JCA Boys Get Boost

With 2 minutes and 51 seconds remaining in the second quarter Saturday night, the scoreboard in the Student Activity Center stated the situation clearly: West Chicago 29, Joliet Catholic Academy 8.

As junior center/forward Adam Janusz-Lancaster checked in at the scorer’s table, part of Hillmen coach Joe Gura replacing his entire starting lineup in one swoop, the message sounded as loudly as the horn.

Play hard. Or don’t play at all.

“I felt a sudden burst of energy from everybody on the team,” Janusz-Lancaster said. “When coach put in the backups together, the subs — we have that bond. The whole team has that bond, we’re in this together, and we had to show hard we wanted to play. And I know that I just wanted to win so badly.”

Immediately, Janusz-Lancaster drove the baseline with the force of a hurricane, banking home an emphatic layup, and things effectively went from bad to good for the JCA boys basketball team.

Despite trailing 31-14 at halftime, JCA whittled the deficit down to 38-34 at 2:44 left in the fourth quarter before West Chicago clinched a 49-39 nonconference win by shooting 9-of-10 from the line.

For JCA (5-14), the comeback began with Janusz-Lancaster’s drive and a 3-pointer from junior forward Kyle Phillips to end the second quarter. West Chicago (5-14) held on, outscored 25-18 in the second half.

“It was effort,” Gura said. “For some reason, some kids decided tonight was the night they didn’t have to play hard. What I’m trying to establish in this program is every night we play hard. I was pleased with the second half, displeased with the first half, and I will not tolerate anything less than 100 percent.”

That status continued in the third quarter as Gura started his reserves. A pair of free throws and another drive by Janusz-Lancaster, a pull-up jumper by Phillips and a finger-roll layup by junior forward Ryan Peter — one of only two Hillmen starters to return in the second half — sliced the deficit to 35-24.

Peter, who finished with a game-high 16 points, scored 10 in the fourth and hit all 4 of his shots. His first of two 3-pointers got JCA within 38-34. Junior guard James Ragen, also a starter, tallied 4 of his 6 points.

“We started out so flat and it was the whole first half,” said Peter, who would shoot 6-of-8 from the floor, 2-of-2 on threes and 2-of-2 from the line. “Our bench came in and played amazingly. They play hard in practice like that every day, they got us back into the game, but it was too much to overcome.”

Afterward, Gura noted the 21-point deficit would have been difficult to overcome regardless. However, Janusz-Lancaster led with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals and Phillips picked up 5 points and 2 boards.

“We pulled together,” Janusz-Lancaster said. “Coach Gura talked us up at halftime, got a little angry, and we all went out there and played hard. And I don’t want to use a cliché, but you can never give up. Some people in stands probably thought they could leave when we were down 21, but we will keep going.”

NOTES: In the first half, West Chicago shot 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the floor as JCA struggled at 27.8 percent (5-of-18). The Wildcats ended up at 37.5 (15-of-40) to the Hilltoppers’ 37.1 (13-of-35), converting 16-of-23 at the line to the Hillmen’s 10-of-12 … Senior guard/forward Justin Mundt and senior forward Tyler Schoenwolf reached double figures for West Chicago with 10 points apiece. Senior guard John Konchar added 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals … JCA did outscore West Chicago 10-7 in the third quarter and 15-11 in the fourth … Junior Cal Placher played substantial minutes at point guard and scored on an explosive, full-court drive during the Hilltoppers’ 10-4 run to start the second half … JCA finished with just 2 assists and also trailed the Wildcats 16-7 in the pivotal steal department.