Boys Basketball: New Trier not panicking as losing streak hits two
BY MATT HARNESS mharness@pioneerlocal.com February 4, 2012 6:32PM
Reid Berman is fouled as he drives through the defense during Saturday's game between New Trier and St. Ignatius. | Morgan Glier~Sun-Times Media
STANDINGS
CSL South
New Trier 7-1 18-4
Waukegan 7-1 13-8
Evanston 4-4 14-9
Maine South 4-4 16-10
Glenbrook S. 1-7 5-16
Niles West 1-7 3-15
CSL North
Glenbrook N. 6-2 15-5
Niles North 5-3 15-7
Maine West 5-3 12-9
Highland Park 4-4 12-9
Deerfield 4-4 9-10
Maine East 0-8 4-15
(Records through Sunday)
Article Extras
Updated: March 10, 2012 8:08AM
New Trier coach Scott Fricke never thought his team would go through the entire 2011-12 schedule undefeated.
That never was his intention, either.
That’s why Fricke isn’t pressing the panic button after the No. 5-ranked Trevians lost for the second time in a row, most recently 49-42 to No. 11 St. Ignatius during Loyola’s second annual War on the Shore Tournament on Saturday. A day earlier, New Trier lost to Waukegan 54-51, and fell into a first-place tie with the Bulldogs in the CSL South.
“Every good team goes through stuff like this,” said Fricke, whose club dropped to 18-4 overall and stands at 7-1 in the conference. “This is a little blip on the screen that we are going through right now. It’s all part of a season.”
Friday’s loss snapped a six-game winning streak for New Trier, while Saturday’s setback marked the first time the Trevians lost two in a row all season.
“This was a good gut-check,” Fricke said. “We will see if we can respond to adversity.”
Up next for New Trier is Friday’s game against rival Evanston at Northwestern. The Trevians beat the Wildkits 58-48 on Jan. 6 in Winnetka. The game was moved from Welsh-Ryan Arena due to a scheduling conflict with the university.
New Trier plays Maine South on Feb. 17 to close out the league regular season, but right now, Fricke isn’t even thinking about a conference championship.
“That’s too far off right now,” he said.
New Trier looked good in the first half Saturday against St. Ignatius, a team the Trevians beat Nov. 26 in the final of the season-opening Thanksgiving tournament.
Austin Angel scored eight points in the first two quarters to help New Trier build an 18-15 lead at the half. But the Trevians went dark in the third quarter, going nearly six minutes without scoring as the Wolfpack took a 31-23 advantage into the fourth.
Connor Boehm and Angel then registered back-to-back baskets and New Trier made another brief run to draw to within four again. But St. Ignatius used a 9-0 run, sparked by Brian Howard, to pull away. Howard netted seven of his game-high 18 points in the fourth.
Behind Boehm’s three-pointers, the Trevians clawed to within six with 24 seconds to go.
St. Ignatius’ Peter Ryckbosch, a 6-foot-8 senior, did a good job of pushing Boehm out of the post all afternoon. The 6-7 Dartmouth-bound Boehm drained four threes for a team-high 14 points, but nine of his points came in the last two minutes.
“He’s their go-to guy, and he’s dangerous,” said St. Ignatius coach Rich Kehoe. “Our team defense helped a lot, and Peter has the size to match up with him.”
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