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Wheaton Academy rolls past Fenton

Perhaps it was fitting that the effort junior Thomas Blum and his Wheaton Academy boys basketball teammates gave Friday was inspired by an NBA team.

"We call it the Spurs because we like to pass like the (San Antonio) Spurs and keep the ball moving a lot," Blum said. "It was just fun to play. I hope it was fun to watch."

The Warriors not only enjoyed a season-high point total but just like the pros had five players in double figures in their 74-34 victory over Fenton in Metro Suburban West action in West Chicago.

Wheaton Academy (4-10, 2-3) scored the first 6 points and later the first two baskets of the second quarter to open a 23-3 advantage.

Blum scored a varsity-high 18 points. Sophomore JD Gunn had 13, senior Anthony Polinski and freshman Jimmy Paganis 11 each and junior Sam Scharnowski added 10 and 13 rebounds.

For Fenton (5-9, 1-3), Bryant Larsen had 12 points, 9 in the third quarter, and reserve Javier Sanchez had 10.

The Warriors led 34-11 at the half after hitting 12 of 25 shots with 6 assists and all 9 free throws and leading 20-7 in rebounds.

Blum and Gunn collected 10 and 9 points, respectively. Blum was the recipient of many great inside passes, including two by Dan Vasko off inbounds plays underneath the basket.

"Dan Vasko makes a joke that he only passes to me in the post," Blum said. "We just had a lot of teamwork going. Everybody was just finding everybody. We had a lot of stuff clicking."

The victory snapped a six-game losing streak, which included three losses by seven points or fewer, one in double overtime.

"The way we wanted to come out and execute, we did some of that stuff," Wheaton Academy coach David Osborn said. "We got some shots to fall early and we just kept getting it inside. Tommy, Sam did a good job inside. We looked to push in transition. We tried to get some easy baskets early in our possessions."

Fenton suffered its fourth straight loss. The Bison made 4 of 20 shots in the first half. Still, they closed to 23-9 with 5:25 left in the second quarter on back-to-back baskets by Sanchez but then had just one basket the rest of the half.

"We're on a skid right now and the skid is all about intangibles," Fenton coach Josh Payton said. "It seems like this is the first game that we sat down postgame and people have really looked like they understood that. I hope that they actually do understand because without those changes, we're going a see a lot more basketball that looks like this."

Gunn continues to thrive in helping the Warriors overcome the loss of starting senior guard RW Rienow in mid-December after he could no longer play with what turned out to be torn tendons by his left thumb.

Gunn scored the last basket of the first quarter as he blocked a shot, dribbled downcourt, faked the pass and then drove in for a layup. He added 3 steals and 5 rebounds.

"I got some good looks and included my teammates so it was just a fun game to be a part of, even though I had four fouls and had to sit out more than I wanted to," Gunn said.

"We're a group of brothers. It's all about the brotherhood. It's not about winning or losing. It's about being alongside each other and just enjoying the moment."

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