WA Plays well; falls to Elgin by three in Overtime

Game #4 • Friday, November 24, 2006 • 6:00 PM • Buffalo Grove Thanksgiving Tournament
Statistics • Daily Herald Article

In a game that looked as if it was going to end up in Wheaton Academy's hands, Elgin HS eventually took the game in overtime. The Warriors played hard for four quarters, led by senior John Albaugh who scored 22 points despite battling stomache illness.

Elgin tied the game up with 24 seconds left in regulation. The game headed into overtime when Wheaton Academy was unable to convert on a last play. A three point basket from Benjamin Euler (13 points, 5 assists) gave the Warriors a three-point edge on the Maroons to start the overtime period. Solid rebounding from freshmen center Tim Rusthoven (15 points, 13 rebounds) allowed WA to settle things down and run some offense before committing back-to-back turnovers which resulted in a one-point Elgin lead. After a chaotic sequence of events in which neither team scored, Joel Malmquist (14 points) nailed a 15-foot jump shot. A Matt Jones (4 points, 6 rebounds) put back with 11 seconds to go brought the score to 72-70 in favor of Elgin.

With time ticking down, Elgin guard Jeremy Granger drove to the basket, drew a foul and layed it in with less than two seconds remaining to give Elgin the lead, 75-72, and the win.

Wheaton Academy moves to 0-4 on the season, but showed promising signs of life in two close games being lost on account of last second situations this weekend at the Buffalo Grove Tournament. The Warriors will open up at home next Tuesday night against Lisle High School in the Warrior Dome at 7:30 PM.