Warriors win third straight with win vs. West Chicago
Wheaton Academy 769, West Chicago 56

Game #13 • Tuesday, January 09, 2006 • Home • Non-Conference • 7:30 PM
Daily Herald Article

Despite a scarcely populated Warrior Dome due to the Winterim factor, the Warriors cranked out a 70-56 win against cross-town high school and DuPage Valley Conference member West Chicago on Tuesday night. Both teams started off cold, but the Wildcats managed to gain an early 10-5 lead. A Joel Malmquist feed inside to big man Tim Rusthoven made it 10-7, as Wheaton Academy slowly warmed up on their home court. John Albaugh's steal and basket put the Warriors up 16-14 at the conclusion of the first quarter.

WA transitioned defensively into a zone which gave West Chicago a little trouble early in the second quarter. Another Albaugh layup on the break propelled Wheaton Academy to a ten point lead, the largest of the game at this point, with 5:40 left in the quarter. Strong play on the boards by Matt Jones, in particular an offensive rebound and put back increased the lead to 12. Jones and Rusthoven played well together inside the paint. The Warriors effort and desire for the win tonight was clearly seen as Joel Malmquist fought for an offensive tip-in with under a minute remaining in the half, sending both teams into the locker rooms with Wheaton Academy holding a 35-25 advantage.

John Albaugh sunk a three pointer in response to West Chicago's dropping into a 2-3 zone to start the third quarter. Jones then continued his solid play, knocking down a 17-footer on the break. The Wildcats called a timeout to talk things over after Benjamin Euler hit a three off a nice look from Albaugh giving WA a 13-point, 44-31 lead. Euler connected again on a long three extending the lead to 16. An Albaugh steal and lay in with 1:05 left in the third quarter made it 51-38, and then Jones closed things out offensively in the third quarter with another offensive board and put back.

Sophomore standout Eric Albaugh kicked things off for WA in the fourth quarter with a stylish spin and running floater in traffic. He played solid minutes Tuesday night for the Warriors. Wheaton Academy continued to bring it against the Wildcats, as they started to get their running game going, with a Euler steal and pass ahead to Malmquist who layed the ball in off the glass for two. West Chicago's Pete Konchar brought the score back to 59-47 with 5:58 left in the third quarter, but WA quickly responded as John Albaugh connected with Benjamin Euler on the break for a lay up. Euler hit his fourth three of the night on a pass inside from Jared Cochrum to make the score 66-47. In the final minutes, Jason Roy made his presence known immediately as his 15-foot baseline jumper rolled in.

If there was one thing the Warriors could have improved on, it was their defensive effort--particularly making sure to box out on every Wildcat shot attempt and limit second chance points. With Tuesday night's win, Coach Paul Ferguson's Warriors improve to 6-7 on the season, after starting out 0-5. As a team, WA shot 6/15 (40%) from the three point line, but a notable 63% from 2 point range (24/38). The team tallied 19 assists collectively.

Benjamin Euler led in scoring with 18 total points, as well as 6 assists. Both John Albaugh and Matt Jones scored 14 points for the Warriors, while Malmquist had 13. The team's next game is this Friday night, when Walther Lutheran, a top PSL contender will face WA in the Warrior Dome. Wheaton Academy will play back-to-back games, as WA will face Wheaton North on Saturday night in the 1st Annual Wheaton Shootout taking place at Wheaton South (game time is 6:15 PM).

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