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Boys Basketball: St Francis weathers Aurora Christian rally
Updated: January 13, 2012 11:47PM
Playing from behind in a conference road game is tough, which Aurora Christian found out the hard way Friday night at St. Francis.
In one of the toughest places to play in the Suburban Christian Conference, the Eagles were forced to play that way for the final three quarters and were never able to get over the hump as St. Francis used solid defense to pull out a 56-50 win in a league crossover game.
The difference came in the second quarter when St. Francis used a 21-8 advantage on the scoreboard to enter the break with a 31-19 lead. The Spartans scored the first 12 points of the quarter and held ACHS (12-4, 3-2 SCC) scoreless for the first 4½ minutes — and to just two field goals overall.
“We talked at halftime that we were fortunate to be down only 12,” ACHS coach Steve Hanson said. “They took us out of everything we wanted to do offensively.”
The lead was as high as 15 (31-16) before C.J. Schutt dropped a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer for the final points of the half for the Eagles.
“I thought we played a great first half defensively,” St. Francis coach Bob Ward said. “We got out on shooters and made it tough for them to score.”
The trey to end the half seemingly revitalized the Eagles, though, and they responded with a 15-1 run of their own to start the third quarter. When Ryan McQuade (11 points) dropped in a short jumper with 4:23 to go, ACHS had cut the lead to 32-31.
But the Eagles were never able to get over the hump and take the lead, as the Spartans did just enough on both ends of the floor to keep it. Five different players scored in the final quarter for St. Francis (10-3, 4-1), with Nick Donati and Zach Roswald scoring four points each. The Spartans also made seven free throws down the stretch.
Schutt had a chance to tie the game at 51 with a long three-pointer with 1:51 to play, but it was short and capped a frustrating night that saw him held to three field goals and eight points, while Jake Hanson had just four free throws in his scoring column.
“They are good, we respect them, but to have a chance to win at the end with the second quarter we had I give my kids a lot of credit,” Steve Hanson said. “They (Schutt and Hanson) both had good looks late, and they have knocked them down before. They will bounce back, it’s just one night and it won’t affect them.”
Ryan Coyle scored a game-high 14 points to pace St. Francis, while Roswald tossed in 12. Ryan Suttle had 11 for ACHS while Johnathan Harrell added eight.
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