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St. Edward rolls past Aurora Central Catholic

The 1,000 point watch for St. Edward senior Nick Duffy will continue for another game after the forward's 10 points fell 3 shy of the mark in the Green Wave's 63-38 boys basketball rout of Aurora Central Catholic Friday in Elgin.

But as for the Wave's Joe French is concerned, the Chargers may never want to see the game ever come to him again in Metro Suburban West action.

With a new attitude preached by St. Edward coach P.J. White, instead of forcing the issue at times French waited patiently for his shots to come and once the Wave (21-4, 9-2) spread and torched the Chargers' 2-3 zone, the senior took advantage of his open looks and exploded for 19 points in just three quarters of play, which at one point matched ACC's scoring output late in the third quarter.

"Coach has been telling me just let my teammates get going first and just get my shots in the flow of the game. And that's what really happened tonight," said French, who noted a recent shooting slump. "Everyone seemed to be playing really well and eventually my shot just started to fall."

French was 6 of 12 from the field and 2 of 5 from 3-point range with 5 steals and 4 rebounds while Kelvin Cortez-Harvey, who had 2 of the Wave's seven 3-pointers, added 10 points and 5 rebounds. Adam Radcliffe added 10 points off the bench as the Wave won its second of three meetings with ACC (9-13, 3-6) and bounced back from a 61-52 loss against Glenbard South Tuesday that snapped a 7-game winning streak.

"Everybody came out really inspired, we obviously wanted to rebound because we had a very poor showing against Glenbard South," French added.

The Wave pushed the lead to 31 in the fourth quarter and shot 21 of 43 from the field while converting 14 of its 17 free throws. The Chargers, usually a good shooting team, were held to 13-for-43 from the floor and just 15 halftime points. Three players - Mac Cowen, Evan Schuetz and Kyle Czerak - each had 6 points to tie for team high as the Chargers' losing skid reached 4.

"We were bad and then we got worse and after we got worse we were awful. It's a bad combination," said ACC coach Nate Drye. "It was just an off night from our play, we were bad in every facet of the game. We didn't guard, we didn't pass, we didn't shoot, we were just bad tonight. We were coached bad, we played bad, everything about it. I've got to do a better job of getting us ready to play."

Cortez-Harvey began matters with both of his 3s in the first quarter while the 2-3 zone limited Duffy's looks. Then French became unmerciful on both ends. His steal and drive gave the Wave an early 9-1 lead and a dish to a cutting Bryan O'Neill made it 19-9 with 6:55 left in the second quarter. Gino Domel's alley-oop pass to French at the glass made it a 15-point Wave lead before the break and one sequence in the third saw French knock in a 3 followed by a layup off a steal with 3:10 left for a 37-19 lead. The Wave took an 18-6 advantage in the third as Domel and French each hit 3s and Duffy and O'Neill each converted 3-point plays.

"They're a very good shooting team and at anytime they start getting hot, you trade one for three they can catch up in a hurry and we didn't want them to catch up at all," said White, who endured the chants for Duffy late in the fourth with team up by plenty. "We were thinking about winning the game and I don't think Nick was thinking about it, either. Everything we do we want to do it the right way with class and dignity and respect for the other team and ourselves and the kids buy into that and that's great."

"Nick's a pretty unselfish guy, wins are what are important right now and he'll get it eventually, obviously," French said. "He's just worried about winning at this point."

Duffy gets his next shot at 1,000 Tuesday when St. Edward, which earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A Lisle regional, hosts Riverside-Brookfield.

Images: St. Edward vs. Aurora Central Catholic, boys basketball

  St. Edward Nick Duffy scoots past Aurora Central Catholic Evan Schuetz Friday in Elgin. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  St. Edward center Nick Duffy goes to the hoop over Aurora Central Catholic forward Evan Schuetz at the Green Wave during boys basketball Friday in Elgin. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  St. Edward center Nick Duffy attempts to block a shot by Aurora Central Catholic forward Evan Schuetz during Aurora Central Catholic at St. Edward boys basketball Friday in Elgin. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  St. Edward center Nick Duffy looks for room to move during Aurora Central Catholic at St. Edward boys basketball Friday in Elgin. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
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