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Leyden wins battle of the brothers

Saturday's boys basketball game between Leyden and Schaumburg was a no-win situation for her Marlys Heisler of Warsaw, Ill.

After all, she had to witness her sons Bill (Leyden) and Wade (Schaumburg) do battle on the Saxons' home floor for the first time in their coaching careers.

"You hurt for the son that loses while you're happy for the son that wins," she said.

In applying that in terms of this game, Mrs. Heisler was happy for 36-year-old Bill while hurting for 30-year-old Wade.

If choosing instead to apply it to the Heisler brothers, it was Bill's Eagles who happily put the hurt on Wade's Saxons with a 70-42 nonconference triumph.

Leyden (7-18) earned its second straight win by going a combined 28-of-45 (62 percent) from the field including a 12-for-20 clip (64 percent) from beyond the arc.

"We're starting to play well," said Eagles senior guard Adrian Guerrero, who paced the victors with a game-high 22 points, including a 4-of-7 performance from 3-point range. "I hate that it comes late in the season but it's coming at the right time as we're getting closer to the (state) tournament."

Alongside Guerrero in the Eagles' backcourt, 5-foot-8 senior guard Roy Vizcarra assisted in bringing 3-point damage Schaumburg's way. All of Vizcarra's 15 points came from beyond the triple line, highlighted by a 4-of-5 effort in the third period.

"He's missed some time with a torn hamstring and we've been struggling during his absence," the Leyden coach said. "He's injected some energy into our lineup since he came back.

"He gives us the ability to stretch defenses when you add him to Adrian as well as Rob (Wisniewski, a 5-foot-10 senior guard who added 9 points in the winning effort) with their range. It's an absolute plus."

The host school was led by 6-5 senior Samuel Smith (10 points, including three 3-pointers).

For the host Saxons (5-22), whose 12-for-40 performance from the floor (30 percent) added to a 7-for-28 (25 percent) effort in a 47-21 loss Friday night at Fremd, there is cause for concern.

"They shot it well," the younger Heisler said. "They were able to take advantage of some open looks. I thought they did a great job with ball control making their dribbling create multiple opportunities.

"It was a very scary sight watching how many breakdowns we had on both sides of the court. We need to get better in a hurry. If we don't, we'll be done after next Monday (home regional opener versus No. 15 Hoffman Estates)."

Both teams complete the regular season with home crossovers Tuesday.

The Eagles (the No. 21 seed at the Riverside-Brookfield 4A sectional) host Lyons in a West Suburban contest Tuesday in Franklin Park while the Saxons (the No. 19 seed in Fremd's 4A sectional) play host to Wheeling in a Mid-Suburban League crossover.

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