West Chicago learns a lesson in loss

There are moments in a boys basketball game when it's apparent why coaches get the big bucks.

West Chicago coach Bill Recchia and DeKalb coach Al Biancalana made dramatic moves to profoundly enhance their teams' position in host DeKalb's 63-56 tournament quarterfinal victory at the 87th annual Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic.

Midway through the first quarter, West Chicago (3-6) leading 5-2, Biancalana replaced all five of his starters.

"We didn't have it," said Biancalana, who had a retired college of coaches in the stands behind him - Jim Harrington, Dave Saurbaugh, Chuck Schramm and John Cordes, plus current Elgin girls coach Nick Bumbales.

"When we're trying to build this program one of the things that's really necessary is that we take one good performance and make it into a better one the next time out. I think we were still giddy about what happened yesterday (a 70-38 win) and it didn't transcend, and you can't do that," Biancalana said.

Headed by Barbs second-teamers Robert Mitchell and Cole Tucker, DeKalb led 8-7 after one quarter and 10-7 when Biancalana, who arrived at DeKalb this year after a University of Illinois-Chicago regime change, put the starters back in at 4:56 of the second quarter.

The first unit took the hint. Before West Chicago's Bibbs brothers, senior Mikey and sophomore Tai, warmed up for 22 and 17 points, respectively, DeKalb (7-1) led 20-14 at halftime.

Later, Recchia sounded off with great results. With 3:44 left in the game Biancalana took a timeout leading 53-38. Recchia looked at his players and didn't like what he saw.

"This game is not over," he yelled at the Wildcats, who proved the coach correct by drawing within 61-56 on Jacob Wiegele's 3-pointer with 11 seconds left.

"I saw a look on their face walking off the floor like one of contentment where they were at," Recchia said. "That's unacceptable. Unacceptable. And they know that. They need a little fire lit underneath them to let them know it's not."

While West Chicago held athletic Jace Kitchen to 14 points, once 6-foot-7, 230-pound Luke Davis got rolling nothing could stop him. The junior forward scored 15 of his 20 points and grabbed 10 of his 13 rebounds after halftime.

Still, like Biancalana's starters, West Chicago co-captain Mikey Bibbs understood Recchia's message.

"The game's never over until the final buzzer goes off," Bibbs said. "That's the biggest lesson."