Wrap:St. Francis pulls out win in final minute
Something had to give.
After playing more than 31 minutes with the biggest lead by either team being 4 points, St. Francis' boys basketball team finally pulled away from stubborn Montini in the closing seconds to secure a 60-53 Suburban Catholic Conference victory Friday night in Wheaton.
Senior forward Brian McMahon, who poured in a game-high 21 points, made 4 consecutive free throws over the final 38 seconds of play to seal the Spartans' second SCC win in four days.
St. Francis is 4-1, 2-0 in SCC play.
"We grinded it out until the end," said McMahon, who also pulled down 12 rebounds to go with 4 assists and 4 steals. "Our shots weren't dropping as much as usual, but we stuck together and we pulled it out tonight."
With the Broncos (2-4, 0-1) clinging to a 45-42 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Spartans enjoyed a 7-0 surge, taking the lead for good at 47-45 on a putback by Bob Vonderhaar with 5:41 remaining. Vonderhaar finished with 18 points.
"That was the one thing we talked about at halftime -- we had no offensive rebounds," said Spartans coach Shawn Healy. "I just challenged the kids and told them that I thought it was going to be a difference maker (in the second half)."
After making a steal under his own basket, McMahon drove the length of the court to help set up Vonderhaar's layup that increased the Spartans' lead to 49-45.
"I was definitely looking for him a lot," McMahon said of Vonderhaar, who scored 8 fourth-quarter points.
"Brian is an unselfish player who makes everybody better," Healy said. "He had 21 points, he probably led us in rebounds and very well (could have) led us in assists. When you have that type of player on your team, it's going to make everybody better."
Dan McCoy, who canned a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter, added 10 points for the Spartans.
"I felt like for 80 to 85 percent of the game, we played really good defense," said Montini coach Tom Sloan. "But we lost (McCoy) and he hit a couple big shots in the first quarter."
Alex Blashewski scored 20 points and Anthony Blashewski added 13 for the Broncos, who led 16-13 after one quarter and 43-42 heading into the final period before coming up short.
"I think it was their seniors, especially in the fourth quarter, that made the biggest difference," Sloan said.
-- Craig Brueske
>Wheaton North 40, WW South 39:
In the latest of so many cross-town boys basketball thrillers, Wheaton North narrowly escaped the upset by rallying for a 40-39 DuPage Valley Conference victory over host WW South.
No one walked away surprised by the pitched competitiveness, and no fans emerged from the packed gym disappointed by the effort showed by either team.
John Bagge scored the go-ahead basket with 1:13 left. Then, after the Tigers turned the ball over and the Falcons missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 4.8 seconds left, WW South's Sam Carlson grabbed the loose ball and sprinted down the court.
Carlson drove in for a layup, but Bagge knocked the ball away before Carlson could get the shot off to preserve Wheaton North's win.
"It was a crazy game," said Bagge, who scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. "Whenever we come here we just have to throw out all the records and the hype, and just play. This is a tough place to play. It was just nuts the last minute."
WW South (6-1, 1-1) led 37-30 after a Byron Given bucket with 3:43 left, but Wheaton North (6-1, 2-0) surged back behind Bagge's three-point play and Steve Pierotti's 3-pointer.
When Bagge scored to give the Falcons a 38-37 advantage with 2:25 left, it was their first lead since 6-5 at the start of the second quarter.
Kendrick Perry, who had 11 points off the bench, scored to give the Tigers a 39-38 lead, but it didn't last long. Six-foot-seven Bagge capped his 8-point quarter with the winning shot down low.
Bagge and Pierotti, who scored 7 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, accounted for all of Wheaton North's 15 points in the final frame.
"Everyone knew it was going to be a dogfight, and they deserved it," said Tigers coach Mike Healy. "They made one more play than us in a great high school basketball game. Wheaton North made some plays at the end that really kind of hurt us."
Given scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half as WW South opened its biggest lead of 9 points late in the second quarter. With Wheaton North making only 5 of 22 shots, the Tigers led 21-14 at the half.
"I don't think it was so much of offensively being slow, I thought both teams were just kind of going at it defensively," said Falcons coach Jim Nazos. "It's just a great win against a great team on their floor."
-- Kevin Schmit
Willowbrook 60, Leyden 51:#338;Willowbrook knew one thing about Leyden from watching game film -- the Eagles have one very talented boys basketball player.
That player is Daron Guyton, a 6-foot-3 guard who is very versatile and can do many things on the floor.
The Warriors (5-2, 1-1) took Guyton as a challenge and wanted him to earn every point he got. That strategy worked as Willowbrook beat Leyden 60-51 Friday night.
"We constantly threw new legs at him, and I think we might have worn him down a little," Willowbrook coach Tim Lavorato said. "He still had a great night and he hit some very tough shots. Every shot he took he had a hand in his face. He is a great player."
