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2007-2008
Boys' Basketball
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Season
Outlook
The Walther Boy's Basketball Team has raised it expectations for this year. Coming off a Regional Championship last year and returning 4 starters and 7 players from that team will help to lend a lot of experience to this years team. The Broncos figure to be a team built on speed and quickness and will try to play an exciting uptempo style of game. The Broncos also hope that a major strength this year will be the depth that the team has. A major challenge for the Broncos will be the schedule during the first half of the year as the Broncos will play its first 12 games on the road. The Broncos figure to be in contention for a PSL crown and also look forward to tough nonconference games against Highland Park, Guerin Prep and Driscoll.
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Walther vs. West Chicago (Marmion Tournament)
The Broncos got off to a good start to their season with a 63-42 win over West Chicago. After overcoming some first game jitters the Broncos were able to put together a solid defensive effort and pull away with the win. A balanced Bronco attack, which saw 9 different players score, was led by Arran Skinner who had a team high 14 points.
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Walther vs. Marmion (Marmion Tournament)
The Broncos got off to a slow start and were never able to overcome it. Marmion scored early and often to take a 23-13 lead after 1 quarter. The deficit grew to as many as 19 in the second quarter before the Broncos began storming back. Walther was able to get within three and had a shot to tie with 20 seconds remaining, but the shot was just off and Marmion converted at the FT line to establish the final margin of victory. The Broncos were led in scoring by Chris Thompson with 24 points.
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Walther vs.
Leyden
(Marmion Tournament, 2nd Place Game)
Both teams came out of the gate shooting the ball extremely well which led to a high scoring first quarter and a 22-17 Walther lead. The Broncos maintained the lead throughout leading by 1 point at halftime and 1 point after the third quarter. The Broncos were then able to turn up the defensive pressure and pull away in the 4th quarter. The Broncos had 4 players in double figures and were led by Cedric Collins with 20 points.
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Walther 54 vs. Westminster 49
Walther was able to use some great pressure defense over the last 4 minutes to come back and defeat Westminster. Walther controlled the first have and led 33-25 at halftime. The Broncos went cold in the 3rd quarter only scoring 4 points and ended up trailing by 1 heading into the last quarter. The Broncos trailed by 5 with just under 4 minutes to play when the defensive pressure finally caused Westminster to crack and allowed the Broncos to come back for a 5 point win. The Broncos were led in scoring by Brian Jackson with 15 points.
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Walther 84 vs. Luther North 45
The Broncos played with a great deal of energy throughout this game and were able to use their pressure defense to force numerous turnovers by Luther North leading to easy baskets by the Broncos. The Broncos led by 16 at halftime and extended that to a 21 point lead after 3 quarters. It was truly a team effort by the Broncos as 11 of the 12 players scored and the Broncos had 4 players in double figures led by Chris Thompson with 16 points.
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Walther 76 vs. Aurora Christian 52
The Broncos jumped out to an impressive 22-0 start in the first quarter and led 24-4 at the end of the quarter. The game was played relatively even from that point on with the Eagles never getting closer than 14 points. The Broncos were led in scoring by Brandon Smith who led 4 different players in double figures. The win placed the Broncos in sole posession of 1st place in the PSL.
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Walther 58 vs. Highland Park 66 2OT
This double overtime thriller saw the Broncos battle back from an early 16-4 deficit. The Broncos trailed by only 2 at half as the 3 point shooting of Chris Rankins and Cedric Collins got the Broncos back into the game. The battle continued through the 3rd quarter as the Broncos were able to draw even after three. The Broncos held a narrow 2 point lead when the Giants made a pair of free throws to tie the game with less than 30 seconds to play. The Broncos were unable to hit a shot at the buzzer and the game went into overtime. The Broncos took an early lead in the first overtime and held the lead through most of the overtime. The Broncos split a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to take a 2 point lead. The Giants missed a 3 point shot with 5 seconds left but got the offensive rebound. The giants missed again before converting a tip-in at the buzzer to tie the game. The Giants controlled the second overtime from the start and were able to pull away to an 8 point victory. The Broncos were led in scoring by Cedric Collins with 18 points.
