Walther Lutheran 66, Timothy Christian 55
The third time was indeed the charm for Walther Lutheran.
Timothy Christian had given the Broncos their sole Private School League loss, then won the inaugural PSL Tournament over Walther.
At Friday's Class 2A Timothy Christian regional final in Elmhurst, Walther Lutheran's boys basketball team avoided the collar by winning 66-55, the second straight year Walther has tossed Timothy at this stage.
"At no time did our kids feel like they couldn't beat Timothy," said Walther coach Bob Koehne. "So it was just a little extra motivation to try and go out and get this one."
Timothy Christian coach Jeff Powers had no use for the mantra about beating the same team three times in a season. Junior forward Peter Tameling noted it was a simple matter of execution.
"We know what each of our teams are capable of, playing the same guys two years in a row, pretty much. They just outplayed us," Tameling said.
The pivotal stretch came during No. 2 seed Walther's 24-point third quarter.
No. 3 seed Timothy Christian (17-13) had just taken its first and only lead of the game, 27-26, on a Tameling putback at 6:15 of the third quarter.
Walther Lutheran senior guard Cedric Collins got loose for two 3-pointers and a jumper during his personal 8-2 run to reclaim the lead.
"If I show you the scouting report, it says -- in big, bold letters -- find 14 all the time," Powers said of Collins, who made five of the Broncos' seven 3-pointers and led all scorers with 21 points.
"When I let the first one go and I knew it was in I just felt real confident," said Collins, who shot 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
Timothy got within 37-33 on a Jaaron Holmes foul shot and 3 of Andrew Temple's team-high 17 points, only to see Walther (19-9) post an 11-2 run and take a 48-35 lead into the fourth quarter.
Flurries by 10-point, 12-rebound man Tameling and 5-foot-6 Andrew Logan cut it to a two-possession game twice in the last four minutes.
Walther led 60-55 with 58 seconds to play. The Broncos hit just 19 of 30 free throws on the night but went 6 of 8 to when it mattered while Timothy missed its last four shots from the field.
The Trojans saw an eight-game winning streak end while Walther moves to Tuesday's Luther North sectional semifinal against North Lawndale.
"We played a good team," Powers said, "and this time they got us."