The top two teams from this year's WA Thanksgiving Invite rightly met on Saturday night in West Chicago for the tournament championship game. Wheaton Academy (4-0) Bartlett High School (2-2) went head-to-head in a back-and-forth physical game that ended in dramatic fashion.
Wheaton Academy got off to an extremely weak start, unable to get any looks out of their half court offense and struggled to overcome a pesky Bartlett defense. The Warriors managed to score just two field goals in the first quarter, but were only down four at the quarter's conclusion thanks to several hustle plays which sent
Gordon Behr and
Brandon Ruggles to the free throw line.
Despite Wheaton Academy's offensive struggles, their defense was adequate to play Bartlett to an almost even second quarter.
Gabe Partain reignited the Warriors' efforts, stepping up with a crucial three-pointer before the half. Bartlett led 22-19 at the half.
Gabe Partain and his teammates did a tremendous job of limiting Bartlett's star player Lance Whitaker to just three first half points, but Whitaker started to heat up in the third quarter, knocking in 12 points in the quarter. Hawk sharp shooter Jon Moss saw daylight and took advantage by quickly draining a three-pointer, but Wheaton Academy, as they have characteristically shown this season in third quarters, also caught fire. Sophomore
Josh Ruggles netted a momentum shifting shot from downtown, while Partain had several key cuts and drives to the hoop which resulted in easy baskets.
Brandon Ruggles continued his consistent performance from the free throw line, adding four points in the quarter. The third quarter proved to be the turning point in the game for the Warriors, who outscored the Hawks 20-13 and entered the fourth quarter with a slim 39-35 lead.
Foul trouble started to play a significant role in the game for both teams down the stretch in this physically chippy ball game. Point guard
Collin Roy,
Jake Cousins,
Gabe Partain, and
Brandon Ruggles all played with four fouls at some point in the fourth quarter. As a result of the fouling, which went both ways, WA went to the free throw line 17 times in the 4
th quarter, making all but two attempts.
Lance Whitaker's pair of free throws made it a 47-40 game with 3:51 left to go, but the Warriors took a hit when
Collin Roy picked up his fifth foul with 2:10 remaining. Even with Roy on the bench, the Warriors had a six point lead with less than two minutes to play. Bartlett's frenzied full court defense yielded a few steals for the Hawk's, who then clawed their way back to within three points with just seconds remaining in the basketball game.
On the inbounds pass, the ball was deflected and ruled to be Bartlett's ball with just 5 seconds remaining. Jon Moss cut hard across the floor, caught the inbounded pass and drained a three-pointer as regulation expired to stun the Warrior fan base and send the tournament title game into overtime.
Wheaton Academy won the tip in overtime, and
Cole Fritz's made layup and the foul in the ensuing scattered play proved to be the tone-setting turn of events for the remaining overtime period. The Warriors outscored Bartlett 13-6 in the extra four minutes to eventually secure a hard-fought 75-68 win over the Hawks.
Free throws once again proved to be the steady force behind the varsity boys basketball team's success tonight, as the team shot a combined 49 free throws, making 39 of them (79.5%). By contrast, Bartlett went 19-for-28 from the free throw line.
Brandon Ruggles knocked in his 16
th free throw of the night in the overtime period, shooting an impressive perfect 16-for-16 for the entire game.
Despite all the pressure seen in this game, the Warriors limited their turnovers to just 7. Junior
Gordon Behr had a big night, leading all scores with 22, while grabbing 5 rebounds and blocking 6 shots.
Brandon Ruggles (20 points) led the charge from the free throw line, while also grabbing 11 crucial rebounds.
Gabe Partain contributed significantly with 14 points, and sophomore
Josh Ruggles had a breakthrough game making every single shot he took tonight, totaling 11 points.
Cole Fritz added 8, six of which occurred when the game was being decided in the overtime period.
Saturday's thrilling victory for the Warriors gives them the WA Thanksgiving Invite's 2012 tournament title, an achievement which eluded them last year, and moves their overall season record to 4-0.
The team will begin to prepare on Monday for next Friday's game at St. Viator in Arlington Heights.
