It’s been an up and down season thus far for the Fenwick boys basketball team and two games last week that followed the Friars’ rough go at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament couldn’t have proved that more.
On Saturday, a lackluster second half against St. Patrick led to a 62-54 Fenwick loss, which came on the heels of a strong second half performance the previous night that led to a 64-52 Fenwick victory over St. Ignatius.
Against St. Patrick, the Friars (7-6) had trouble containing Royale Ewing and Elijah Watson, who each scored 18 points apiece in the win and were instrumental in two big runs during the second half. Dan Dwyer led the Friars with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Luke Lattner, the team’s leading scorer, was held to seven.
In the win over St. Ignatius, Lattner scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Friars up their Catholic League North record to 2-3 on the season. Freshman Michael Smith added 13 points in the win, while Scott Lindsey chipped in 12.
While the Friars didn’t exactly turn any heads at the prestigious Proviso West Holiday Tournament, they did manage to exit the tourney with a victory. Fenwick rolled to a 58-31 win over Manley to conclude its stay in Hillside. The lopsided win was no doubt a stress-reliever for the Friars, who had accumulated a four-game losing streak, including two that came in the tournament.
Smith led the Friars with 13 points, while Lindsey came off the bench to add 12, eight of which came in the first half.
Due in part to poor shooting and Fenwick’s stingy defense, Manley managed to score a mere point in the second quarter. The Wildcats shot 23 percent from the field in the first half, while Fenwick took a 32-10 on 52 percent shooting by the break. Fenwick led by as much as 37 in the second half.
The Friars fell to Wheaton Academy, 62-47, and Proviso West, 63-59, in the first two rounds of the tournament. A tenuous Fenwick lead in the third quarter went to the wayside against Wheaton, who jumped on a 7-0 run and led by six to start the final period. The Friars made just 10-of-20 shots from the free-throw line and were outrebounded 35-21.
In the loss to the hosts of the tournament, Lattner’s three-pointer put Fenwick up 33-31 at halftime. The Friars swelled the advantage to six points early in the third quarter, but Proviso West refused to go away. The Panthers jumped on a 10-0 run, before the Friars knotted the score at 47-47 heading into the final period.
Costly fouls and turnovers plagued Fenwick in the final minutes of the game. The Panthers’ Taylor Watkins hit a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
Lindsey led Fenwick with 16 points, while Dwyer added 11 points and nine rebounds. Lattner and Tom Planek chipped in 10 points apiece for Fenwick.
The Friars host Gordon Tech on Friday at 7 p.m.
