Wheaton Academy Athletics :: Home of the Warriors

WWS 46, WA 30

01.13.08 - Daily Herald

WW South 46, Wheaton Academy 30: Bookend basketball got it done for Wheaton Warrenville South.

A dominant performance in the first and fourth quarters allowed the Tigers to pull away to a 47-30 victory over Wheaton Academy in the opening game at the second annual Wheaton Shootout at Wheaton North.

WW South (10-6) outscored the Warriors 25-4 in the first and last periods, including an 11-1 start in the opening quarter. The gap came in handy when Wheaton Academy (10-4) rallied within 25-24 late in the third quarter.

But after an 8-3 run boosted the Tigers' lead to 33-27 at the end of the fourth quarter, they scored the first 7 points of the fourth to seize command at 40-27.

"Since we were only up 1, there was some concern," said Tigers forward Kendrick Perry, who had a team-high 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 steals. "We just had to get the game back under control, and we were able to do that with our defense."

Five different players scored for WW South as the Tigers' jumped out to their first-quarter lead. They committed no turnovers while holding the Warriors without a field goal.

Wheaton Academy rallied through the next two quarters behind Ben Euler, who scored 19 of the team's 30 points. Euler scored 7 straight points as the Warriors pulled within a point with 2:34 left in the third quarter.

Perry and Sam Carlson combined for the Tigers' next 13 points as the team settled down. Carlson also guarded Euler in the final quarter, limiting him to a breakaway basket as the Warriors' lone field goal over the final 8:19.

"We had two quarters where we were just atrocious offensively," said Warriors coach Paul Ferguson, whose team has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. "We fought hard, made our run. It just wasn't enough."

Carlson scored 12 points and Derek Babb had 11 for the Tigers, who broke a three-game losing streak by winning twice this weekend.

"Our kids play hard," said WW South coach Mike Healy. "And what we try to instill in them is let's play smart and hard. They're really starting to use their heads out there."