Tigers Line up, Hold off Falcons

There’s an old basketball axiom which states that games are won and lost at the free-throw line. On Friday night, the Tigers literally won their 57-48 DVC matchup over the crosstown rival Falcons at the line.

Wheaton South’s final 14 points in the fourth quarter came via the free throw. They shot a sizzling 14-for-15 from the line overall during the quarter—12 straight in the game’s final two minutes—and 21-for-24 for the entire contest.

Wheaton South needed those free throws because Wheaton North--which in early January--made a game of it in the second half after trailing 23-9 at intermission.

, who was 8 of 8 at the line down the stretch, made it 27-12 after he drove inside for a deuce early in the third quarter. But the Falcons climbed back into it with an 8-0 run—featuring consecutive treys by Jordan Wayhart and Jeff Schalk—to make it 30-26.

However, South guard Travis Kern, playing in his first game of the season, fired in five straight free throws to close out the quarter and gave the Tigers a 39-28 advantage.

Kern, a wide receiver for the Tigers’ state champion football team, had missed the entire season until Friday recovering from a broken collarbone he suffered during the state playoffs last November. He airballed his first attempt from the field, but was in midseason form the rest of the way, hitting two treys in the second quarter and ending up with 13 points.

“This is a great atmosphere and I’m just excited to play again,” Kern said. “I just started practicing this week and things feel really good right now. It’s adjusting to the game speed, I guess. This is the best game to come back, by far. Beating Wheaton North, our biggest rivals, I couldn’t ask for more perfect timing.”

The Tigers didn’t score a field goal the rest of the game after Kevin Bridges’ layup put them in front 43-32 early in the fourth quarter. Wheaton North outscored Wheaton South 11-2 from that point and pulled to within two points, 45-43, when Richard Finley nailed a three with 2:01 to go.

“We kind of struggled a little bit,” Wheaton South coach Mike Healy said in reference to the fourth quarter. “We were taking some quick shots; they weren’t necessarily bad shots, but it just seemed like we were getting into a little bit of a rut when we were running the offense.”

But the Tigers pulled away with their free throws. O’Toole and Bridges combined for eight consecutive free throws over the next 1:23, and the Tigers led 53-46.

“We got close, but never got over the hump,” said Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos. “In hindsight, you can’t get down that much. I thought there were some things we did pretty good in the second half, but we didn’t do it for a complete game, and to beat that team, you have to do it for four quarters.”

O’Toole netted a game-high 14 points, including 9-for-10 from the line, and had seven rebounds. Bridges added 10. Jason Schuman dominated the glass on both ends, pulling down 13 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

“Jay played great,” Healy said. “Him and Tim Zyburt, their offensive rebounding got us a bunch of extra points. We said if we just went first possessions against them, it probably would have been a different game, but those extra possessions we got (were) because of Jason and Tim. Jay did a great job defensively. He’s been playing well the last month and a half.”

Team-wise, the Tigers (14-9, 7-4) are running on all cylinders. Friday’s win was their fifth straight and sixth in their last seven games.

“We’re getting healthy,” Healy said. “(Dan) Roadman coming back at Christmas-time, and having Travis back tonight is huge. We started four football guys tonight that weren’t with us for those first three weeks. It takes a little bit of time, and maybe we’re finally getting to the point where we’re getting used to each other.

“We’ve shot the ball a little bit better, not so much tonight, but we’re making more plays. When we’re missing those shots, we’re getting those offensive rebounds. We’re getting more loose balls. I think we just have a little more energy than we’ve had.”

Finley’s 13 points led the Falcons while Mike Fitzpatrick had 10 point and five rebounds. Schalk contributed nine points and five boards.

Friday’s contest was yet another close encounter for Wheaton North (11-11, 4-7). Fifteen of the Falcons’ 22 games so far this season have been decided by .

“We’ve just got to keep staying with it, working harder and keep moving forward,” Nazos said. “It’s a toll mentally, but you’ve gotta do it.”

Wheaton Warrenville South 57, Wheaton North 48

Wheaton North—Barry 0 2-2 2, Norris 0 0-0 0, Finley 5 0-0 13, Fitzpatrick 3 4-7 10, Wayhart 2 0-0 6, Schalk 4 0-0 9, Daniels 2 0-0 4, Otto 2 0-2 4, Jordan 0 0-0 0, Biegalski 0 0-0 0, Araujo 0 0-2 0. Totals: 16 6-11 48.

Wheaton South—O’Toole 2 9-10 14, Bridges 5 2-2 10, Schuman 3 1-2 7, Kern 3 5-5 13, Fuster 0 0-0 0, Zyburt 1 2-2 4, Baerwolf 0 0-0 0, Roadman 2 2-3 6, Judzak 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 21-24 57.

Score by quarters

Wheaton North     5     4      21      18—48

Wheaton South     8    15     16      18—57

Three point baskets: Wheaton North 6 (Finley 3, Wayhart 2, Schalk), Wheaton South 4 (O’Toole, Kern 2, Roadman). Total fouls: Wheaton North 19, Wheaton South 16. Turnovers: Wheaton North 11, Wheaton South 6. Rebounds: Wheaton North 25, Wheaton South 29 (Schuman 13).