Wheaton North defeats West Chicago
Never underestimate the power of a fired-up coach at halftime.
Wheaton North bounced back from an uninspired first half to defeat West Chicago 59-52 in Wheaton on Friday.
The Falcons (10-8, 3-5) trailed for nearly the entire first half. They drew inspiration for their comeback after absorbing an earful from coach Jim Nazos at the half.
“We picked up the intensity in the second half,” said senior guard Mike Fitzpatrick. “At halftime our coaches got in our face and got us going.”
The victory was earned in earnest as the Falcons fended off a gutsy performance from West Chicago junior Justin Mundt.
“We came out sloppy and too relaxed,” Fitzpatrick said. “It took us until the second half to really play our game.”
Mundt shot a perfect 14 of 14 from the free-throw line, and he never relented from going hard to the basket all night.
“(Mundt) is the guy. He never takes a trip off, never lets us down,” said Wildcats coach Kevin Baldus. “He’s almost to reckless abandon, but he stays under control.”
Mundt added two field goals to his remarkable night at the free-throw line and finished with a team-high 18 points.
“We’re getting there,” Baldus said. “We’re starting to get to a point where we’re putting all four quarters together.”
Wheaton North senior Jordan Wayhart keyed the Falcons comeback in the third quarter by hitting three 3-pointers in the period.
“Once I see (the ball) go in I get into a little groove,” Wayhart said. “The coaches kept calling plays for me.”
Wayhart led all scorers with 19 points. He helped put the Falcons (10-8, 3-5) ahead by 6 headed into the fourth quarter.
Falcons senior Richard Finley opened the fourth with a quick layup to put his squad up eight points, but the Wildcats (4-14, 0-8) refused to go away.
“(West Chicago) is a good character team,” Nazos said. “They play hard and unselfish. I’m impressed with how they keep coming at you. No matter what kind of run we went on, they kept coming back.”
Mundt continued to will his team back in the game alongside teammate Dylan Hedmark’s ability to score inside.
“You have to limit the times a guy like (Mundt) touches the ball,” Nazos said.
The Wildcats clawed their way to within 4 points late, but Wayhart drew a foul shooting a 3-pointer to put the brakes on a West Chicago comeback.