Boys Basketball: New Trier has no trouble with Loyola

Scott Fricke wants New Trier to be known for its defense this season.

The Trevians coach wasn’t happy with his team’s performance in Tuesday’s win over Lincoln Park, so they dissected the film Wednesday morning before their game against Loyola.

For now, the problems seem to be worked out as No. 17-ranked New Trier earned a 48-25 win over the Ramblers in the holiday tournament co-hosted by both teams.

New Trier (3-0) limited Loyola (2-1) to nine points in the middle two quarters in the lopsided victory.

“That’s the one thing the coaches have stressed from the beginning,” senior Austin Angel said. “We all came together as a team, and we stuck it to them.”

Constantly in a crowd, Dartmouth-bound Connor Boehm scored a game-best 14 points. Angel added 11 points.

“I was really proud of our defense,” Fricke said. “We played smart and hard, a lot smarter than the day before. We will spend more time on us this year than on what other teams do.”

Despite the defeat, Loyola coach Tom Livatino saw several positives from his players Wednesday.

“The effort was there,” said the coach, who’s missing two potential starters still with the football team and carries only one senior on the roster. “Our offense execution was not phenomenal, but give credit to New Trier for pressuring us. The execution part will come. We need to bounce back and play well Saturday. If we win, we will be 3-1, and that’s a good start for this team.”

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