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Hot-shooting Riverside-Brookfield sinks Wheaton Academy

Riverside-Brookfield 77, Wheaton Academy 61: Sometimes, an opponent is just "on."

It isn't fun, but about the only thing you can do is tip your hat when the game is over and look ahead.

Such was the fate of the Wheaton Academy boys basketball team Friday in its first post-holiday break contest, on the road against Metro Suburban opponent Riverside-Brookfield.

The Bulldogs shot a scorching 71 percent in the first quarter and 68 percent in the first half - including 11 three-pointers - to dispatch the Warriors 77-61. In all, Riverside-Brookfield bagged 14 threes, with 4 apiece from juniors Patrick Hanley and Zach Vaia and senior Ryan Cicenas.

"Credit to them for making their open shots," said senior forward J.D. Gunn, who led Wheaton Academy (8-4 overall and 4-2 in the Metro Suburban) with 12 points, including a pair of 3s of his own. "We knew who the shooters were, we just had defensive lapses and we should have closed out better."

The Bulldogs (8-7, 5-1) meant business coming out of the gate, making their first 9 shots in a show, including 7 threes, to stake themselves to a 25-10 lead. They added a 16-2 run to close out the third quarter, including 3s from Vaia and Hanley.

It wasn't all bad news for Wheaton Academy. They shot 43 percent from the floor and connected on 7 threes of their own, including 2 from Gunn and another pair from senior guard Jayston Williams.

The Warriors even pulled to within 52-43 with 4:27 left in the third quarter, but then Riverside-Brookfield went on its 16-2 run that sealed the game and made the fourth quarter academic.

"They did come out on fire," Wheaton Academy coach Steve Thonn said. "I think we left them open a little too much, but to their credit, they knocked them down in the first half. They were hot tonight. We tried switching to zone, and I think we slowed them down a little bit, but then they kind of adjusted to that."

The Warriors hadn't played in 14 days due to the Christmas holiday, Thonn said, which impacted Friday's game. Conversely, the Bulldogs went 2-2 in York's Jack Tosh holiday tournament last week.

"I told the guys, I don't want to use that as an excuse, but we came out flat tonight," Thonn said. "Hopefully it was a wakeup call."

Another bright spot for the Warriors was sophomore guard Marcus Bult, who chipped in 11 points, 8 in the first half.

"It feels nice to score some points, but it doesn't mean a lot when we lose that big," Bult said. "I mean, they hit everything. They ran their plays and we didn't."

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