Sports
Boys Regional Basketball: Wheaton Teams Set to Take Final Exams
Wheaton South, Wheaton Academy and St. Francis are all playing for a regional title on Friday night. Wheaton North, meanwhile, ends its season with a loss to Naperville Central.
No matter what sport, teams always hope they’ll be playing their best by the postseason. Wheaton Warrenville South, Wheaton Academy and St. Francis’ boys basketball teams are doing just that, as each will be going for a regional championship Friday night.
The Tigers advanced to the title game of the Class 4A West Aurora regional on Wednesday after seniors Reilly O’Toole and Travis Kern blitzed the host Blackhawks for a combined 15 three-pointers. Wheaton Academy, whose only loss this season came at the hands of an out-of-state team, moved into the title game of its own Class 3A regional by knocking off Chicago Clark in a semifinal game on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Spartans edged Nazareth Academy in their semifinal contest and take on Riverside-Brookfield for the Nazareth regional championship.
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Here’s a look at each team heading into their respective championship matchups:
Wheaton South
Kern and O’Toole locked in their long-range radar and stunned the hometown crowd Wednesday with uncanny accuracy from the three-point arc. All told, Wheaton South sank 16 threes—the most in one game by any Illinois boys high school team since 2009.
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Wheaton South’s win over West Aurora was its 10th straight. And one of the catalysts behind that streak has been Kern, who made his season debut versus Wheaton North six games ago after recovering from a broken collarbone suffered during the Tiger football team’s run to the Class 7A state title.
The Tigers (19-9) are hoping to continue their sizzling shooting Friday when they lock horns with Downers South (24-3), one of the area’s top teams. The Mustangs, seeded second in the East Aurora sectional complex, needed a three-point play from junior guard late in their semifinal game against Glenbard North to prevail, 54-51.
However, Downers South is loaded. European natives Ziggy Riauka (10 points, 15 rebounds vs. Glenbard North) and guard Dan Jurgutis give the Mustangs a strong backcourt/post tandem. Millison and Jerron Wilbut also are good off the dribble and in transition.
“They have five or six guys that are offensive weapons,” WWS coach Mike Healy said. “They have size and quickness. They’re a very, very talented team and we’re going to have our hands full. But we’re excited about the opportunity.”
If the Tigers get past Downers South, they will play the Glenbard East regional winner (either Glenbard East or Glenbard West) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the East Aurora sectional.
Wheaton Academy
The Warriors (26-1) and coach Paul Ferguson have won 14 in a row since dropping their only game of the year in early January to Walsingham Academy, located in Virginia Beach, Va. Wheaton Academy has dominated its opponents throughout this run, save for two nail-biters with Suburban Christian Conference foe Aurora Christian (the Warriors won those contests by a combined four points).
A handful of Class 4A squads had losses pinned on them by the Warriors this season, including Wheaton North, Downers North, Leyden, Streamwood, Addison Trail, Rich East and West Chicago.
Wheaton Academy is big, athletic and deep. Luke Johnson, its 6-9 center, had a double-double in Tuesday’s triumph over , which included 24 points. Wes Koral (12 points on Tuesday) is 6-3, but plays above the rim with his 42-inch vertical jump and averages over 17 points per game. Guard Lars Olson can hit threes, backcourt mate Drew Sandburg leads the team in steals and junior Tate Fritz (6-4) gives the Warriors added size inside.
North Lawndale (14-12) gets offensive contributions from Garrett Taylor, Antoine Smith, Alonzo Singleton, Brandon Thorpe and Devonte Johnson.
If the Warriors win, they’ll meet the winner of the Westchester regional (either St. Joseph or Chicago Crane) in the Riverside Brookfield sectional at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
St. Francis
Coach Sean Healy’s charges will be the underdog Friday night when they tangle with 21-5 Riverside-Brookfield, but the Spartans play the role of spoiler very well. Keep in mind the Spartans knocked off heavily favored Wheaton Academy in last year’s regional final.
On Wednesday, the Spartans (15-11) avenged an early-season loss to Nazareth and ousted the Roadrunners 42-39 for their fifth win in their last six games. Ryan Coyle, who missed a handful of games due to an illness, scored 23 points against Nazareth, while Nick Donati had 10.
Coyle, one of three Spartans averaging double figures, checks in at just under 17 per game. Eric Stout and Mike Scholl also are double-figure scorers.
Job 1 for the Spartans will be trying to slow down Riverside-Brookfield’s high-octane offense, led by Lewis University recruit Ryan Jackson. Jackson scored 30 points during the Bulldogs’ regular season finale, a 100-80 victory over Ridgewood.
Jackson, who averages around 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, also had a 40-point game against Glenbard South a few weeks ago. Earlier this season, he netted 33 when the Bulldogs—winners of 10 of their last 11 games—handed Class 4A power Lyons Township (24-2) a 79-55 loss.
The Spartans will try to become the first Class 3A team to defeat R-B this season. All of the Bulldogs’ five losses have been to Class 4A teams.
A Spartan victory would put them in the Riverside-Brookfield sectional opposite the winner of the Chicago Marshall regional (either Marshall or Orr) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Wheaton North
The Falcons faced off for a third time this season against DVC foe Naperville Central in Monday night’s regional opener at Glenbard East. In their previous two meetings, the Redhawks won both games by a combined 10 points. This time around, Naperville Central beat the Falcons by 10, 50-40.
Jeff Schalk led the Falcons with nine points. Schalk is one several seniors who made up the core of Wheaton North’s team. In addition to Schalk, the Falcons say goodbye to forwards Mike Fitzpatrick, Jordan Wayhart, Nick Barry and Mike Biegalski, and guard Richard Finley—each of whom either started or saw a considerable amount of playing time.
Although they finished the year 11-16, the Falcons were competitive throughout 2010-11. Fourteen of Wheaton North’s 27 games were decided by nine points or less. The Falcons went 7-7 in those games.
