Hoffman Estates tops Wheaton Academy in double OT
Those familiar with Maori language will know where Hoffman Estates was coming from.
It was all "kia kaha" after the Hawks boys basketball team beat Wheaton Academy 74-69 in double overtime Tuesday at Glenbard West's 14th annual Holiday Classic.
Hoffman Estates rallied from 9 points down with 3:58 left in the fourth quarter and 4 down with 2:10 left. Jorden Thornton, who led all scorers with 26 points, made four free throws to force overtime.
"We've been down before," Hoffman Estates coach Luke Yanule said. "Like Jorden said in our postgame (talk), we do have tremendous heart. And one thing we talk about is 'kia kaha,' which is Maori for 'forever strong' and gritty, toughness and perseverance."
Hoffman Estates (5-8) forced 10 fourth-quarter turnovers and 3 more in the second overtime. Brandon Hall, Lamont McIntosh and Terrius Davis made free throws in a clinching 11-6 run in the final session.
"We were happy but not content," said the 6-foot-7 Hall, "because we know we bury ourself in a hole and then have to come up and get ourself out of it. But we're glad we could do that and finish off the game and get the win."
Scoring 16 points each of the first three quarters, Wheaton Academy (3-7) committed 4 first-half turnovers and 7 through three quarters.
Overcoming an 18-16 first-quarter deficit, Teuscher torched the Hawks from the perimeter. He scored 18 points all on 3-pointers.
"Jameson's got the green light and he can shoot it," said Warriors coach David Osborn. "So happy to have him see a big game for us. Defensively, he guarded No. 3 (Thornton) as well and gave us a lot on the defensive end as well."
Hoffman Estates' sneaker squeak got noticeably louder after halftime.
"Coach got us fired up at halftime," said Thornton, who hit five 3s himself and drew the second-half defensive assignment on Teuscher. "He said we weren't playing Hoffman basketball at all. Weren't stepping to the ball, were giving up too many corner 3s. We locked down, clamped down on defense and executed our offense down the stretch."
Hall scored 19 points with 12 rebounds for the Hawks. McIntosh scored 16 with a key four-point play during Hoffman's fourth-quarter rally.
Thomas Blum scored 16 for Wheaton Academy. Sophomore J.D. Gunn scored 17 and thought his team learned something in defeat.
"We've just got to limit turnovers, No. 1, and also No. 2, we had some mistakes where we could have just moved the ball around instead of getting a quick shot. It's just a couple things we need to work on," Gunn said.
St. Francis 69, Northridge Prep 57:
Regardless of his players' individual talents, St. Francis coach Erin Dwyer offered a truism following the Spartans' 65-57 win over Northridge Prep on Tuesday at the Glenbard West Holiday Classic.
"When we share the ball we're a much better team," Dwyer said.
Against the Knights' 1-3-1 zone defense St. Francis (3-7) found the open man whether it was Peter Fassnacht with the dish, Jon Burke finding Greg Bogdanski with what Dwyer calls a "big-to-big" pass or Will Purdom capping solid ball movement for a 3.
Helping build a 17-point third quarter lead, three times Purdom passed to 6-foot-4 Nick Cooney low in the paint for easy baskets.
"We just kept running that play; it's a play we run in practice," said Cooney, who led the Spartans with 22 points to 18 for Gabe Johnson. "Set good screens by Shane Walker and Greg Bogdanski, they got me open."
Down 60-46 with 4:43 left to play, Northridge Prep (3-6) rallied within 60-54 behind 3-stroking Patrick Hunt and driving Pablo Esparza, who scored a respective 16 and 22 points.
The hole proved too deep, Knights coach Will Rey noted.
"A lot of self-inflicted wounds," said veteran prep and college coach. "We gave up 10 points in the first half on turnovers and 6 points on offensive rebounds."