St. Ignatius gives Schaumburg a first-round setback
Ever since Schaumburg coach Wade Heisler learned of his opening-round assignment at the 44th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic, he and his staff did their homework on Chicago Catholic League member St. Ignatius.
"They are a very good team from all that we've seen of them," the third-year Saxons mentor said prior to Tuesday morning's game at York High in Elmhurst.
By the conclusion, he had seen more than enough in a 63-51 loss at Campbell Gym.
"They are a solid, extremely consistent team," Heisler said. "We were too up and down today. We also didn't shoot well (18 of 45) which didn't help as well."
The Wolfpack (7-4) used an 11-4 tear over the final 4:42 of the third period to get separation from Schaumburg (4-9). After a hoop from 6-foot-2 junior Christian Davis (game-high 14 points), Ignatius got alternating scores by 6-2 sophomore Daniel Florey (5 points) and 6-5 Senior Luke Nauman (4 points) to close out the quarter with a 41-29 advantage.
The Saxons got no closer than 9, twice in the fourth quarter. The last time they got that close was with 41 seconds left as Michael Hodges (12 points) made a pair of free throws.
Florey finished with 11 points and 6-foot senior guard Carter Higginbottom had 10 for the Wolfpack. They next face Wheaton North (4-5), a 65-46 winner over Downers Grove South (6-5), in second-round action Wednesday afternoon.
Schaumburg meets Downers Grove South at 9 a.m. in a consolation bracket opener.
"We try to take the same approach in getting ready for a game regardless of the start time," St. Ignatius coach Matt Monroe said in reference to the 9 a.m. tipoff. "The only thing is that when you're dealing with 17- and 18-year-olds, they have some experience with either playing AAU ball or having played Saturday mornings in freshman ball. So its always a matter of playing the same way as you approach it."
Monroe relishes the opportunity that the Tosh Classic provides, with the possibility of playing as many as five games in five days.
"It's a tremendous tourney," Monroe says. "I remember coming here with my dad as a kid and seeing teams make big runs, which is something that we talk to our team about. You talk about the big picture while trying to keep your team focused on playing one day at a time."
The Saxons were led by Dom Tyler and Heze Trotter (13 points apiece). Schaumburg will now try to follow the path of MSL squads in previous years such as Rolling Meadows last year, and Conant in 2014 - teams that ran the table in winning four straight games after losing their Tosh Classic opener to capture the consolation title.
"We need to more consistent in order to compete here," Heisler said.
Tyler, who had three 3s in the contest, feels that his team's proverbial glass is more half-full.
"We are starting to see our confidence pick up," he said. "We really feel capable of doing better and making such a run."