Boys basketball: Underdog St. Francis beats archrival Wheaton Academy in overtime

Nobody entered the Class 3A bracket with more people doubting it than St. Francis. They were 12-14, their point guard was playing with a broken nose, and their own coach was still sorting through his feelings about their sectional prospects.

“If you would have told me we would be here in December, I would have thought you were nuts,” said Spartans coach Erin Dwyer, grinning as his team cut down the nets after clinching their first sectional title since 2022 with a 69-62 overtime win over archrival Wheaton Academy (19-13) in Darien on Friday.

“It means a lot because these kids have been absolutely amazing,” he added. “They won't give up on each other. They're together all the time. They're coachable. They own their mistakes.”

And they are resilient.

The Spartans trailed 31-23 at halftime and Wheaton Academy ended the half on an 8-0 run.

Senior guard Tanner Hozian knew what it would take to climb out of that hole and into a supersectional.

“Grit,” said Hozian, who scored 14 points for the Spartans, including 7 of 8 free-throw attempts, as he threw his body into traffic all night long.

He did it while wearing a black mask to protect a broken nose he has been playing with since Jan. 30, when he took an elbow to the face against De La Salle.

“At halftime the seniors all got together and said we’ve got 16 minutes of basketball left and it's all over,” he added.

It turns out, it took more than that, as the Spartans (17-14) battled back behind Hozian and forward Ben Whorlow.

Whorlow took over the second half, grabbing rebound after rebound on his way to a game-high 15 points.

“Ben does everything. The rim protector. He's a shot changer. He's a rebounder,” Dwyer said. “Even though he wasn't scoring, he was drawing fouls.”

The Warriors had no answer for his size and the Spartans chipped away at the deficit.

They tied the game with 4:25 remaining in the fourth and took a 50-49 lead on a pair of free throws from Hozian.

Wheaton Academy forward Jackson Snider tied it back up with a layup as time ran out on regulation.

“The guys executed our last play to not get a layup before overtime,” said Wheaton Academy coach Daniel Smith. “I was proud of their execution. And then we just missed a defensive assignment (in overtime).”

“They hit the first one, and then a guy who we were willing to live with if he takes one, hits a big one, (then a) second one. So before we knew it we were down six,” he added.

But the Spartans’ momentum continued into overtime, as St. Francis senior Nathan Silagi hit a 3, then stole a pass to give his team a 61-53 lead.

They did not look back and are now set to face Deerfield on Monday night in a matchup that will pit Dwyer’s Spartans against Deerfield Warriors standout Jake Pollack, whom he coaches in AAU.

“It’s a short turnaround,” Dwyer said. “Everybody's winning games. So everybody has confidence.”

They will look to punch their ticket to Champaign at 6 p.m. Monday at Now Arena in Hoffman Estates.

The Warriors end their season with a regional championship and a lot to be proud of.

“The season has had a ton of ups and downs,” Smith said. “We fought through a lot of adversity. Every season is unique, and I wouldn't trade the way this season went for anything.”