Wheaton North shows off defense against Timothy Christian
Defense was a key during Wheaton North's five-game winning streak heading into the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic.
And that was again on full display in Wednesday's first round of the 32-team tournament.
Forcing Timothy Christian into 21 turnovers and just a pair of field goals over the final 12 minutes, the Falcons pulled away late to defeat the Trojans 56-37 at York High School in Elmhurst.
In improving to 8-4 on the season, Wheaton North hasn't allowed more than 42 points during their unbeaten streak. The Falcons will face Brother Rice at 6 p.m. Thursday in Round 2.
"It's a focal point," said senior point guard Matthew Brend, who totaled 3 steals to go along with his 10 points. "We work on defense all the time in practice and we take pride in it. Defense turns into offense for us."
Deng Reng handled much of the heavy lifting on offense, finishing with a game-high 24 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. The senior scored 11 points in the second quarter as the Falcons recovered from an early 4-point deficit to lead 28-22 at half.
The Trojans sliced the deficit to 30-29 in the third quarter on a basket by Matt Owens before Wheaton North ended the period on a 7-2 spurt.
Reng added a dunk and a step-back 3-pointer to help push the margin into double figures in the fourth.
"Our defense was great and that helped us get those transition points," Reng said. "And we kept moving the ball on offense to get a lot of great shots.
"I can do a lot of things inside and out, but a lot of my shots came from my teammates getting me open. They were screening for me and helping me find the right spots."
Jacob Schauer added 9 points and Garrett Horner scored 8 for the Falcons, who turned the ball over just seven times.
"Coming into the season," said Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann, "we weren't sure our defense was going to be quite this much of a strength this early in the season. But the guys have been doing a great job. When you play good defense, you are in every game even if you don't shoot that great."
Josh Harris and Zach Orange topped Timothy Christian with 10 points apiece. Harris scored the Trojans' first 7 points of the game but had to sit long stretches due to foul trouble. Jack Baldridge knocked down a trio of 3-pointers for 9 points and Danardo Jones contributed 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.
"(The Falcons) are really physical," said Timothy Christian coach Scott Plaisier, whose team dropped to 6-6. "We had said they were going to be the best defensive team we had faced all year. To get quality shots we were going to have to screen really well and value the ball and we couldn't do things half speed. They exposed that, especially later on when they got a bit of a lead."
Timothy Christian will square off against St. Francis at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.