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Wheaton Academy lets it Slip 51-46 in Final Minutes

Posted Tuesday, February 22, 2005

They say it's always harder to beat a team the second time. That saying proved true Tuesday night, but not before Wheaton Academy played a great game up until the final minutes. The Warriors entered the state tournament in the same situation at last year, facing Montini Catholic High School. Wheaton Academy lost ironically to a similar score of 59-54 at Driscoll last year.

Jeremy Parker lit up the Lisle High School gymnasium with two three-pointers in the first quarter, but Montini led 14-10 at the end of the quarter. The Warriors' intense defense proved to be effective against this Montini team, who lost to WA 63-50 just a few weeks ago. In addition, the Warriors seemingly seized every opportunity to block out and get the rebounds. WA out-scored Montini 16-13 in the second period with six points from Mark Aloisio, and were down 27-24 at the half.

The third quarter things stayed even, with WA creeping up to a 36-34 disadvantage, and it became apparent that the game was going to be won or lost in the fourth quarter. Free throws and turnovers turned out to be the decisive factor for Wheaton Academy. WA, a 63.4% free throw shooting team, shot 5-for-10 in the fourth quarter alone, and 7-for-14 for the entire game. Jason VanderVeen sitting on the bench having fouled out, didn't help the Warriors who turned the ball over three times in a row in response to Monitini pressure. Montini found the open man when WA was forced to half-court trap for the easy layup, and Wheaton Academy gave the game away in the final minutes.

Mark Aloisio, playing in his final appearance of his career at Wheaton Academy, scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Juniors Jeremy Parker and Axel Cerny both scored 12 points, and Jason VanderVeen added 6 in the loss. The loss in the state-tournament ends the Warriors' 2004-2005 season.

3 POINT SHOOTING: Jeremy Parker and Jason VanderVeen advanced to tonight's round of the three-point shooting competition.

 

Current Record: 8-18