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Burlington Central stops St. Francis

When sophomore Zach Schutta and his Burlington Central boys basketball teammates could have panicked in the opening minutes Tuesday, he helped them surge ahead by 13 points.

When the Rockets could have really panicked in the fourth quarter, they were even better.

St. Francis kept coming, but the Rockets always had the answers for a 60-51 victory in the Class 3A Glenbard South regional semifinals in Glen Ellyn.

"When it starts getting tough, we put into another gear and we just keep on going. No one gives up on this team," said senior Luke McCurdy, who scored all 8 of his points in the second half.

"They're a tough team. They definitely played hard, but we've got guys on our side that play hard, too."

Burlington Central (26-3), continuing to add to its single-season school record for victories, goes for its first regional title since 2008 at 7 p.m. Friday. The Rockets, seeded No. 1 in the subsectional, meet the winner of Wednesday night's semifinal between No. 3 Glenbard South (17-9) and No. 6 Marmion (13-15).

Schutta led the way with 16 points and four 3-point baskets, including 3 in the first quarter. Ryan Fitzgerald had 11 points and TaVontae Harris and Ethan Mayfield each had 10. Mayfield also had 7 rebounds.

No. 8 St. Francis (11-19) closed to 45-42 with 6:01 left and, after falling behind 52-42, again at 52-49 with 1:26 left. The Rockets ended the game by hitting 8 of 8 free throws to finish 14 of 15 in the quarter and 19 of 24 overall, compared to the Spartans' 7 of 15.

"They kept coming and they were extremely physical. That was one of our more physical games I've seen probably this whole year," Burlington Central coach Brett Porto said. "I think we did a good job of responding to each one of their runs, just enough to kind of keep them at bay. And we were able to knock down enough free throws at the end."

The Spartans started five seniors and graduate 11. Gabe Johnson had 17 points, two 3s and 9 rebounds with 7 points and 4 rebounds in the fourth quarter. Nick Kurtyka had 14 points and four 3s, two apiece in the third and fourth quarters. Will Purdom added 8 points.

"The leadership of this team is amazing. The seniors are the backbone of this program. They're not going to give up," first-year St. Francis coach Erin Dwyer said. "We made a choice at the beginning of the year we were going to go with the seniors. They deserved every minute. Their work ethic, their teamwork, everything they do represents our program."

St. Francis took a 5-0 lead and Fitzgerald, the Rockets' 6-foot-6 standout, was called for two fouls in the first 39 seconds and replaced by sixth man Joe Ratzek.

Schutta responded immediately. He was 3 for 3 from 3-point range and Harris added another. Soon the Rockets were up 20-7 and 21-11 at the quarter.

"Zach's been doing that for us all year. It was nice to see him step up," Porto said.

"Once I just hit one, the rest followed and my shot just kept getting better and better throughout the game," said Schutta, who was 5-for-8 shooting. "Usually when teams get close, we get a sense of urgency and we start pushing the ball harder and try to get to the rim, try to draw fouls."

Defense also played a role. The Rockets collected 14 steals with 7 by Harris, to aid their transition offense. In the fourth quarter they made three consecutive steals, including the Spartans' second possession in which they could have tied the game.

Schutta later took the team's second offensive charge and hit two free throws for a 56-49 lead with 34.7 seconds left.

"You can't just play offense and win the game. You always have to take those charges," Schutta said.

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