Wheaton Academy went on the road tonight, heading south and east to face the Knights of Chicago Christian. The game was a battle throughout as both teams fought and scrapped to gain an advantage. The Warriors started off the first quarter distributing the scoring with six different players finding their mark. The end of the quarter interrupted the action leaving the Warriors down by three, 18-15. The second quarter picked up the action on the defensive side, with both teams adding only nine points each and ending the half with the Warriors down 27-24. Jake Lindstedt turned it up in the third period adding 6 points and playing solid defense. The quarter ended with the Warriors still losing to the Knights, 39-35. The Warriors continued to battle throughout the fourth quarter with aggressive play by
Evan Williams pounding in 8 points and
Anthony Polinski and
Christian Smith both hitting crucial shots to keep the game close. With
1:40 left in the game, the Warriors found themselves down 7 and the game slipping away. Then the unexpected happened. The Knights, instead of protecting the ball, got careless under pressure from the Warriors and turned the ball over 3 straight times enabling Wheaton Academy to score 7 unanswered points, tying the game. But the Knights were able to battle back to escape with a win, besting the Warriors with a final score of 61-58. Jake Linstedt,
Evan Williams and
Anthony Polinski each scored 12, with
Christian Smith adding 10, all of which came in the fourth quarter. The varsity Warriors fall to 4-13 for the season.
The sophomore game was also a hard fought battle with the lead changing frequently and neither team seeming able to gain a definitive edge. The first half ended with the score tied 28-28 for the two evenly matched teams. The second half was just as close until the Knights finally started to pull away with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on several Warrior turnovers.
Jameson Teuscher had a strong outing for the Warriors, hitting several 3-pointers, but it would not be enough as the Knights would hold on to win a very tough battle, besting the Warriors with a final score of 59-45. The freshman squad saw the same type of game against their Chicago Christian opponents. After 3 1/2 hard fought quarters, the Warriors found themselves down 11 with less than 5 minutes in the game. They would battle back, but in the end also fall to the Knights with the final score of 56-53. All in all it was a tough but exciting night of basketball with two evenly matched teams being tested.
