As Walther Lutheran continues its quest for its first Private School League title since 1989, Wheaton Academy sent them a message on behalf of the conference Tuesday night.
It’s not going to be easy.
The host Broncos built as much as a 12-point second half lead, then held off a furious Wheaton comeback in posting the 64-61 win, to move within one game of clinching the league crown.
Walther’s defense handled Wheaton’s inside game and its perimeter offense through most of the night. Joel Zielke (14 points) and David Vasser (19 points) each scored 10 first-half points to help the Broncos (12-4, 9-0) to a 34-26 halftime advantage. Walther looked to put things away in the third, as late baskets by Zielke and Oliver Baumann built their advantage.
The Warriors (14-6, 6-3) hit four-of-five three-point attempts, with Noah Ritchie (22 points) connecting on all three of his in the first three minutes of the fourth as Wheaton closed within 54-50 with 5:06 remaining. Wheaton then went inside to Jim Fortosis (13 points), who scored all eight of his team’s points in a late 8-3 run to cut Walther’s lead to 61-58 with 1:39 remaining.
But Walther’s defense held Wheaton without a field goal until the final seconds, right after a Jervis Childs free throw and a Bo Flowers steal and dunk with 14 seconds remaining to put the game away.
“They always come at you. And it doesn’t matter if you’re up by 20,” Walther coach Bill Koehne said of Wheaton. “But we kept our composure and we never panicked. This win was huge. We’re not focusing on [the league title], we’re focusing on peaking. And we feel like we’re peaking now.”
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— Phil English
Shepard 70, Bolingbrook 45: Mike Hall’s 20 points and 11 rebounds led the No. 9 Astros (15-2) in the SICA crossover. Brian Nievara and Mike Smith contributed 16 points apiece for Shepard. Avery Massengale led Bolingbrook (6-9) with 22 points.
Lincoln-Way 72, Hinsdale South 44: Kevin Menard tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds and Adam Ferrari added 12 points for the No. 10 Knights (15-2) in the non-conference rout. Lincoln-Way led 29-19 at halftime and went on a 10-2 run to start the second half to break the game open.
Brother Rice 60, Marist 36: Ryan O’Reilly combined 15 points, five steals and four assists as the No. 17 Crusaders (15-3) romped in the non-conference game. Rice went on a 16-3 run in the first quarter to break away from a 5-5 tie. Jeff Wrobel’s 11 points paced Marist (1-14).
Hillcrest 69, Thornton Fractional South 47: Armon Gates had 19 points and four steals for the No. 18 Hawks (14-4, 5-1) in the SICA Central. Hillcrest blew the game open with a 19-0 run in the first half. Nick Jensen’s 13 points led T.F. South (9-8, 3-3).
Bremen 57, Oak Forest 37: Mike Lindsey scored 18 points–all on three-pointers–and Cerron Pritchett had 18 for the Braves (9-9, 3-3) in the SICA Central.
Chicago Latin 72, Lake Forest Academy 63: Mike Rudoy scored 24 points for the Romans (17-1, 5-0) in the Independent School League.
Clemente 51, Roosevelt 50: Demorris Enoch and Emilio Diaz scored 10 points apiece as the Wildcats held on in the Public Blue North.
Dunbar 65, King 47: Martell Mahon scored 20 points and Jason Straight added 13 points as the Mighty Men (10-5, 5-0) cruised. Dunbar led just 28-26 at intermission, but scored the first six points of the second half to break the game open.
“In the first half, we didn’t run our plays, so at halftime I had to talk to the kids,” Dunbar coach Fate Mickel said. “In the second half, we put pressure on King early on, and we played better overall. We got the lead and the clock was in our favor. But we still made some silly mistakes on defense.”
David Easterling’s 17 points led King (4-13, 1-4).
Gage Park 69, DuSable 58: Lamar Grimes tallied 28 points, including three three-pointers as the Owls (16-5, 4-2) won in the Public Red Central. Grimes had 13 points in the third quarter as Gage Park outscored DuSable 21-8. Pierre Alston added 25 points for Gage Park. Richard Moody had 25 points and 14 rebounds for DuSable (9-9, 3-2).
Holy Cross 72, Ridgewood 34: Ricky Mojek scored 21 points for the Crusaders (10-9).
Jacobs 57, Lake Zurich 49: Nick Hicks scored 11 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Eagles in the Fox Valley.
Joliet 70, Kankakee 52: Roger Powell scored 24 points as the No. 13 Steelmen (17-4) picked up the road victory in the SICA crossover. Demetrius Love had 19 points for Kankakee (9-7).
Lemont 66, Elmwood Park 52: Jason Reiter’s career-best 33 points led Lemont (8-8, 7-2) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Lisle 76, Coal City 48: In the Interstate Eight, T.J. Parker and Joe Cortez scored 34 of their 40 points in the first half for a 51-20 lead en route to the Lions’ rout. Lisle improved to 16-2, 9-0. Aaron Himes had nine points for Coal City (8-9, 3-6).
Mather 59, Lane Tech 56: Danny Mendoza scored 13 points and Bojan Jovanic had 12 points to lead the Rangers (11-7, 3-2) in the Public Red North. Meshawn Ayers’ basket gave Mather a 53-52 lead with two minutes to play and the Rangers never trailed again. Curtis Collins scored 21 points to pace Lane (9-10, 1-4).
Neuqua Valley 93, Minooka 78: Henry Davis scored 35 points and Keelan Amelianovich added 27 points for the Wildcats.
Prosser 71, Sullivan 63: Maurice Vaughn tallied 27 points, including four dunks in the fourth quarter, for the Falcons (10-9, 3-2) in the Public Red North.
Romeoville 76, Aurora Christian 63: J.R. Logan poured in 25 points for the Spartans (13-4).
Stevenson 47, Carmel 46: Andy Logan scored 12 points for the Patriots (10-7).
Taft 68, Lake View 55: Eric Bailey scored 18 points as the Eagles rallied from a seven-point third-quarter deficit in the Public Blue North. Taft outscored Lake View 25-11 in the fourth quarter after trailing 44-43 at the end of the third.
Thornton Fractional North 47, Bradley-Bourbonnais 31: Gregg Charles scored 12 points and Geoffrey Moore grabbed 12 rebounds for the Meteors (14-4). Chad DeLuca scored nine points for Bradley (5-10), which fell behind 6-0 and never recovered.
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Von Steuben 88, Lincoln Park 56: The Panthers (13-3, 6-0) romped in the Public Red North behind Luke Rogers’ 29 points and seven assists. Phillip Watson added 25 points and 15 rebounds for the winners.
Westmont 77, Evergreen Park 53: Pierre Pierce had a triple-double of 34 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as the Sentinels (16-2, 11-0) rolled in the Suburban Prairie White.