"It didn't look like it tonight."

Those were the words spoken by Montini coach Tom Sloan on Saturday night when explaining that his team earned a third seed at the upcoming Class A Lisle regional while Wheaton Academy is the sixth seed. Sloan said that after the Warriors put together four solid quarters on both ends of the floor while knocking off the Broncos 63-50 at Wheaton Academy.

The Warriors, who now sit at a deceptive 7-17 on the year, knocked down 10 3-pointers, played solid defense, and at times even flexed some muscle down low. Forward Matt Almaraz did a little of everything to lift the Warriors to a victory against the team they will open the playoffs against on Feb. 22. He led all scorers with 19 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, but it was his inside play down the stretch that finished off the Broncos (11-15).

"It felt good to hit some shots, but it also felt good that everyone played well tonight," Almaraz said. "It was a great team effort. Everybody, I mean everybody came up big."

Point guard Jason VanderVeen had a great game with 14 points, 4 assists and 3 steals, guard Axel Cerny buried three timely treys, and center Mark Aloisio was even better than his numbers would indicate. He blocked 4 shots, had 5 rebounds and 5 of his 9 points came at the free-throw line while he was busy getting the Broncos' post players in foul trouble.

"I was very pleased with our concentration," Wheaton Academy coach Andy Euler said. "For a full game it was one of our best efforts this year."

It was a tight game at the half as Wheaton Academy led 16-15 after one quarter and 32-28 at the break. Almaraz scored 10 points in the second quarter on 4-of-5 shooting, but Montini stayed close with Ryan Dailey scoring 9 of his 12 points in the first half and Steve Cullen adding 6 points after two quarters.

But Cerny hit two 3-pointers in the second half, Almaraz was tough down the stretch, and Warrior Caleb Stewart came off the bench to tally 10 points in the second half to help finish off the Broncos.

With a 58-48 lead with less than three minutes to play, Almaraz put back a missed free throw by teammate Jeremy Parker. Then moments later he stole and inbounds pass and converted that into a layup that sealed his team's win.

"Matt did a great and made some big plays for us," Euler said. "And I thought Caleb not only hit a couple huge 3s for us, but he made some big plays on defense. I felt like we never let down tonight."