The rematch is set.
After Class A sectional semifinal victories Tuesday, St. Francis de Sales and No. 9 Providence-St Mel will meet in Friday’s final at Westmont for the second straight year.
Last year, St. Francis de Sales stunned St. Mel and went on to finish fourth in the state.
But after beating Wheaton Academy 72-59 in a semifinal, St. Francis de Sales coach Larry Moore spoke first of the respect his team gained for Wheaton, which was played in the first semifinal game.
“They took us to the limit,” Moore said. “They didn’t quit. We knew it was this type of team. I’ve seen some film on them. They came ready to play. We went to our trapping defense, they hit some (three-pointers) and we had to go back to our man-to-man.”
After struggling in the first half and falling behind 32-24, Wheaton Academy (16-11) came within three points three times in the second half. With 7 minutes 45 seconds remaining, a basket by Wheaton’s Aaron Trost (29 points) cut De Sales’ lead to 52-49, but Wheaton came no closer.
St. Francis de Sales (19-7) outscored the Warriors 15-6 in the last 4 minutes and made 13 of 16 free-throw attempts in the last 3:22 to put the game away.
Jerell Parker (26 points), Jimmy Mack (20) and Lorenzo Trudo (14) led St. Francis de Sales.
“We have an opportunity right now to play Providence-St. Mel for a sectional championship,” Moore said. “That’s all we can ask.”
St. Mel (26-4) drubbed Ridgewood 90-62 behind Patrick Cunningham’s 22 points, Linton Johnson’s 20, Rebert Harris’ 12 and Irving Richardson’s 10. Renzo Berardi and Rafael Lizak each scored 15 for Ridgewood (12-17).
“We weren’t focused the whole time,” said St. Mel coach Billy Garrett, whose team led 34-20 at the half. “We came out and jumped on them and then let up. I had to yell at them, and then we jumped on them again in the third quarter.
“It will be a hard-fought battle (on Friday). I expect Friday’s game to be very intense.”
Other sectional semifinal results:
Byron: Hinckley-Big Rock (19-9) eliminated Byron 57-53 behind Chris Bailey’s 23 points and Friday will meet the victor of Wednesday’s semifinal between Rockford Christian Life and Marengo.
Spring Valley Hall: Spring Valley Hall (28-0), last year’s state runner-up, stayed perfect, defeating Paw Paw 65-37 with Shawn Jeppsen’s 24 points and five steals.
Hall led 16-15 early in the second quarter and used runs of 16-0 and 12-4 to take control. The Red Devils meet the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between Plano and Bureau Valley in Friday’s championship game.
Nick Petrakis led Paw Paw (24-3) with 13 points.
