Zach Rogers had been playing a solid game for Wheaton Warrenville South Friday night against visiting Wheaton North, especially on the defensive end, but through three quarters he hadn’t made a big impression on the scorebook.

As a matter of fact, with 5:54 remaining in the game, the line for the senior was four points and a couple of rebounds.

Turns out, he was saving his best for last.

Rogers scored nine points down the stretch, including 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, and had a big steal late to lead the Tigers to a pulse-pounding 43-42 DuKane Conference victory over the visiting Falcons before an overflow crowd.

Two free throws from junior guard David Showman gave WW South the 1-point advantage in the final seconds, and the Tigers hung on for the win.

“I mean, it was going to be a good game, back and forth the whole game,” said Rogers. “We knew it could go either way so we kept going after it, going after it. They put us to the line (in the fourth quarter) and that’s what we do in practice all the time — shoot free throws to make sure we’re ready for the game.”

WW South (6-3, 3-1) took an early 6-0 lead after a 3-point play by sophomore AJ Rogers, but Wheaton North fought back and a layup near the end of the first half by 6-foot-8 junior Jacob Johnson gave the visitors a 21-17 advantage.

Led by Johnson (game-high 17 points), the Falcons (6-3, 2-2) turned on the jets in the third period, leading by as many as eight.

WW South fought back at the foul line in the fourth quarter. They were 11-of-11 from the stripe in the final period, but still trailed by one with 15 seconds remaining when a Zach Rogers steal put the Tigers in position to take the lead.

They missed a 3-pointer, but a foul was called on Wheaton North on the ensuing rebound attempt. Showman went to the line and calmly swished through two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to give the Tigers the 43-42 lead.

Wheaton North was able to rush the ball down court and had a final attempt, but a desperation 3-pointer was well off the mark.

The final buzzer sounded as the WW South faithful stormed the court, and after all was said and done Tigers coach Mike Healy was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Hopefully, we were going to make some plays (down the stretch),” said Healy. “Our guys were unbelievable tonight when it came to executing and time management. And we did make some plays. You’ve just got to stick with it.”

Zach Rogers finished 13 points, while Showman led the winners with 14 points and 9 boards.

Junior Ben Gillmar scored 10 for Wheaton North.

“Zach (Rogers) was awesome,” continued Healy, “and we had a bunch of guys making big plays. We’ve also had some free throw talks recently because we didn’t shoot them all that well last Saturday (in a 53-48 win over Glenbard North).

“Tonight we made the free throws.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251219/boys-basketball/boys-basketball-clutch-free-throw-shooting-sends-wheaton-warrenville-south-past-rival/