Fichtel scores 24 in Marmion's win
Marmion boys basketball coach Rashon Burno calls Sean Fichtel the "engine that makes us go."
Friday night at Montini, Fichtel was a little engine that could -- and a clutch one at that.
The 6-foot-1 junior guard scored a game-high 24 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to break open a close game and lead the Cadets past the Broncos, 66-52, in a Suburban Catholic Conference contest.
Leading 40-39 entering the last period, Marmion (5-1, 2-1) used a stingy 1-3-1 pressure defense, excellent transition offense, and 10-of-11 free throw shooting to outscore Montini 26-13 and win going away.
"We made an effort in practice to make them shoot when they were tired," Burno said of his team, which was 7 of 16 from the foul line in a loss to Driscoll. "We tried to simulate game situations as much as possible."
The source of many of those transition buckets was Fichtel. His short shots and layups that weren't falling in the first half started finding the bottom of the net as the Cadets went on a 6-0 run to stretch their lead to seven with 2:10 left in the game.
"It was just about getting the flow of things," Fichtel said. "You can't get frustrated, you just have to keep attacking and, luckily, my teammates found me when I was open."
Montini (2-6, 0-3) led by as many as 8 points late in the second quarter, but the Broncos hurt themselves with 26 turnovers including nine in the third quarter. Alex Blashewski scored 12 points and pulled down 7 rebounds to lead the Broncos.
"We played well in spurts through three quarters," said Montini coach Tom Sloan. "But in the fourth, Marmion did a great job of running the floor and we were unwilling to get back and defend."
The turnovers and lack of poise late in the game has become an all-too-familiar sight for Sloan this season.
"This has been a consistent problem," Sloan said. "Little fundamental mistakes always come back to bite us."
Montini got great production from its bench, which scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Kevin Pope scored 12 and grabbed 5 rebounds, and freshman Jason Viane added 6 points and 5 boards.
"Those guys played great," Sloan said. "It's nice having them come off the bench, but the way we've been playing, maybe a couple of those guys need to start."
Waubonsie Valley 47, South Elgin 44:ŒThe stands were full. The crowd was loud. The game was close. The pressure was on.
Faced with these conditions, South Elgin coach Chaz Taft had only one thing on his mind -- call a timeout. Unfortunately -- with 40 seconds left in regulation, the visiting Storm leading 37-36 and Waubonsie Valley trapping Adam Hodge in the backcourt -- Taft had to cross midcourt to get the nearest official's attention. That meant a technical foul against Taft for leaving the coach's box and two converted free throws by Waubonsie's Justin Peaster.
Those would be two points that Taft would rue in an eventual 47-44 overtime loss.
"That was stupid on my part, it was my fault," Taft said. "We didn't lose this game because of any lack of effort on my team's part. It was my fault and that's why we lost the game."
In most normal games the occasion of the technical would have been a clear turning point. But not Friday night. With Taft instructing his squad to run a play called "Home Run One" and only four seconds left in a 40-37 game, the Storm went the length of the court where Josh Glenn swished a 3-pointer from the corner to force extra innings, er, overtime.
That's where South Elgin's magic ended, however, as "Home Run Two" -- called with eight seconds remaining in a 47-44 game -- could only produce a 3-point attempt by Jordan Dobler that hit the backboard and ricocheted off the rim as time expired.
"We won, and a win's a win whether by 100 points or by one, and we won," was Waubonsie coach Steve Weemer's reaction to the great escape.
The game was a bruising defensive battle for all 36 of its minutes. Pounding the offensive boards with gusto early on and using the shooting of Peaster and Kevin VandenBerg, the Warriors (9-1, 3-0 Upstate Eight Conference) opened a 13-3 lead with a minute left in the first quarter. But though the Storm (4-4, 2-1) made just 6 of 22 shots in the first half, South Elgin closed within 18-16 at the break on Glenn's two late free throws.
Several times in the second half the Warriors stretched the lead to 5 or 7, but the Storm repeatedly roared back, finally tying the game on Alex Sanchez's 3-pointer with two minutes to play before taking its first lead at 37-35 on Jeffrey Lewis' layup with one minute left. That's when the game turned topsy-turvy.
"They played harder than we did, they cut well, they slowed the game down -- they deserved to win," Weemer said. "But to my guys' credit, they didn't put their heads down when we went to overtime."
-- Chris Traczek
Sycamore 61, Kaneland 38: Dave Dudzinski scored 15 points for Kaneland, who dropped to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the WSC.
Walther Lutheran 77, Aurora Christian 52:ŒComing off a big PSL win at the United Center against Wheaton Academy, the Eagles had a tough conference loss against the Broncos in Aurora. Jordan Roberts led Aurora Christian (3-4, 1-1) with 16 points, but on the whole, the team struggled to make their shots. The Broncos are now 3-0 in the PSL.
Girls basketball
Kaneland 50, Sycamore 35: The Knights (2-7, 1-3) picked up their first WSC win of the season. Their aggressive pressure defense resulted in numerous Spartan turnovers. Brittney Hankes scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Sara Rose finished with 11 points, 6 steals, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.
Wrestling
St. Charles East 63, Elgin 8: The Saints won 12 out of 14 matches in the UEC dual meet in Elgin. Alex Maynard (103), Billy Rawson (119), Cody Crawford (125), Billy Diamond (171), Steve Schenck (215) and Blake Griffiths (SCE) all pinned their opponents.