HW lets experience show against OP

LEADER-Blake Wildt finished with a team-high 16 points for the Oak Park Eagles.

Eagles come up short, 67-52, in Div. III title game

By Kyle Jorrey

jorrey@theacorn.com

Every basketball player knows how utterly demoralizing it can be to try and defend a shooter who’s found a rhythm.

FEARLESS-Eagle Ryan Buckley drives against HW's big man.

No matter how quickly you close out or how well you stay in their hip pocket, when the ball gets released from their hands—they just can’t seem to miss.

Now multiple that feeling by 12, place the setting in a professional sports arena and make it happen at your very first appearance in a section title game—then you’ve got the diary of Oak Park’s first try for a Div. III-A crown.

A storybook run to the championship game came to a humbling end this past Saturday at the Pond in Anaheim as the favored squad from Harvard-Westlake blew by the Eagles 67-52 to win their fourth consecutive CIF-Southern Section trophy.

They did so by opening up a double-digit first-half lead behind 8-of-11 shooting from beyond the 3-point line, an offensive display that nullified Oak Park’s efforts to shut down the Wolverines’ 6-9 big man Alex Stephenson, who was his team’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker on the season.

"We were very fortunate today that all our guys came out with their shooting touches and with confidence," HW head coach Greg Hilliard said. "We played a lot freer than we have a other times we’ve been in this arena . . . and maybe it just was the comfort level of being here before."

Experience clearly was a factor for HW, a team that’s reached this championship game seven out of the last 10 years. Whereas the Wolverine shooters adjusted quickly to the arena surroundings, the Eagles just never seemed to find their touch—even quarterfinal and semifinal hero Blake Wildt—who finished with a team-high 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

"(Playing in a big arena) was definitely more different than I expected," said Wildt, who kept Oak Park in the game early with his spirited effort. "We had a lot of good shots that weren’t falling. It especially made a difference at the free throw line. It’s just so much brighter and bigger than we’re used to."

Oak Park finished the night 15-of-22 (68 percent) from the charity stripe, a statistic that didn’t satisfy head coach Ed Chevalier.

"We didn’t capitalize on that aspect of the game," Chevalier said. "And its hard to put any kind of dent in a lead if you’re not making free throws."

In all, Eagle shooters shot just 37 percent for the game and went only 5-of-18 from beyond the arc. HW on the other hand shot 43 percent (22-of-51) from the field and 42 percent from 3-point.

"Our biggest problem was our main focus was their big man, and we did a good job stopping him, but then they were hitting all their outside shots . . . and we couldn‘t really do both," Wildt said. "We did everything we talked about except closing out on shooters. But even when we were there the shots were falling. It seemed like everything was going in and we just couldn’t slow them down."

Despite the loss, players and coaches kept their heads up knowing they had ventured into new territory for the program, which before this year hadn’t been able to escape the second round of the playoffs in four consecutive tries.

Their quarterfinal wins over El Segundo (55-53) and No. 1 seeded Compton Centennial (53-52) were classic battles, full of individual performances and moments that fans who were lucky enough to seem them in person will never forget.

Chevalier, who got to coach in his first high school championship in his 25 year coaching career, said he couldn’t be prouder of his group.

"We came out our same battling selves (against HW), and I’m proud of that," Chevalier said. "I’m really proud of our effort, our approach . . . The players are to be commended."

Wildt, who hit the game winning shot in both the quarterfinals and the semis, said Saturday’s one-sided loss to Harvard-Westlake doesn’t remove the Eagles’ sense of accomplishment.

"We had an amazing trip to get here" Wildt said. "This loss doesn’t take away from that."

Next year the Eagles return five players who saw serious minutes this season including Brian Lantos, Nick Noyer, Jason Fahn, Sean Bryan and Nick Saliano.

"I told the guys in the locker room, we have a higher standard to measure our performance by now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we get back," Chevalier said. "This Div. III stuff is tough, you run into some really good teams and really good players. You have to be good. You have to be fortunate. A lot of stuff has to fall into place. But I’ll tell you, we won’t lack for effort."

The second-place finish earned Oak Park an invite to the state tournament. Tuesday night the Eagles lost in the first round to undefeated St. Augustine, 70-54.