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Walther 74 vs. Driscoll 76
In an exciting game of runs the Broncos fell at the buzzer to Driscoll Catholic. The Broncos trailed by 4 after the first quarter and by 3 at half before taking a 1 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. Driscoll then went on a big run to open up a 68-57 lead with just over four minutes to play. The Broncos then stormed back to te the game at 70 with just over a minute and half to play. The two teams traded baskets and free throws before Driscoll was able to get an offensive rebound and put back at the buzzer for the 74-76 final score. The Broncos were led in scoring by Chris Thompson with 20 points.
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Walther 86 vs. Reed - Custer 49
The Broncos were able to take control of this game early forcing numerous turnovers by Reed-Custer throughout the game. The Broncos had a very balanced attack were 11 of their 12 players scored with Brandon Sims leading the way with 14 points.
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Walther 55 vs. Joliet Catholic 58
The Broncos fell in this hard fought semifinal matchup afterleading by 4 points at the half. Joliet Catholic took advantage of a strong 3rd quarter and was able to take a 2 point lead into the fourth. The lead changed hands several times in the fourth before Joliet Catholic opened up a late lead that the roncos were unable to overcome. The Broncos were led in scoring by Cedric Collins with 15 points.
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Walther 61 vs. Lemont 67
Walther again fell in the 3rd place game to the host Indians. Walther held a slim 2 point lead at halftime and the teams battled back and forth throughout the second half. Walther was still up 2 points with 3 minutes left but was unable to hold off Lemont. Lemont scored all of its points in the last 3 minutes of the game from the free-throw line. The Broncos were led in scoring by Chris Rankins with 15 points.
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Walther 42 vs. Sandburg 61
The Broncos struggled throughout this game and fell to Sandburg in the 4th place crossover game. Sanburg took an early lead and led throughout as the Broncos were unable to mount any offensive attack. The Broncos were led in scoring by Chris Thompson with 12 points.
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Walther 64 vs. Lisle 51
The Broncos were able to jump off to a quick start in their first home game and led throughout. Walther enjoyed a 15 point lead at the half (37-22) but saw that quickly dwindle in the 3rd quarter. Lisle was able to score 22 points in the 3rd quarter to get back into the game. The Broncos defense answered the challenge in the 4th quarter allowing only 7 points and pulling away at the end to win by 13. The Broncos were led in scoring by Brian Jackson with 18 points.
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Walther 49 vs. Westmont 65
The game got off to a quick start with Westmont shooting well in the first quarter and taking a 13-8 lead. The Broncos struggled throughout the 2nd quarter allowing Westmont to extend to a 31-12 halftime lead. The Broncos had a couple of runs in the second half to close the gap but were never able to really challenge as they fell 65-49.
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Walther 60 vs. Wheaton Academy 46
The Broncos jumped out to an early lead and never gave it up in this important PSL battle. The Broncos used aggressive full court defense to force numerous first quarter turnovers which led to a 16-6 lead after 1 quarter. The Broncos increased that lead by 1 in the second quarter and took an 11 point lead into halftime. The Broncos extended that lead to 16 points after 3 quarters and help on for the 14 point victory. The Broncos were led in scoring by Brian Jackson with 22 points.
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Walther 63 vs. Luther South 54
The Broncos were able to hold off a determined Luther South team to stay undefeated in the PSL. The Broncos took an early lead that they never gave up, but were never able to really pull away from the Braves. Luther South cut the lead to 4 points heading into the fourth quarter but the Broncos put forth a good defensive effort and were able to close out the game with a 9 point victory. The Broncos had three players in double figures led by Cedric Collins with 14 points.
