St. Francis 71, St. Joseph 65

As good as forward Brian McMahon is, he was going to need some help if St. Francis was going to upset second-seeded St. Joseph in Friday's Class 3A regional boys basketball championship in Wheaton.

The 6-foot-3 McMahon went out and played his usual stellar game with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but he also got plenty of help along the way as No. 7 St. Francis (18-9) stunned the visiting Chargers 74-65 to claim the school's first regional crown since 1999.

Guard Dan McCoy burned St. Joe's (21-7) with four 3-pointers in the first half as the hosts opened up an impressive 38-25 lead. McCoy then helped hold off a second-half Chargers comeback effort by shooting a perfect 6 of 6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Then there was Bob Vonderhaar, who failed to score in the first half but set the tone after the intermission with three straight baskets in the third quarter on his way to 15 points over the final two quarters. He was 3 of 3 as the Spartans went 18 of 22 from the foul line in the second half.

"They believed," Spartans coach Shawn Healy said after his players were mobbed on the court by fans after the big win. "They believed in what we talked about before the game and they believed in the scouting report. They believed in themselves and I guess they believed in March Madness."

Veteran St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore said his team might not have believed in St. Francis' ability to pull off the upset, but he also left the gym impressed with the Suburban Catholic Conference representative's play.

"Upsets happen," he said. "But it happens when one team wants it more than the other and when you don't come out and play. I saw it all week in practice. But you have to give credit to St. Francis. They came out and wanted to play and they hustled and they hit their free throws."

With McMahon piling up points and rebounds, as well as helping break the Chargers' vaunted full-court press, St. Joe's could get no closer than within 6 points in the second half despite 16 second-half points from DeAndre McCamey and 12 points over the final two quarters from Diamond Taylor. The two Chargers combined for 39 points but couldn't keep pace with a solid effort by the entire St. Francis squad.

"It's been a while," said Vonderhaar, referring to the school's regional drought. "This is huge."

For McMahon the big win means practice Sunday and preparing for a sectional contest Wednesday at Riverside-Brookfield against Crane, a 51-44 overtime victor over Nazareth.

"It feels awesome," McMahon said. "This is the greatest feeling ever. Everyone stepped up tonight. A lot of guys hit big shots. I'm looking forward to practice Sunday and looking forward to getting ready for our next game."