PLANO — The Plano Reapers jumped into the 2006 portion of their schedule on an optimistic note.
They were riding a three-game winning streak and were able to use Obinna Agomo, their new transfer student from Lake Park High School, for the first time. Unfortunately, they also had to play Lisle for the first time, and the Lions dispatched them with relative ease by a score of 73-49.
Reaper head coach Nate Spriggs was asked if he noted any positives on the night for his team.
"None, zero, absolutely zero. We gained nothing tonight ... we went backwards," he said in a very quiet postgame conference.
"Lisle is ranked fifth in the Sun-Times Chicagoland poll, but I really expected my guys to respond better than we did."
Plano stayed close early on 3-pointers by Brook Bott and Matt Priesman, but Lisle responded with treys by Matt Schmitz and Dan Wenclawski, both of whom had great shooting nights. But the Lions also displayed speed and offensive rebounding to lead 18-14 after one quarter.
Agomo, a 6-foot-2 junior, did show some presence down low early in the second stanza by scoring three times from close range, but Plano was able to do little else. Lisle seemed to play an almost clinic style offense, paced by more good shooting from Schmitz and Wenclawski. Joel Beckman scored on two offensive rebounds, and Shamon Cherry displayed speed to burn with several steals, layups, and nifty assists.
Plano tried to keep pace in the third, as Will Brown drilled a trey and scored on a drive. Agomo showed promise again with three scores from short range. The Reapers just couldn't shut down the Lisle offensive machine, though, as the Lions continued to pick apart every defense that the Reapers tried. Good screening and defense provided them with one layup after another, and Lisle had stretched the lead to 61-41 after three quarters
.
"I give Lisle a lot of credit. They run the system and they execute it," said Spriggs. "I quit counting their offensive rebounds at 19. That was one of the few things I had written on the board: 'execute our system, stop the ball, and box out.' And when you do barely one of those, you're going to struggle. We're back to square one. We need to start over from the beginning."
Both coaches let their reserves play almost the entire fourth quarter.
Agomo scored 14 points, and Priesman had 12 for Plano. Lisle held Alex Jensen to a below average performance as he scored only one basket and had 7 points. Plano drops to 1-3 in the Interstate Eight Conference, with the Reapers' overall record standing at 7-9.
Wenclawski had 24 points for Lisle, with Schmitz adding 15. The Lions are 4-0 in conference play, and 10-4 overall for the season.
At Plano, the Reapers fell to 1-3 in Interstate Eight Conference play after a loss to the visiting Lions.
Lisle built a 41-26 halftime advantage, before outscoring Plano 32-23 after the break.
Obina Agomo led the way for the Reapers (7-9, 1-3) with 14 points, to go along with 12 from Matt Priesman.
LISLE (73) -- McLeod 1 0-0 2, Husch 1 0-0 2, Heizer 1 1-2 3, Schmitz 5 2-4 15, Zomick 2 0-0 4, Kovich 0 0-0 0, Beckman 3 0-0 6, Cherry 4 1-1 9, Shodipo 2 0-0 4, Leonard 0 0-0 0, Wenclawski 10 0-0 24, Milner 1 0-0 2, Logeman 1 0-0 2, Saul 0 0-0 0, Fitzgerald 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 4-7 73.
PLANO (49) -- Kebbeh 1 0-0 2, Campisi 1 0-0 3, Agomo 7 0-0 14, Smith 1 1-5 3, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Haws 0 0-0 0, Priesman 5 0-0 12, Bott 1 0-0 3, Green 0 0-0 0, Goldsmith 0 0-0 0, Loux 0 0-1 0, Jensen 1 5-5 7, Brown 2 0-2 5. Totals 19 6-13 49. Lisle 18 23 20 12 -- 73
Plano (7-9, 1-3) 14 12 15 8 -- 49
3-point baskets -- Lisle 7 (Wenclawski 4, Schmitz 3), Plano 5 (Priesman 2, Campisi, Bott, Brown).
Sandwich 55, Wilmington 31
At Sandwich, the Indians picked up their first I-8 win with a 24-point victory over the Wildcats.
Sandwich led 24-19 at the half, before pulling away in the second half after outscoring Wilmington 31-12.
Mike Meyer paced the Indians (5-9, 1-3) with 24 points. Travis VanPelt added 16.
WILMINGTON (31) -- TaFoya 1 0-0 3, Mitchell 1 1-2 3, Castillo 0 0-0 0, Sweeney 3 1-1 8, Hrat 0 0-0 0, Welps 2 0-1 4, Russell 1 1-1 3, Brooks 0 0-0 0, Bush 0 0-0 0, Bliudzius 4 0-0 8, Lacy 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 3-5 31.
SANDWICH (55) -- Futrell 4 0-0 9, Meyer 11 2-3 24, Weismiller 0 0-0 0, Clairmont 0 0-0 0, Roach 0 1-4 1, VanPelt 6 2-2 16, Weinlader 0 0-0 0, Heibel 0 0-0 0, Munson 1 3-4 5, McDowell 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 8-13 55. Wilmington 11 8 7 5 -- 31
Sandwich (5-9, 1-3) 13 11 14 17 -- 55
3-point baskets -- Wilmington 2 (TaFoya, Sweeney), Sandwich 3 (VanPelt 2, Futrell).