West Chicago, IL—The varsity boys basketball team looked to build off Monday night's season opening win, facing a persistent Streamwood High School team on Tuesday night in the Warrior Dome in the second game of the WA Thanksgiving Invite.
The Warriors' offensive productivity struggled in the opening minutes, as the team turned the ball over (7 turnovers in the first half) and settled for untimely shots from the perimeter (2-for-7 in the first half). While Streamwood's Joel Lightbourne led the attack for the Sabres, scoring 8 of his team high 16 points in the first period, Wheaton Academy countered Lightbourne's efforts by getting to the free throw line eight times. Senior forward
Brandon Ruggles connected on 6 free throws in the first quarter to sustain WA's efforts, ending the quarter 14-14.
Collin Roy sank a three pointer and added a pair of free throws in the second period to compliment
Gordon Behr's 6 points, but the Warriors' finicky defense opened the door for Streamwood to dictate the tempo of the game and outscore WA 17-16 to take a 31-30 lead at the half.
With a renewed defensive energy and commitment to better shot selection, the Warriors began to grind out an advantage over Streamwood. Sophomore guard
Josh Ruggles (6 points, 3 rebounds) revitalized the team's run, knocking down a pair of three point shots, and Behr continued to finish around the rim when baskets were needed to give WA a slim two point margin with eight minutes to play.
Wheaton Academy went on a 17-6 run in the final quarter, the result of increased defensive intensity and greater offensive discretion, facilitated by the consistent free throw shooting of
Collin Roy (13 points, 4 assists) and key contributions from senior
Gabe Partain (4 points, 3 rebounds).
Gordon Behr led all scores with 18, while grabbing 9 boards, and blocking 3 shots. As a team, Wheaton Academy shot a notable 28 free throws on the night, connecting on 22 of them (78%). WA shot 56% from 2 point range and 35% from behind the arc, combining for 10 assists and 32 rebounds, while accumulating 10 turnovers.
Tuesday night's win propels the varsity squad to 2-0 on the season. The team will have Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for Friday night's showdown with a very good Downers Grove North team at 8:00 PM in the Warrior Dome.