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Walther 64 vs. Latin 38
Ths nonconference game was back and forth in the first half as the Broncos held a narrow 2 point margain heading into halftime. The Broncos had a great defensive effort in the second have to pull away. The Broncos outscored Latin 19-2 in the fourth quarter and were sparked by the play of Danny Vasser off the bench. The Broncos were led in scoring by Chris Thompson with 18 points.
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Walther 75 vs. Illiana 46
The Broncos were able to break open a close game in the second quarter behind 10 points in the quarter from Brandon Smith. This enabled the Broncos to take a 37-26 lead into halftime. The Broncos continued their assault in the 3rd quarter by outscoring Illiana 23-9 in the 3rd quarter to extend their lead to 60-35 after three quarters. The Broncos then cruised to the victory and a 6-0 record in the PSL. The Broncos were led in scoring by Brandon Smith with 15 points with Brian Jackson adding 14 and Cedric Collins 13.
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Walther 65 vs. Immaculate Conception 56
he Broncos fell behind early because of hot shooting from the Knights. The Broncos trailed by 7 points after the first quarter and by 6 points at halftime. The Broncos were able to stay close behind solid play from Jonathan White (6 points) and Brian Jackson (8 points) in the first half. The Broncos then stormed back and started the second half on a 17-0 run. The Broncos led by 10 points going into the fourth quarter and then were 10 of 14 from the foul line in the 4th quarter to put the game away. The Broncos had a balanced effort with 4 starters in double figures, Brandon Smith 16 points, Cedric Collins 15 points, Chris Thompson 11 points, and Brian Jackson with 10 points.
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Walther 70 vs. Montini 58
The game got off to a quick start with both teams scoring 18 points in the first quarter. Walther was able to gain control of the game in the second quarter behind a solid defensive effort the limitted Montini 10 points. Walther scored 19 points of their own to take a 37-28 lead into halftime. Walther continued to pull away in the third quarter as the defense continued to play tough. Walther led by 14 points going into the fourth quarter and then cruised to a 12 point victory. Walther was led by Cedric Collins who had 23 points and Chris Thompson who added 18. Brandon Sims also gave Walther a boost off the bench with some tremendous defense and added 5 points.
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Walther 46 vs. Timothy Christian 48
The Broncos 6 game winning streak in conference and overall came to an end with this disappointing loss to Timothy Christian. The game was tight throughout with neither team establishing more than a 7 point lead throughout the entire game. The Broncos led by 1 after the first quarter by trailed by 4 points at halftime. The Broncos were able to chip away at the lead and led briefly in the fourth quarter, but were unable to pull out the victory. The Broncos had a shot to win with 2 seconds left but was just off on a 3 point attempt. The Broncos struggled from the floor shooting only 29% as a team and were 4 of 4 from the free-throw line compared to 16 of 22 for Timothy Christian. The Broncos have already clinched at least a share of the PSL title and will face Chicago Christian on February 8th with the chance to win it outright.
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Walther 69 vs. Guerin Prep 58
On Senior night the seniors led the way getting off to quick start in the first quarter and leading by six after the first eight minutes of play. Guerin closed the gap by 2 in the second quarter as the Broncos took a six point lead into halftime. The Broncos pushed that lead back to 8 points by the end of the 3rd quarter and were able to hold off the Gators with excellent Free - Throw shooting in the 4th quarter (14 of 17) to extend to a 9 point victory. The Broncos were led by Arran Skinner with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
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Walther 72 vs. Chicago Christian 51
The Broncos were able to secure the Private School League crown with an impressive win on the road over Chicago Christian. The Broncos were able to take a 4 point lead after one quarter. The Broncos opened up some breathing room in the second quarter with a solid defensive effort and took a 31-19 lead into halftime. The Broncos continued their surge in the third quarter and extended the lead to 20 points. The Broncos led by as many as 30 points early in the 4th quarter and cruised to a 21 point win. The Broncos were led in scoring by Chris Thompson with 17 points.
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