Warriors lose to Wheaton rival
Wheaton Academy falls to St. Francis in non-conference game

By Stephen Parker Daily Herald Correspondent

St. Francis was not looking past 4-15 Wheaton Academy when the two teams hooked up Tuesday night.

But the Spartans did play with an eye toward the post-season.

Senior guard Joe Boken felt that actually helped his team bear down, play good defense and run their offense with patience. It all led to a 62-46 Spartans win in a nonconference matchup in Wheaton.

"This was a big game tonight as far as sectional seedings go," said Boken, who paced St. Francis with 16 points.

"So we really had to focus tonight. The whole game we had to make sure (Wheaton Academy) didn't go on a run. They're very capable of doing that. They play a tough schedule."

Warriors guard Alex Cerny led his team with 11 points, but his one first-half field goal was part of a larger issue with the Warriors' first-half offense that managed just 6 field goals before halftime.

"I'll be honest with you, they just outplayed us in every facet of the game," Wheaton Academy coach Andy Euler said.

"They beat us to every ball, they ran their offense in a more disciplined way than we did. It was just a matter of them being a better basketball team."

The Warriors enjoyed a brief 5-4 lead at one point, but Boken's two first-quarter 3-pointers, John Connolly's 4 first-quarter layups and Wheaton Academy's own cold shooting led to a St. Francis lead of 28-12 by the middle of the second quarter.

Cerny and Caleb Stewart, who combined for 12 first-half points, helped keep the margin from getting any larger before halftime, but the Warriors were not aided by their shooting from beyond the arc.

"They have a lot of really good 3-point shooters. So we just wanted to make sure and pressure them," Boken said.

"We did a good job."

The Spartans' advantage ballooned to 38-18 less than a minute into the third quarter. A drive and a leaning jumper by Boken, followed by a fastbreak bucket from A.J. Palash and a putback by Joey DalSanto put the Warriors in the driver's seat for good.

"We spread the floor really well and made some passes, and that got us open for shots and got some easy baskets," Boken said.

With a 20-point margin, the fourth quarter began as a long-range shooting fest, with the Spartans' Mitch Herwaldt and Clay Manley trading 3s with Wheaton Academy's Stewart and guard Jason VanderVeen.

Late baskets by the Warriors' Greg Earl and Chris Ferguson made the final score respectable.

"We've had some positive things happen in the last couple of weeks," Euler said.

"Tonight we were just not ready."