Boys Basketball: St. Francis can’t overcome deficit in loss to Aurora Christian

WHEATON – Every time St. Francis made a comeback attempt, Aurora Christian had an answer during Friday night’s Metro Suburban Blue basketball clash in Wheaton.

Led by senior Brayden Hatch’s game-high 23 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals, the Eagles (17-7, 5-3) pulled away down the stretch for a 57-46 victory.

“Brayden had a big game for us,” Eagles coach Dan Beebe said. “He hit some huge shots.”

Perhaps none bigger than the 3-pointer Hatch buried from the corner that helped the Eagles extend their lead to 45-37 with 3:26 remaining.

“They cut it to five there but in those times, I try not to stress out,” said Hatch, who shot 7 for 11 from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. “You’ve got to relax, keep everybody patient, and let the shots come.”

Hatch also played an instrumental role during the Eagles’ 19-10 second quarter surge that led to a 28-19 halftime advantage.

The 6-foot-3 forward scored eight points in the period while showing his ability to beat his defender and drive to the basket with regularity.

“I was able to drive by and get what I want,” Hatch said. “It was more of how much I practice, so when the time comes, I can perform to the best of my capability.”

Junior guard Cam Morel added 16 points with four 3-pointers, while freshman guard Jalen Carter had seven points, five assists and four rebounds and senior Grant Keppy finished with 11 rebounds and two blocked shots.

“He defends really well, and he rebounds really well,” Beebe said of Keppy. “He does a lot of good things for us.”

The Eagles also received a lift from freshman point guard Jacob Baumann (four points, four assists), who was thrust into a starter’s role for the undermanned visitors.

“We were down four kids who were out sick,” Beebe said. “We have a freshman point guard who starts (Marshawn Cocroft) and a freshman point guard (Baumann) who came in for him. I thought Jacob controlled the game well.

“We always talk about the keys to the game, and one of the biggest keys was next man up. I thought the kids were very resilient tonight. We stepped up and fought through adversity when those runs happened.”

Dylan Stone paced the Spartans (11-14, 5-3) with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, while freshman Gavin Mueller added nine points and five rebounds.

“I thought we did a lot of things to try to put ourselves back in the game, but right where it came down to making one or two more shots, we didn’t convert on those and they played well,” said Spartans coach Erin Dwyer, whose team defeated Aurora Christian, 33-30, on Dec. 9.

“They played with a lot of purpose and we didn’t respond that well. We try to take a lot of pride in not letting their better shooters make those shots, but we lost some people.”

https://basketball.dailyherald.com/sports/20230127/aurora-christian-avenges-st-francis-setback/