The Wheaton Warrenville South boys’ basketball team reached the end of the road in a highly contested IHSA regional final, recovering from a bad spell to finish the season strongly.
On Feb. 2, South visited North for the second Crosstown Classic of the year. After the Tigers defeated the Falcons 53-38 back in December, the script was completely flipped to start off the game. The hosts were completely in control, setting the pace and maintaining a lead entering the second half. Then, the Tigers woke up and responded in the third quarter. The visitors did not have the best shooting night, but forced their way back into the contest with grit and hustle. The atmosphere at Neibch Gymnasium was electric entering the fourth quarter, with the two teams at a deadlock. The crosstown rivals exchanged baskets for a stint, until the Falcons broke away and the Tigers went cold. North held on to secure a 45-39 win.
“We just need to flush it,” said head coach Mike Healy. “At this point in the season we just need to move on, have the right mentality. There’s still plenty of opportunities to do some good things.”
The Tigers struggled after the Crosstown Classic, which was the start of a five-game losing streak. It had been over two weeks since South had won a game entering their final match of the regular season against the St. Charles East on Feb. 14. The Tigers had to start taking advantage of their opportunities. South’s leading scorer Luca Carbonaro was out with a hand injury, but seniors Joe Preede and Max O’Connell stepped in their final game at Orange and Black Gym. However, despite the Fighting Saints’ last-place position in the DuKane Conference, the contest went down to the wire. St Charles East’s only conference win came in an upset against South. The Tigers were determined to avoid a repeat. With the score tied and two seconds remaining, O’Connell received the inbound pass, turned around and buried a short jumper as time expired to deliver the 54-52 victory.
South ended the regular season 14-17 overall and 6-8 in conference play, finishing sixth in the DuKane. While this meant the end of the three-year DuKane championship run for the Tigers, they entered the IHSA playoffs with a vengeance. South had a playoff rematch against Geneva in the regional semifinals of the Addison Trail Sectional on Feb. 21. The Vikings eliminated the Tigers in heartbreaking fashion in the sectional semifinals last year, a result that South had not forgotten. Carbonaro returned from injury and fueled the Tigers’ offense with 27 points, leading them to a 61-59 win in a nailbiter at Willowbrook. Two days later, the ninth-seeded Tigers went up against the first-seeded DuKane Conference champions, Lake Park. After losing the two regular season matchups by a total of 37 points, South rose to the occasion in the playoffs and gave the Lancers all they could handle. It was a low-scoring defensive battle that was sharply contested until the end. Ultimately, Lake Park eked out the 41-37 win.
The Tigers ended the season playing some of their best basketball, demonstrating their ability to go toe-to-toe with elite teams. Conference and regional championships are hard to come by in high school basketball. While those tend to define success for a team, what defines a basketball program is the team’s effort, resolve and spirit. At the end of the day, the Wheaton Warrenville South Tigers gave everything they had on the court.
