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Kaneland pulls away from Wheaton Academy

The end and beginning of halves can make a big difference in basketball games.

Junior guard Mark Lilly capped the first half with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer and helped set up teammate Ryan David for a 3-point play on the opening possession of the second half during Kaneland's 67-53 Class 3A regional quarterfinal victory over Wheaton Academy Monday night at Burlington Central.

The 6-point momentum swing, ignited by Lilly's acrobatic 3-pointer from the far corner at the buzzer, stretched a tenuous 27-22 lead into a more comfortable 33-22 advantage.

"That was huge," said Knights coach Brian Johnson. "We needed that fadeaway 3-pointer. Obviously, it was somewhat of a lucky shot but we've had those shots land against us.

"We were only up by 5 and they (the Warriors) were feeling good about themselves."

Lilly's offensive rebound kept the Knights' first possession of the second half alive before finding David loose along the baseline for the 3-point play.

"Those are things you've got to do in regional games," said Johnson, whose third-seeded team faces second-seeded Burlington Central in Wednesday's regional semifinals.

Later in the third quarter, senior guard Connor Fedderly (8 points) finished off a 9-2 spurt with a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the Knights (13-15) opened their biggest lead of the night at 48-32.

Wheaton Academy (5-22) never got within 10 the rest of the way despite senior Christian Smith's 15-point performance that included three 3-pointers.

"The third quarter has hurt us all year," said Warriors coach Pete Froedden. "I think they scored 20 (points) in the third quarter. That's too many to give up in a quarter when you're trying to come from behind."

David scored a game-high 17 points with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a pair of blocked shots for the Knights.

"We just tried to bring our intensity to the next level," said David. "This could've been the last game for our seniors so we tried to leave it all on the floor."

Lilly added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while drawing rave reviews from his coach.

"That was the best floor game he has had all year," Johnson said of Lilly. "He was guarding a guy (Smith) who was 6-4 and he's 5-8 and he made that guy's life difficult bringing the ball up early on.

"He made free throws down the stretch and he made good decisions with the basketball. That's something we've talked about all year. It's nice to see it come to fruition."

Evan Williams, one of four Wheaton Academy seniors along with Bryce Sandberg, Jacob Lindstedt and Smith, closed out his high school career with 10 points and 5 rebounds.

"It was a tough year for us but the character and the tenacity that those four guys showed every single day means the world to me," said Froedden.

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