Double downer for Ill. Lutheran

Illinois Lutheran's boys and girls basketball teams each lost Thursday in River Valley Tournament action against Donovan at the Beecher school.

The boys dropped a 57-33 decision to the Wildcats, while the girls fell 53-20.

The boys flirted with an upset over the Wildcats (19-2) for most of three quarters. Trailing by seven at the half, the Chargers (7-14) crept to within two.

Scott Smith started the rally by driving the middle for layup to make it 29-24. After a Wildcats free throw, Josh Oeler scored down low and Paul Styx hit a pair of free throws.

The Chargers later had a chance for the tie but came away empty. From than on, it was all Donovan. The Wildcats finished the third quarter scoring four points to go up 34-28, and started the final period with 12 more unanswered points. Nick Fletcher capped the run with a fast-break layup to make it 46-28.

"I felt that Donovan was ripe for an upset, but we missed a half a dozen good shots and you cannot do that if you are going to beat a 19-2 team," Chargers coach Mark Kjenstad said. "Also, we had to take care of the ball better. Donovan kept the pressure up all night. We wore down, and we were out of steam in the fourth quarter."

Smith led the Chargers with 18 points.

In the girls game, the Lady Chargers (3-22) were no match for Donovan. Sophomore Alex Hackel led the Chargers with nine points.