Warriors feel good about trip
01.24.08 :: West Chicago Press :: By John Barrett
West Chicago, IL -
After back-to-back double-digit losses, Wheaton Academy was looking forward to its Florida trip even more.
While playing basketball was just one aspect of the trip to the Sunshine State, the Warriors felt good about their on-court results, defeating both Orangewood Christian (64-55, Jan. 15) and The Master’s Academy (57-46, Jan. 17).
“We had an awesome trip — and winning both games always makes things better,” said Wheaton Academy head coach Paul Ferguson. “In the first game against Orangewood Christian, we did not play well the first three quarters, even though I felt like we were the superior team.”
Wheaton Academy (12-4 overall) trailed Orangewood by 16 going into the fourth quarter, then put on a rally of immense proportions.
Fueled in part by David Toellen’s team-high 16 points (13 coming in the fourth quarter), the Warriors hit some shots early in the fourth and then turned on their full-court press.
Wheaton Academy forced 10 turnovers in the fourth and for the game snagged an amazing 21 steals, with Toellen’s five leading the way. Quinn Gorski added nine points.
The Warriors outscored Orangewood 30-5 over the final eight minutes to secure the nine-point victory.
“It was a combination of them being very disciplined and us shooting the ball poorly,” Ferguson said of his team’s early struggles. “They had some good size but we were able to turn the tide with our pressure defense.”
Part of the reason for the shooting woes may have been the unusual 3 p.m. start time — necessitated by the teams’ attending that night’s Chicago Bulls-Orlando Magic game together.
That act of fellowship, plus their strong finish in the earlier game, carried over to the game against The Master’s Academy, whose athletic director is Ed Willis, former athletic director at Wheaton Academy.
There was no slow start this time, as the Warriors held a 13-point halftime lead and offset a slow third quarter with a 21-point, fourth-quarter outburst to put the game away. Paul Werkema had 10 points in the win while Toellen pulled down 10 rebounds.
“Our defensive intensity was as good as we’ve seen all season,” Ferguson said. “They zoned us for a good part of the first half. But Ben Euler got several wide-open looks. Jason Roy came out and knocked down some wide-open shots.”
Aside from games and team bonding, the Warriors were in Florida studying the topic of spiritual leadership, in part by reading “Quiet Strength” by Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy and “The Man in the Mirror” by Pat Morley, whom the team got to speak with.
But perhaps the highlight was the trip to Gainesville and the campus of the University of Florida. Not only did the team tour the campus, they met with men’s basketball head coach Billy Donovan briefly and some of the players, they got shown around the basketball facilities by associate head coach Larry Shyatt, a good friend of Ferguson’s.
So on Jan. 18, the day before the Gators downed Kentucky, Wheaton Academy not only got to walk around their locker room but also got to practice on their home court for two hours.