Story posted Friday, February 5, 2010
Second Half Keys 8th Grade Warriors
By DWIGHT ESAU Journal Sports
Two Des Plaines Junior Warriors boys basketball teams posted a combined 2-4 mark this past weekend in games against area opponents.
The 8th grade team improved to 5-5 on the season by going 2-1 this past weekend. First, the Warriors defeated Rolling Meadows for the second time this season, 54-45. The Warriors outscored the Mustangs 39-26 in the second half to claim the win.
"The key to this win was our clutch free shooting down the stretch," said coach Rob Hudson. "At one point in the fourth quarter, we were only shooting 3-of-12. However, with the game on the line, we did much better, shooting 8 out of our last 11." Anthony Dones led with 13 points and 6 assists, Ryan Wold scored 13, Geoff Rozo had 8, Joel Ferraren 8 and 3 blocks, Brett Straessle grabbed 4 rebounds and had 3 steals, and Peter Tedeschi had 3 steals.
In a rematch with Evanston, the Warriors improved, but still lost, 61-25. Ferraren led the team with 9 points and 6 rebounds, Jason Cathey scored 4, Straessle snared 5 boards, and Zach Brown made 3 blocks.
In their final game of the weekend, the Warriors won, 51-43, over Fenton. The Warriors trailed early, but tied the score at halftime and outscored the Bison 26-18 in the second half. "We had 11 of 15 players score in this game, and we hope that trend continues the rest of the season," said coach Alfredo Jiminez. Straessle had 9 points; Ferraren 8; Jonathan Schmitz 6 points and 6 rebounds; Brown, 5 points and 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks; Dones 4 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals; and Adam Wessell, Ian Mann, Bob Andrade, Wold, and Rozo each added 4 points.
The seventh graders weren't as fortunate, going 0-3 for the weekend.
In a narrow 32-31 loss to Rolling Meadows, the Warriors played well late, but couldn't quite take the lead away. Kyle Cook led with 11 points ands 4 rebounds, Tim Beranek scored 8 and had 3 steals, Danny Silva scored 6 and grabbed 4 boards, Alex Klus added 4 points and 5 rebounds, and Johnny Mancilla snared 5 rebounds.
The next day, the 7th graders dropped a tough game against Evanston, 50-37.
"Last time, they beat us by 37 points, but in this game, the team showed a lot and improved," said coach Bill Besenhofer. Matt Acevedo led with 10 points and 3 blocks. Cook scored 8 and grabbed 7 rebounds, Klus had 6 points, Silva 6, and Crosley Duckmann had 4 points and 3 assists.
In a 53-46 loss to Fenton, the 7th graders were led by Acevedo with 13 points and 4 steals, Beranek scored 10, Cook 10 with 12 rebounds, and Kenny Ortiz had 4 points and 3 steals. "Eight of 12 players scored in this game, where in the past only 4 or 5 players usually scored," said coach Tom Dore. "If this trend continues, it will only help us."
The 6th grade team went 1-2 this past weekend. They beat Rolling Meadows, 41-38, behind 8 points, and 4 assists from Conor O'Brien, 8 points and 8 boards by Maciek Czerlonko, 7 points from Eric Outlaw along with 8 rebounds, 6 points from Milos Dugalic 4 by Alan Rathapillil, and 2 points each by Bennett Norris, Stefan Balaban, Jeff Mustari, and Sam Saldana.
After a big loss to Evanston, the Warriors dropped a 55-42 decision to Fenton. O'Brien led all scorers with 13 points and 4 assists. Saldana put in 6 points, and Maciek Czerlonko put up 7 points. Jake Albrecht and Brendan Atwood each had 3 points.
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