Guyton scored a game-high 29 points in the loss, including 20 points in the second half.
The game was very tight in the first quarter as the biggest lead was 11-8 and the first period ended in a 14-14 tie.
That was when the defense took over for the Warriors. Willowbrook opened a 28-21 halftime lead as the Warriors forced Leyden (1-5, 0-2) into a 2-for-17 shooting performance.
"We wanted to pick up our defense because we know that is what wins ballgames," Willowbrook's Kyler Market said. "We were able to put together a nice run in the second quarter, and we were able to hold the lead for the rest of the game."
Things looked like they might have gotten interesting in the fourth quarter as Guyton caught fire and scored 12 points.
Every time it looked like Leyden would make a run, the Warriors did something such as grab an offensive rebound or cause a turnover to swing momentum back in their favor.
When Leyden started to foul to stop the clock, Willowbrook knocked down free throws. In the final minute the Warriors made 7 of 9 from the line.
"Whenever we were able to get close and make something happen, they made a play," Leyden coach Ken Davis said. "We just couldn't close the deal tonight and get over that hump."
Willowbrook was led by Market's 15 points. Joe Flood and Jamell Hunter chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
-- Jason Watt
Batavia 65, Glenbard South 41:#338;Batavia red and gold is a sight no Western Sun Conference host looks forward to seeing this winter.
The Bulldogs didn't disappoint in Glen Ellyn.
Batavia scored the first 11 points of the boys basketball game en route to a 65-41 win over Glenbard South. Nick Fruendt scored 18 points and David Bryant 13 for the Bulldogs (6-0, 3-0), who have won their first three conference games by a 30-point average.
"All of the teams in conference have us marked on our schedule and want to give us their best shot," Bryant said. "When it comes to game time, we want to be ready."
Batavia's 1-2-2 ball press defense set the tone early, forcing 11 Glenbard South turnovers in the first half. Phil Albrecht's 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs an 11-0 lead before Louis Erkins got the host Raiders on the board with 2 free throws.
"They came out and hit us with a good punch right away," Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke said.
Batavia coach Jim Roberts thought it important to get off to a good start against a Glenbard South squad fresh off a 59-41 win over Lemont.
"They've been playing extremely hard," Roberts said. "I think that's something coach Hardtke has brought with him as a player. Their kids are buying into it."
The Bulldogs led 16-8 after the first quarter, then ran off the first 12 points of the second to blow the game open.
Bryant punctuated the run by whistling a slick underhanded pass through the lane to Jordan Coffey for a layup. The next time down, Fruendt dropped off a nifty assist from the free-throw line to Ben Potter underneath for another score.
"David and Phil, they just seemed like they were one pass ahead of the defense all night long," Roberts said. "When that happens other guys step in."
Fruendt had 5 and Bryant 4 of the team total of 16 assists. Jordan Smith, who scored 12 points, was on the receiving end of Fruendt's last assist, a wraparound pass in the lane.
"They share the ball incredibly well," Hardtke said. "No matter what you do, they seem to be able to find the open guy and knock down the open shot."
Wally Wiedner scored 10 points, Andy Manson had 6 points and 6 rebounds and Erkins 6 points for Glenbard South (4-3, 1-2). The Raiders will get a second chance to match last year's win total Tuesday against Rochelle.
"That's a very good ballclub we played tonight," Hardtke said. "We showed flashes of some good things and definitely have some things we need to work on. There's a lot of basketball to play yet."
-- Joshua Welge
Glenbard North 52, West Chicago 43:#338;The Panthers (1-5, 1-1) opened up a 31-14 halftime lead as they notched the DuPage Valley Conference win at home. Marko Govedarica led the way with 17 points. Reid Hulett added 13 points and Ryan Gasiorowski 10 points.
Clark Hudmon scored a team-high 17 points for West Chicago (0-6, 0-2). Chad Driscoll tallied 10 points.
Benet 53, Marist 50:#338;The Redwings (3-3, 1-1) scored the East Suburban Catholic Conference road win behind Joe Meyerhoff's 14 points and Brian Gaughan's 11 points.
Hinsdale South 57, Addison Trail 50:#338;Devin Smith and Connor Duckhorn each scored 13 points for the visiting Hornets (4-2, 1-1) in their West Suburban Gold Conference win. Eric Travis added 11 points. Vince Beachem poured in a game-high 22 points for Addison Trail (0-4, 0-1), while Ian Horvath pitched in 14 points.
Immaculate Conception 80, Marian Central 75:#338;Matt Purdom scored 30 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked 5 shots for the Knights (3-2, 1-0) in their Suburban Catholic Conference win in Elmhurst. Brendan Ryan scored 17 points and Alex Jacobo added 15 points.