because of foul trouble. That was huge for us.”
After closing out the first half with back-to-back baskets from Tyler Anderson (7 points) and Braxton Leger, the Warriors (11-7, 2-1) opened the second half with an 8-0 run, narrowing the gap to 28-27 on Jackson Snider’s three-point play.
Aurora Christian maintained its composure down the stretch, as Preston Morel (16 points, 7 rebounds) added a clutch three-point play off an inbounds pass from Zach Zappia to make it 43-36 midway through the final quarter.
After the Warriors pulled within 44-40 on a layup by Snider (team-high 14 points, 6 rebounds) with 2:45 remaining, the Eagles went on a 7-2 spurt to extend their lead to 51-42 on an Asa Johnson free throw with 54 seconds left.
Three-pointers from Anderson and Snider enabled the Warriors to draw within 52-50 with 6 seconds remaining.
Baumann canned a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left to ice it.
“I want the ball in my hands — I want to shoot those last free throws,” said Baumann. “It was definitely a sigh of relief after hitting those last two.”
Baumann and Morel combined to hit 10 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“With those two guys at the line, I feel pretty secure,” said Beebe.
“Pound for pound, Jacob is one of the toughest kids I’ve coached. He doesn’t weigh a lot, but he’s a tough-nosed kid.”
Freshman guard Luke Baumann added 13 points for the Eagles.
“He’s a baller,” Jacob Baumann said of his younger brother. “This was the best game I’ve seen him play this year.
“I have never beaten Wheaton Academy on varsity. I’m so hyped and happy for this team.”
Donell Ausley, Jr. finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds, while 6-foot-7 Schroeder added 9 points and 8 rebounds in 16 minutes of play off the bench.
“He missed a couple practices doing some traveling,” Warriors coach Daniel Smith said of Schroeder. “He did some good things to help us come back, but he could never find a rhythm.”
The team’s slow start didn’t help.
“The first quarter has been our worst quarter this year,” said Smith. “I can’t explain it. We’ve gotten off to some slow starts, and it burned us against tonight.”