Boys basketball: St. Francis ends Joliet Catholic’s season in regional final

No one could be truly disappointed after Friday night’s Class 3A Joliet Catholic regional championship boys basketball game.

Sure, the host Hilltoppers were disappointed by the 58-54 St. Francis victory that ended Joliet Catholic’s season.

But no one could be disappointed by the game itself.

Joliet Catholic led 10-2 early before the two squads battled to a tie midway through the second. St. Francis went on a 10-0 run late in the second to take a seven-point lead at the half. The Spartans built that into a 15-point lead with two minutes left in the third only for JCA to get back within seven before the fourth started.

The Hilltoppers twice got within three points in the closing minutes of the contest, but St. Francis made its free throws down the stretch to secure the victory and claim the regional title.

Strong rebounding and defense helped St. Francis get the win, yes. Some critical shots from deep were important too.

But to coach Erin Dwyer, it was the heart and determination of his seniors that made all the difference.

“This team has the best senior leadership I’ve seen in a long time,” he said. “Midseason they got together, made a commitment to unity and grit, and that was all they cared about. We talked about trying to get on the wall and win a regional, and I couldn’t be more proud of these young men.”

On paper, this wasn’t the kind of regional final one might expect.

St. Francis is the seventh seed in its half of the Hinsdale South Sectional after going 13-14 overall with a 6-2 close to the season. It only snuck by Fenwick 53-47 in the regional semis.

Joliet Catholic was the top seed of the regional and had its best season in a decade, going 19-11 in the regular season. Including the playoffs, the Hilltoppers finish 20-12, doubling their win total from just two seasons ago.

To top it off, they had a truly raucous environment Friday night, which went noticed by St. Francis.

“I think Joliet Catholic is an amazing team,” Dwyer said. “They’re young, they’re very talented, I think they’re going to do amazing things next year. I couldn’t be more impressed with the entire environment.”

In the end, though, the Spartans just had a little bit more in the tank. Tanner Hozien led St. Francis with 14 points despite fouling out with just over two minutes to go.

Ben Whorlow and Carter Clark each finished with 12, Clark sinking a quartet of late foul shots to seal the victory. Whorlow managed to do most of his damage underneath the basket.

“Our motto all season has been that we were going to grind on the defensive end,” Whorlow said. “We’re not going to let offensive efforts affect our defense, and we did that tonight.”

JCA was led by Jayden Armstrong’s 17 points, including a deep 3-pointer with 38 seconds to go to pull JCA within 57-54 before a Clark free throw made it four points. The Hilltoppers didn’t get another basket.

Donavyn Simmons added 12 points, including the first eight of the contest, for JCA.

Joliet Catholic coach Adam DeGroot had nothing but positive things to say about his group and the game itself afterward.

“This is my fourth year as the head coach, but I’ve been here about (a dozen) years, and I’ve never seen this gym like that for a basketball game,” he said. “It was a fun atmosphere. I couldn’t be prouder of my guys to claw back into the game twice and put ourselves into position to win the game with two minutes left.

“It just goes to show you the character of this group. That’s what it’s all about.”

St. Francis will play sixth-seeded Lemont on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Hinsdale South in the sectional semis.