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Wheaton Academy rolls Aurora Central

While the top two teams in the Suburban Christian Conference Gold squared off Tuesday in Aurora, Wheaton Academy showed there’s still a pretty significant gap about the size of their most intimidating player.

Six-foot-9 Luke Johnson scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Warriors’ 67-46 victory over Aurora Central. Wes Koral also scored 21 points and nabbed 4 of the steals that helped the Warriors turn the game in their favor after the Chargers raced to a 14-3 lead to start the game much to the delight of a nearly packed home gym.

“We came out real slow, we do that almost all our games,” said Johnson, who began his high school career in Aurora playing at Aurora Christian. “We really have to work on that. Mainly it was getting on the boards and getting the loose balls (that ignited the comeback).”

Wheaton Academy (20-1, 7-0) won its eighth straight game. The Warriors haven’t lost a conference game in two years.

Aurora Central (10-11, 6-2) had hoped to end that streak and put itself at the top of the race. The Chargers couldn’t have started better, getting a basket by Tim Fernandez eight seconds into the game, then a 3-pointer from Ryan Harreld and another Fernandez bucket for a 7-0 lead and a Warrior timeout down 7-0.

Fernandez scored again before Johnson’s 3-point play put the Warriors on the board. The Chargers answered with another 3-pointer by Harreld, a putback from Fernandez and a pair of free throws from Robert DeMyers, and they led 16-6 with 3:28 left in the first quarter.

From that point on, it was all Wheaton Academy. The Warriors scored the next 13 points as part of a 29-6 run to end the first half.

“We knew we had to play from ahead,” Aurora Central coach Nate Drye said. “We did exactly what we wanted to do at the start and we just turned it over. The sad part is I thought a lot weren’t really forced. We just didn’t value the ball.”

The Warriors forced 11 turnovers in the second quarter alone as they outscored the Chargers 25-6. A 3-pointer from Lars Olson, one of his 3 in the game, put the Warriors ahead to stay, 23-20.

Koral followed with a steal and dunk. In the final minute of the quarter, Koral stole the ball again and fed Johnson who slammed in transition. Koral then drove baseline on the Warriors’ final possession and scored with 1 second to go, giving Wheaton Academy a commanding 35-22 halftime lead in a game it had trailed by 11 points just 10 minutes earlier.

“Once we settled down I thought we played a pretty good basketball game,” Wheaton Academy coach Paul Ferguson said. “We know they are going to play with a lot of energy. I think it is a matter of coming out and matching their intensity. Once we did that, we pressured them and the game turned in our favor.”

Drye looked up and down his bench trying to find someone to stop all of the Charger miscues which the Warriors compounded by turning into transition baskets so often. “We didn’t even get shots and they got layups,” Drye said. “I was fairly happy with our defense most of the night but when you give them layups there’s not much defense against that. When we started turning the ball over that was the game.”

Drye also was quite complimentary of Johnson who was efficient hitting 8 of 11 shots from the field and 5 of 7 at the line.

“He was clearly far and away the best player on the court tonight.”

Wheaton Academy was never challenged in the second half, leading 52-33 after the third quarter and by at least 17 points throughout the fourth. Olson added 11 points and Drew Sandberg has 9 points and 7 rebounds.

“We just wanted to come out and play hard,” Koral said. “We keep improving every game. We are just jelling every game and it’s getting better and better.”

Harreld led ACC with 16 points and Fernandez scored 12.

Images: Wheaton Academy vs. Aurora Central Catholic boys basketball

  Wheaton Academy’s Luke Thorson grabs a rebound before Aurora Central’s Kent Brauweiler in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, February 8. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Wheaton Academy’s Wes Koral hangs from the basket after sinking a shot in the third quarter on Tuesday, February 8. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Aurora Central’s Matt Czerak goes up for a shot past Wheaton Academy’s Luke Johnson in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, February 8. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Aurora Central’s Tim Fernandez is swarmed by Wheaton Academy’s Drew Sandberg and Tate Fritz in the first half on Tuesday, February 8. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Aurora Central’s Paul Kaminski attempts a shot past a block by Wheaton Academy’s Luke Johnson in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, February 8. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Aurora Central’s Paul Kaminski waits for Wheaton Academy’s Luke Johnson to come down from his block before shooting in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, February 8. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com