Warriors fall to Somonauk in regional semis

Somonauk's Jeremy Schmitt is tied up by Westminister's Mike Nicosia and Ben Carani during the second half.
(Donnell Collins/For The Beacon News)

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

HINCKLEY -- Shooting woes doomed Westminster Christian's postseason run at the Hinckley-Big Rock Class 1A Regional on Wednesday night, as the Warriors fell to second-seeded Somonauk 53-48 in semifinal action.

The third-seeded Warriors (17-11) shot just 36 percent (19 of 53) from the field, while the second-seeded Bobcats (18-9) connected on 51 percent (21 of 41) of their attempts.

"We didn't get the defensive stops and then we had some turnovers where we were sloppy with the ball," Westminster Christian coach Bruce Firchau said. "We played hard but we just didn't execute well enough. We missed an awful lot of layups tonight."

Mike Nicosia (18 points) and Ian Dutcher (14 points, 3 blocks) led Westminster's effort.

The Warriors were able to keep it close due in large part to its rebounding effort, led by Dutcher (9 rebounds) and Ryan Beachler (8 rebounds).

Heading into the fourth trailing just 40-38, Westminster's shooting struggles finally did it in. The Warriors connected on just 3 of 11 attempts and watched Somonauk open a 49-40 lead with 2:32 remaining.

A pair of Beachler free throws with 20 seconds left cut the lead to three, but Somonauk's Shayne Peterson -- who scored all 17 of his points in the second half -- finished things off at the line with four straight free throws.

"We just needed to do better on offense and we didn't get that done," Dutcher said. "We were relying on our defense too much. We probably got a little tired and just were not scoring."

Despite 4-of-17 shooting in the first quarter, the score was tied at 13 through one. In the second the lead switched hands seven times before Somonauk took a 23-21 lead in the locker room. Westminster had led 21-18 with 1:08 left, which was its biggest lead of the game.

Both teams heated up offensively in the third and scored 17 apiece, with the Warriors trailing 40-38 heading into the fourth.

Somonauk will met top-seeded Newark -- who defeated Serena 60-58 in Wednesday's first semifinal -- on Friday for the regional title.

Dan Graves added eight points for WC.

"I think when we look back at the season, there probably wasn't any other team in the area or even the state that probably overachieved as well as our kids did," Firchau said. "They did it with grit, they played good 'D.' If there's ever a testimony that defense can win you games when you're not too good offensively, this time was (it). I'm very proud of them."