Tigers' defense forces 20 turnovers in 48-38 win
WHEATON – High hands, quick feet and communication.
The most important elements to Wheaton Warrenville South’s stifling defense were on full display Friday night when the Tigers hosted rival Wheaton North.
From the first defensive possession, it was clear that the Falcons were going to have trouble developing an offensive rhythm. WW South forced 20 turnovers to pick up an important 48-38 victory in DuKane Conference play.
The Tigers’ first defensive possession lasted 1:26 and ended in a Wheaton North turnover. It was just a precursor for the offensive struggles of the Falcons Friday night.
While the Tigers (17-9, 6-5 DuKane Conference) do not have a chance to catch one-loss Geneva, the win meant quite a bit to a senior group that was starving for a victory against their rivals.
“We’ve only won one time in the past three years against (Wheaton North), on our grade level, so these games can become lifelong memories,” said WW South senior Joe Ives, who scored ten of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter. “Any time you lose tough games, especially to (Wheaton North), we really wanted this one tonight.”
WW South only allowed four points in the first quarter, and just seven overall in the first half. The Falcons (15-10, 8-3) had more turnovers (13) than points (seven) or field goals attempted (nine) in the first half.
Jeff Kratz, who added 14 points, said he thinks talking and coming out with energy proved to be vital in his team getting, and staying ahead.
“I just thought were everywhere tonight,” Kratz said. “We knew hands and feet, you know, that we had to move our feet to stay in front of them and get hands up on shooters. I think those two things, and just communicating and constantly talking to each other. I feel like we did a great job of that and knew where every one of their guys was all night.”
While Wheaton North’s Deng Reng found his way to the free-throw line several times as part of his team-high 13 points, leading scorer Jacob Schauer finished with two points on 1-of-9 shooting.
He also did not attempt a free throw in the game, something he has feasted on throughout this season.
Falcons coach Dave Brackmann gave credit to WWS, saying his team didn’t respond when facing that first surge of energy.
“It’s very hard to simulate what they are going to do defensively,” Brackmann said. “I thought we didn’t execute at all like we had in practice all week, but that’s a credit to (Wheaton Warrenville South). In the moment, we didn’t stick to what we thought would work and dug ourselves a hole because of it.
"Because of that hole we dug ourselves, we needed them to miss a few shots in the second half and it didn’t seem like they missed very many.”
The Tigers shot 63-perent in the second half (7-for-11, 4-of-7 from 3-point range), while also knocking down 16-of-21 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
WW South has a tough test next in Class 3A powerhouse Lincoln Saturday night, while things don’t get any easier for Wheaton North, hosting Geneva (24-1) on Tuesday.
Wheaton North's Deng Reng blocks a shot attempt by Wheaton-Warrenville South's Chase Keating during a game in Wheaton on Friday, Feb. 8.
Wheaton North's Matthew Brend takes a shot during a game at Wheaton-Warrenville South on Friday, Feb. 8.
Wheaton-Warrenville South's Jeff Kratz takes a shot during a game against visiting Wheaton North on Friday, Feb. 8.