Geneva out-hustled and was more aggressive than the Warriors in the their first summer game.

Willowbrook High School Shootout
THU-FRI-SAT• June 30 - July 2

Day 1
Wheaton Academy matched up against OPRF Thursday morning in the first game in the Willowbrook Shootout. WA was down 26-25 at the half, then the defacit slowly grew. Wheaton Academy was caught off guard in the morning game, and the illegal defense being played against them didn't help either. An hour later they faced former PSL member school Nazareth Academy. The Warriors showed much more enthusiasm and precision in the 10-point win. A loss in the 1:00 game against Hinsdale Central could be characterized by not giving the best effort like the team has done in the past weeks. Wheaton Academy plays again tomorrow at 9am, 11am, and 1pm again. VIEW COMPLETE SCHEDULE

Day 2
A 9:00 am first game against Riverside-Brookfield seemed as if both teams were playing in slow-motion on the court. Wheaton Academy struggled throughout the game's entirety, and barely pulled off the win on a last-second three point shot. Following this, WA faced Sandburg and also did not start well. In the second half the team rallied to overcome the 15+ point defacit to come within two points. The Warriors eventually had the ball down three points with 21 seconds left, but could not get a three-pointer to go. In the final game of the day, Argo provided an unusual challenge for WA, somehow forcing them to play to a lower level. It took the whole first half for Wheaton Academy to wake up and start playing basketball at their pace and style. That game gave WA a 3-3 record overall in the shootout. They play tomorrow morning in the time-altered tournament (30 minute halves) against Wheaton Warrenville South at 8:00 am.

Day 3
Wheaton Academy met Wheaton South in an 8 am tournament game Saturday morning in a small upstairs gym with a slippery court. The Warriors had their highs and lows throughout the game, which stayed even all the way to the finish. Jason VanderVeen hit a three-point shot to tie the game and send it into overtime. In the first overtime, WA had possesion but ran the clock down without converting on the shot. Wheaton Warrenville South got a 17 footer to bounce off the back iron then up and in to win the game with no time remaining. Wheaton Academy finishes 3-4 in the three-day shootout and this tournament concludes summer basketball for the Warriors.

Oswego East Shootout
Friday, June 24 • Saturday, June 25

Day 1
Wheaton Academy's day of basketball began with a somewhat unusual game in that they faced IMSA, and IMSA only had four players. Two players were borrowed for playing purposes from East Aurora which gave IMSA some points, but Wheaton Academy pulled away with the thirty-point victory. The Warriors continued with another win against Aurora Central Catholic, followed by yet another win against a much less talented Sandwich HS team, 82-39. The team gained momentum in their confidence of playing together and knocked off a good Plano squad 65-51 in their final game at seven o'clock. The win takes the ten-person Warrior team to a 4-0 start in the Oswego East shootout, in which they will complete tomorrow. WA plays tomorrow at 10am against Oswego East, and then at noon followed by the single-elimination tournament.

Day 2
Coach Euler and the Warriors made the trip out to Oswego East again for a second day of play. Originally scheduled to play Driscoll, things changed and WA faced Oswego East. WA scored well out of their half-court offense and fast-breaked the Wolves to defeat, 63-53. At noon Wheaton Academy knocked off Plano High School for the second time in two days with a final score of 76-53. The shootout tournament began next, and WA received a first-round bye to play the winner of Oswego/Naperville Central. In the tourney semi-final against Naperville Central, Wheaton Academy's shooting was not as good as the previous five games. Nevertheless, WA kept the game even. The Warriors had the ball with 29 seconds to go in regulation, then called a timeout to set up a play. With six seconds on the clock, John Tillery hit Axel Cerny on a well-executed back door cut for the layup to give Wheaton Academy a two-point lead. Naperville's point guard pushed the ball up the court, stopped at the free throw line and scooped up a under-hand shot which bounced off the front of the rim and in to send it into overtime. In the one-minute overtime period, WA hit a three-point shot off a screen and role just before the buzzer sounded to send it into a sudden death second overtime period. Naperville Central got the tip, but failed to convert, but then stole the ball away from the Warriors on the other end. Naperville's point guard won the game off a drive and 7-foot shot. Wheaton Academy played extremely well over the two days, winning six games and losing only one. They look to complete summer competition next week at the Willowbrook High School Shootout (next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday).

Fenton Shootout
Tuesday, June 21 • 6:30/8:30pm

Fenton Community High School played host to a four-team summer shootout Tuesday night in Bensenville. Wheaton Academy played second in the field house arena against Elmwood Park. The Warriors had the size advantage over Elmwood and used it while focusing on defensive basics. WA controlled a 8-15 point lead throughout the game and pulled out with the win.

An hour later, Wheaton Academy faced Maine East for the 'championship' of sorts, though just for the four-team tournament. East had greater size than the previous team, but the Warriors boxed out well, played defense, and scored facilely. The final scored ended up being 68-58 in favor of WA. Next on the summer schedule is the Oswego East shootout this Friday and Saturday. WA plays Friday at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, and 7pm.

And 1 Sterling Tournament
Friday, June 16 • Saturday, June 17

Wheaton Academy made the two-hour trip west of Illinois to Sterling (located near Rock Falls) Friday afternoon for the first day of a tournament sponsored by And 1 and the HoopGroup. As an incentive for the winners, they would be flown out to Philadelphia to play in the national And 1 tounament. The Warriors were scheduled to play St. Bernard from Wisconsin, but they never showed up. After some time WA ironically played Timothy Christian of all teams in a game that did not count towards the tournament. In the game, Timothy defeated the Warriors by a score which ended up to be about 10 points more than WA's. An hour and a half later, WA faced a Chicago public school team Austin. Wheaton stayed close in this game, but a weakness of stopping penetration and poor defensive rotation cost them the loss.

Saturday morning against Maine South, after getting off to a slow offensive start (down 15-1 at one point), the Warriors came back and tied it up before the end of the first half. The game was played evenly throughout, but WA came out on the short end at its conclusion. The final game for the weekend was against Genoseo H.S. who matched up very evenly against Wheaton Academy. The Warriors got off to a strong start, and held a lead until the final minutes. Genoseo tied it up on a shot in the paint with a minute to go in regulation. WA had the chance to win it with a last second opportunity, but fell short and headed into a two minute overtime period. Genoseo ended up with a four-point victory over a game which really should have gone the Warriors way were it not for some small defensive details. Wheaton Academy continues summer play next Tuesday at Fenton High School at 5:30 pm for a two-game shootout.