By Bobby Narang –
Will Wolfe wanted to start the celebration early. So did the rest of his teammates.
But the Aurora Christian High School basketball team made a wise decision to wait until the final buzzer to enjoy the moment.
The Eagles rode a solid team effort to a thrilling 79-70 overtime victory over visiting Riverside-Brookfield Friday in Aurora.
The game was billed as a clash between the top two teams in the Metro Suburban Blue Conference. By defeating the Bulldogs, 13-4 and 4-1, Aurora Christian, 4-0, took possession of first place in the Conference. The two teams will play one more time this season Tuesday, Feb. 12.
Wolfe, a 6-7 junior, led the Eagles with strong production. Despite not scoring in the first quarter, Wolfe finished with a game-high 27 points. The Bulldogs scored the first 12 points of the game, but Aurora Christian rode a strong second quarter to cut the deficit to 32-30 at halftime.
“It was tough to get through it, but we fought through adversity,” Wolfe said. “We knew we had each other’s backs, and we got through it. This is a huge win. We are probably the two best teams in the conference. We now have to get them next time.”
Wolfe’s older brother, Jake, a four-year starter at Aurora Christian, is a 6-4 freshman guard at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.. He has played in 14 of the team’s 16 games, leads the team in field goal percentage with .633, and has a 4.1 scoring average.
Aurora Christian improved to 16-3 overall Saturday with a 54-32 victory over Winnebago in a non-conference game. The two teams split last season. St. Francis, 5-12 and 1-3, will play at Aurora Christian Friday. Aurora Christian will play at 3 p.m. Monday against host Timothy Christian in Elmhurst in the four-game MLK shootout.
Aurora Christian sophomore guard Jaehshon Thomas had a big game against Riverside-Brookfield when he scored back-to-back baskets in a 15-second span in the final minute to force overtime. Thomas scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Lawrence Nyong added 12 points.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Riverside-Brookfield head coach Mike Reingruber said. “They are a good team. Give them credit for coming back. We didn’t make plays late in the game. They took advantage. We had a run at the beginning.
Wolfe and Thomas and (Taaj) Davis are all three really good players. It would’ve been nice to sustain our good start. It went back and forth, but they made more plays down the stretch.”
The Eagles broke the game open early in overtime, when Nyong, Davis, and Thomas each scored on the team’s first three possessions for a 70-64 lead. Thomas put the game out of reach with three free throws in the final 31.7 seconds.
Al Benson/The Voice