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Aurora Christian wins at buzzer

SOMONAUK - Junior Jake Wolfe provided the leg work while freshman Will Wolfe played the hero for Aurora Christian's boys basketball team in Wednesday night's Class 1A Somonauk sectional semifinal against Annawan.

With the score tied at 47-47, Jake Wolfe dribbled back and forth between half court and the free throw line for over a minute as the Eagles elected to hold for the final shot.

In the waning seconds, an exhausted Jake drove into the lane and found a host of defenders waiting for him.

He kicked the ball up top to Will, who calmly drained the buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the Eagles tallied the final 9 points to pull out an exhilarating 50-47 victory over the top-seeded Braves.

Will Wolfe finished with 15 points while Jake collected 11 as Aurora Christian (21-8) won its ninth straight game and will face Newark (26-4) in Friday's sectional championship.

"It was slow motion," Jake Wolfe said, as his teammates and the entire Eagles' student section mobbed him after the shot went in. "The play was just an iso for Jake, but I found an open seam and knocked down the shot."

"I wasn't even in the mob after the game because I was too tired from dribbling," Jake Wolfe admitted. "I was just glad it was over and we won."

"We forced the ball out of the older Wolfe's hands like we wanted to, but we didn't make one more rotation," said Annawan coach Alex Coppejans. "You have to give credit to a kid who can step up and hit a big-time shot like that."

The situation looked bleak for the Eagles as Annawan (29-4) scored 7 unanswered points to seize a 47-41 lead with 3 minutes remaining.

Jake Wolfe hit a 3-pointer to stem the tide and Tanner Dissell followed with his second trifecta of the quarter to tie the game with 1:37 left.

The Eagles then made a key defensive stop to set up the final sequence.

"It looked like we were in trouble down six, but we figured out a way and just kept grinding," Eagles coach Dan Beebe said.

"When we got it up to six, we should have slowed it down and they sped us up. I take 100 percent of the blame for that," Coppejans said.

Annawan outrebounded the Eagles 31-19 and scored 13 first half points off offensive rebounds to hold a 23-22 advantage.

"They're a great rebounding team," Beebe said.

The Braves received a tough break when 6-foot-6 forward Dalton Coppejans, who had 12 points and 5 rebounds, left the game with an ankle injury early in the third quarter.

Junior Owen Landwehr (20 points) and Brendon Shaw combined for 19 second half points, but the Braves missed Coppejans' inside presence.

Freshman Taaj Davis added 8 points while Brock Harner and Dissell had 6 points each for the Eagles, who avenged a 58-45 loss to Annawan in December.

"We wanted to get them back and not let a team beat us twice," Will Wolfe said.

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