West Chicago, IL--The varsity Wheaton Academy Warriors knew it was going to be a battle going into Tuesday night's game against a very good Immaculate Conception team with a record of 16-3. With the officials allowing a noticably more physical style of play, the two teams battled relentlessly throughout the entirety of the game.Â
IC held a slight one point advantage after the first quarter, before Wheaton Academy dug in and played effective defense and got their offense going in the second quarter.
Josh Ruggles and Will Burdett both made three-point baskets in the quarter with contributions from big men
Gordon Behr,
Chandler Fuzak, and
Jacob Lindstedt. WA held a 30-22 lead with just seconds before halftime, but IC managed to nail down a three-pointer on the run as time expired to cut the lead to just five points, 30-25 at the half.Â
The Knights and the Warriors battled even again in the third quarter, scoring 17 points each. All but three of the Warriors' 17 points in the quarter came from inside the post, including four points from
Grant Copple, despite only playing three minutes in the game.
Chandler Fuzak and
Gordon Behr found a way to convert near the basket and the Warriors led 47-42 going into the final quarter.Â
Jacob Lindstedt came alive in the final quarter, grabbing six rebounds and scoring 6 points, including two key rebounds and put backs to give his team the necessary momentum to maintain their lead and ultimately win the game. Lindstedt was 5-for-7 from the field for the night and 3-for-4 from the free throw line for a season-high 13 points in the game.Â
Gordon Behr led in the scoring column for the Warriors, while also grabbing 10 rebounds with 2 blocks.
Chandler Fuzak contributed 12 points and 3 rebounds, and
Josh Ruggles, battling illness, contributed 7 points, going a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line and knocking down a three-pointer.Â
Wheaton Academy shot 47% from the field on the night (25/53) and 36% from three-point range (4/11). The Warriors turned the ball over 19 times compared to IC's 16 turnovers, but outrebounded the Knights 35-20.Â
Tuesday's 64-53 win improves the Warriors record to 13-7 on the season. The team will play at Aurora Central Catholic next Monday at 7:30 PM. Please note this game is the newly scheduled date for this game which was postponed last Saturday.Â
Boxscore (PDF)
