WW South toes the line to beat West Chicago

They are free, but they'll cost you.

Free throws made the difference in a tightly officiated season-opening matchup between Wheaton Warrenville South and West Chicago on Tuesday night in the 32nd annual Chuck Mitchell Tournament at Fenton in Bensenville.

Amid pressure defense from both sides, each team attempted at least 20 free throws, but it was the Tigers who took advantage, connecting on 84 percent of theirs en route to a 41-27 victory.

The Wildcats squandered half of their free chances, missing 10 of 20 attempts, including a few on the front-end of 1-and-1s.

"We missed (10) free throws and seven or eight layups tonight," West Chicago coach Bill Recchia said. "Those things fall and we're looking at a different outcome, at least something that's coming down to the buzzer."

WW South's work from the free-throw line played its biggest role down the stretch.

With a fourth-quarter lead that at one time dwindled to 6 points, the Tigers went 14 of 16 from the line to put the game out of reach.

Junior Parker Brown, who had a team-high 11 points and 7 rebounds, hit all eight of his free-throw attempts, including four in the fourth quarter, while fellow junior Yonatan Algawerash connected on 8 of 10 freebies in the final period.

"Nothing was real pretty either way, but obviously, we did enough," WW South coach Mike Healy said. "We defended well and hit our free throws."

Healy added that his offense is a "work in progress." Seven Wildcats saw varsity minutes for the first time.

The game was typical of a season opener, especially early on, with a slow, methodical pace and plenty of turnovers from both teams.

West Chicago held a slim 7-4 lead after one quarter.

Then, WW South got sophomore forward Tyler Fawcett involved and had his way inside, scoring 9 points in the second quarter to help his team to an 18-15 halftime lead.

But when Fawcett picked up his third foul, after consecutive offensive charges, the Tigers offense stalled, only scoring one field goal - a Ben Bastian fourth-quarter 3-pointer - the rest of the game.

WW South's remaining 20 points were free throws.

"He's going to be a weapon for us," Healy said of Fawcett. "We're not used to getting it in the post, but he's a focus for us. ... We got in foul trouble and that hurt us a bit offensively."

The Wildcats hung around, thanks to a rugged defense that forced 16 turnovers.

But West Chicago could not figure out a WW South defense that featured a full-court, trapping press and pressure zone in the half-court.

The Wildcats had just seven field goals - two in the second half - and couldn't put together a significant run to threaten WW South in the second half.

Christian Krehenbuhl led West Chicago with 8 points and 2 blocks. Jacob Lim added 7 points and 2 steals, while Raed Haroon had 5 points.

"Tonight against that defense, we're trying to be as patient as we can to get the best shot possible," Recchia said. " ... I thought we passed up a couple looks we could have taken. It's the first game and they're getting used to ... seeing someone else playing defense against you.

"We should have attacked the basket a little harder. We'll get there."

WW South faces off with Timothy Christian at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and Fremd at 5:30 Friday. West Chicago takes on Fremd at 6 p.m. Wednesday and Timothy Christian at 2:30 p.m. Friday. Pool play begins Saturday at 2:30 p.m.