Posted on Friday, December 16, 2005 at 10:28 PM

The host Warriors came out with a fire Friday night inside Wheaton College's King Arena. With a crowd that would easily exceed Warrior-Dome capacity, Wheaton Academy jumped off to an 8-0 lead against the undefeated (10-0) Timothy Trojans from Elmhurst. Heads up defense which produced steals and smart and aggressive offense carried the Warriors through the first half, while Timothy quietly caught up on the scoreboard. A three-point basket at the end of the first quarter, and then a shot from downtown to end the half by Jeremy Parker (9 points) seemingly left momentum in the Warriors' hands.

The third quarter started out slowly for Wheaton Academy, who unintentionally abandoned the idea of attacking the defense and settled for holding the ball up top. A couple of baskets by the 6'6" fundamentally sound Jonathan Huizinga led Timothy in outscoring the Warriors 11-6 in the third quarter and took the lead 33-27. The fourth quarter served primarily as a frustration to Wheaton Academy who, despite scoring 22 points in the quarter, could not find a comfortable offensive rythm. It was #44 Huizinga again who sealed the deal for the Trojans with three field goals and hitting four of four free throws in the end.

John Tillery led the Warriors with a season-high 18 points including four three-pointers. Jeremy Parker and Benjamin Euler both connected on three 3's and totalled 9 points. Wheaton Academy as a unit did a good job of shutting down 6'8" standout Josh Crittle, who only managed 9 points on the night. The stage was set for Wheaton Academy to defeat a very good but beatable Timothy squad in the luxury of the nice facilities of King Arena tonight, but an offensive and partial defensive breakdown in the third and fourth quarters witheld the 2-6 Warriors from a win. The team will have a week to rest and prepare for the East Aurora Christmas Tournament on December 26th against Tampa Catholic out of Tampa, Florida.

"Trojans topple Warriors" -- Daily Herald, 12/17/05