Over-used March Madness, yes, nonetheless it is true. One and done. Victory or go home. Packed gyms. Overtimes. Rallies. Scoring records. It’s basketball tournament time. March Madness.
Elite teams take runs deep into tournaments. A few teams pull surprises. Agony of defeat and ecstasy of victory. Yes.
• Wheaton College, third place in the prestigious CCIW (College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), outlasted first place Augustana College and second place North Central College in the NCAA Division III 64-team bracket and is in the final four in Ft. Wayne, Ind. in game two Friday against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
• Geneva High School, Glenbard South, and Bolingbrook, distinguished themselves as regional and sectional champions, however, felt the agony of defeat in super-sectionals Tuesday this week. In time all three will savor their success. See the scores below.
• There are connections. Four-year Geneva starter and slick 5-10 guard Jack McDonald, will enroll in Division III and CCIW perennial power Augustana in the Fall. Geneva won a school-record 32 games this season and suffered only one other defeat. The Vikings surpassed the record 31 victories of the last Geneva team to advance from super-sectional to the final four in the 2015 season, led by Nate Navigato. Glenbard South fell to Peoria Manual, Geneva was not quick enough to stay with Rockford East, 70-62, and Bolingbrook was defeated by Belleville West, on its way to a second consecutive State championship.
• More college connections: Navigato went from Geneva four years ago to Toledo. The 6-8 perimeter player will play Thursday this week for Toledo, 25-6, against Northern Illinois University in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Navigato is the team’s second-leading scorer with a 12.5 average and most three-point made baskets.
• Navigato has triplet brothers who played for Geneva. One, Cole Navigato, is a sophomore at Loras College (Iowa) which was in the NCAA D-III 64-team tournament. Cole, a 6-6 sophomore, played in all 30 games with a 6.4 scoring average. Loras defeated North Central in the second round, 84-82. Loras has 10 players from the DuPage and Kane County areas.
• Wheaton senior Aston Francis is a scoring machine. He led Wheaton to a 91-87 comeback victory against Marietta (Ohio) to advance to the final four. He set the D-III tournament scoring record with 62 points. There is more to follow in March Madness.