Wheaton North downs cold-shooting St. Charles East

Wheaton North boys basketball coach Dave Brackmann likes to follow a simple rule with his team.

"You never want to tell a kid to stop shooting if they're capable of knocking down shots," said Brackmann.

The Falcons (7-2, 5-2) certainly followed the game plan Saturday night, as they attempted a season-high 41 3-point shots against St. Charles East (1-8, 1-6).

Led by Troy Hegranes and Connor Haake (16 points), the Falcons finally found the range in the second half, shooting 5 of 13 (38 percent) from beyond the arc, during their 53-44 Upstate Eight Conference triumph in St. Charles.

"We don't usually shoot so many 3s, but they weren't guarding certain people," said Brackmann. "We would be playing right into their hands if we weren't taking those shots. To be honest, the guys that were taking them (shots) are more than capable of making them. They just weren't making them at first."

With the game tied at 32-32, the Falcons seized control following a 9-0 run during a 1 ½-minute stretch late in the third quarter that included back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Noah Froebe, Hegranes, and Sam Cascella (8 points, 8 rebounds).

"It's really easy when you've got your teammates and coaches behind you," said Hegranes, who scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half. "They kept telling us to shoot - and we did.

"In the third quarter, we started hitting our shots and took them (the Saints) out of what they were doing. We got back to our basic principles."

Hegranes drained his fourth 3-pointer and added a driving layup during a 10-2 spurt in the fourth quarter that sealed the deal for the Falcons.

"Troy was 5 of 6 (on 3-pointers) the other night against Glenbard North," said Brackmann. "He's a capable 3-point shooter."

Robbie Bonga added 7 points and 10 rebounds for Wheaton North.

Rahul Gor and Joe Musial scored 9 points apiece for the Saints, who connected on just 19 of 61 of their field-goal attempts, including 4 of 21 from 3-point range (19 percent), while suffering their fifth straight loss.

"It has been a while since we lost one like this," said Saints coach Patrick Woods. "You're not going to win many games shooting 31 percent from the field.

"We can't seem to put everything together. I thought we rebounded better today although we lost by two (44-42), and we only had seven turnovers. Usually, our strength is our shooting, but it definitely was not there tonight."

Both teams return to action Sunday night, with Wheaton North taking on Batavia, while St. Charles East hosts Lake Park.