West Chicago, IL
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After a disappointing loss to Downers Grove North in game two of the Wheaton Academy Thanksgiving Tournament, the Warriors looked to bounce back after two days off. The Warriors found a formidable opponent in Brother Rice, who came into tonight's matchup with a double overtime loss, and a convincing victory in the first two games of tournament play. The back and forth first half led to a 19-13 lead for Brother Rice. Tommy Blum led the charge with seven offensive rebounds, creating numerous second chance points for the Warriors. Blum fouled out in the fourth quarter but the rest of the team stepped up in his absence. Luke Ledesma come off the bench and added energy for Wheaton Academy, specifically on the defensive end of the floor with multiple steals in crucial moments. The Warriors shut-down defense held Brother Rice to only 11 points in the second half. Neither team separated themselves and regulation ended at 30-30.
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Jameson Teuscher opened up the first overtime with a deep 3-pointer, but the Warriors failed to generate anymore offense. Tied 33-33 with 0:03 remaining, Wheaton Academy survived a Brother Rice inbound for a missed layup as time expired.
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Beginning the second overtime, an offensive rebound leading to a 3-pointer, and another offensive rebound leading to a layup, gave Wheaton Academy a five point lead. With eight seconds remaining, tied at 40-40, Freshman Jimmy Paganis stepped to the line and nailed both free throws to give Wheaton Academy a 42-40 lead. RW Rienow would later add another free throw to give the Warriors the 43-40 lead. One final Brother Rice full court shot missed as time expired, thus ending the double overtime thriller.
The Warriors face Bartlett in the final game of the Wheaton Academy Thanksgiving Tournament tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 27 at 3:45 pm on the campus of Wheaton Academy.
