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Bibbs scores 31 in West Chicago win

West Chicago couldn't wait to return to the court after suffering a late loss to Glenbard East last week.

And that clearly showed from the opening whistle Tuesday, when the visiting Wildcats led from start to finish in a 77-66 nonconference victory over Montini in Lombard.

Tai Bibbs led all scorers with 31 points.

"We were mad about that loss, especially with it being a home conference game," said Bibbs, who tallied 9 rebounds. "This game was a good chance to bounce back. We wanted to hold them to less points, but it was still a good win for the team. And hopefully it gets us ready for South Elgin (on Thursday)."

West Chicago (14-4) led by as many as 17 points in the first half and that lead swelled to 20 in the third quarter before the Broncos fought back. The home team sliced the deficit to as few as 7 on two occasions in the final period, but Bibbs hit 11 free throws down the stretch to keep them at bay. Bibbs finished 19 of 20 at the free-throw line; as a team, West Chicago was 33 of 39.

"We shoot a lot of free throws in practice," Bibbs said. "Early in the season, we struggled with it, but since we've been practicing a lot more, our percentage has gone up."

As tough as Bibbs was, the junior was far from a one-man show. With Mikey Bibbs saddled with foul trouble, Quinn Ricci stepped up and poured in 19 points to go along with 4 steals and 7 rebounds. Devonte Pascal had 9 points and Peter Dolan and Luke Seeman each totaled 6.

"That's the strength of this team," West Chicago coach Bill Recchia said. "Every night it can be someone else. I think we are a difficult team to prepare for because of that. Any night it can be Quinn, it can be Tai or Mikey, it can be Devante. We have a lot of guys who can do something that night."

Jayston Williams scored his team's first 9 points and topped Montini (4-12) with 15. Justin Blake had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, and Luke Stone reached double figures with 11.

"The thing is, they are competing now," Montini coach Daryl Thomas said. "That's all you really want to see. We are learning, we are growing, we are getting better. We have to continue to get better every day."

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