Struebing, WW South let loose against Wheaton North
Wheaton Warrenville South's Owen Struebing struggled with his shot in the first half on Tuesday.
The senior guard picked a bad time to hit a cold spell, failing to score a point in a heated Class 4A Metea regional semifinal against rival Wheaton North.
"The first quarter, I don't know what happened," Struebing said. "I was just out of it, but Coach (Mike) Healy just told me at halftime, 'You're a senior, you have nothing to lose and just go out there and shoot (it) and hit some shots.'"
Struebing's shot started falling in the second half. He buried 3 third-quarter 3-pointers and Jeff Kratz added two pivotal fourth-quarter three-point plays to lead the Tigers to an emotional 46-39 win over the Falcons.
With the win the Tigers (20-11) won the rubber match against the Falcons, claimed their 20th win and advanced to play top-seeded Geneva in the regional title game at 7 p.m. Friday.
"Our guys wanted three more days," Wheaton Warrenville South coach Michael Healy said. "That was our goal. We didn't care who we played … I thought our kids composed themselves well. Every time they made a play, our kids seemed to bounce back with a play. I'm really proud of our guys."
Kratz, a senior guard, paved the way for the Tigers to reach the regional final. He scored a game-high 18 points, while Matt Scherrman added 11 points and Struebing finished with 9.
Deng Reng tossed in a team-best 10 points despite limited playing time due to foul trouble to pace the Falcons.
Kratz scored on a drive and added a free throw to give the Tigers some cushion with a 39-30 lead with 5:58 left in the fourth. Six possessions later, he split two defenders and scored on another three-point play to pad the lead to 45-39 with 39.9 seconds remaining.
"It's always fun playing your cross-town rival, but especially with a chance to win a regional championship," Kratz said. "Everybody's emotions were high. We knew we controlled our destiny and had to have each other's back … It was nice to get another win against them. They are a really good team. It was a good win."
Struebing's shooting helped break up a back-and-forth affair in the third. He drilled a 3-pointer on the Tigers' first third-quarter possession and added two more 3s in a three-possession sequence that gave the Tigers a 32-25 edge.
"I just needed to hit that first shot to get me out of that slump," Struebing said.
Without the 6-foot-8 Reng for key periods of the second half, the Falcons struggled on offense and stopping Kratz on his drives. The Falcons (18-13) missed three of their last four shots.
"The kids poured everything they got into it, some of them for four years," Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann said. "Obviously, we are disappointed with the result. But my mind is not getting to coach these kids tomorrow. It's tough. The seniors were special, had a lot of success and were good kids."