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Leach hits milestone in Timothy Christian triumph

The Timothy Christian boys basketball team’s first league win of the season, a 55-29 home victory Friday night over Fenton, couldn’t have come at a better time.

It was the final game of the first round of Metro Suburban Conference play, and with a new slate of league games ahead of the Trojans, Friday’s dominating win is the type of game that can build momentum.

“It’s a good win and in the second half hopefully we can get a few more wins,” said senior Daniel Leach, who had a night he won’t soon forget.

His 18 points put him in the 1,000-point club, and he sank three of his four 3-point baskets during the pivotal second quarter when Timothy Christian (6-10, 1-5) put some space between it and the Bison (4-13, 2-2) and led 27-17 at halftime.

“To be honest, I had no idea about it coming into tonight,” Leach said of the milestone.

Leach has been a starter for the Trojans since his sophomore year.

“We haven’t had (a 1,000-point scorer) in quite some time,” said Timothy Christian coach Jack LeGrand. “Danny is a very good shooter, and he works hard on his game. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Another Trojan who had a big night was Connor VanderBrug, who scored 16 points including three 3-point baskets. The team finished with eight overall.

“Some guys have the green light, like Connor and Danny, to shoot the the 3. It’s part of our offense, but we don’t rely on it,” LeGrand said.

The coach was also pleased with the victory as his team, helped by a good week of practice, showed no ill affects from not having played since Dec. 29, the final day of the Glenbard West Holiday Tournament.

VanderBrug also had 11 rebounds.

As for Fenton, coach Joshua Payton will use the practice time before the Bison’s next game Friday at home against Glenbard South to get his team to learn to adjust offensively when things aren’t going well.

“We don’t preach shooting a lot of 3s. But when you take shots and they are not falling, you need to go for a higher-percentage look,” he said.

The Bison made just two 3-point baskets in the game and shot 3 of 14 from that range through three quarters and 8 of 42 from the field overall during the game’s first 24 minutes. The Trojans outscored the Bison 28-12 during the final two quarters.

Brad Leffew and Hector Irizarry led the Fenton offense with six points apiece.

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