BARTLETT — Another slow start, another comeback which came up short. That’s been the story of the Wolfpack boys basketball team this season. It played out once again Tuesday night as Chambers/Wheeler Central defeated Elgin Public-Pope John 52 to 40.
Everything that could go right, did go right for the Renegades in the first quarter as they built a 24 to 0 lead. They nailed four treys in the quarter to build a seemingly insurmountable lead.
It was 26 to 0 before the Wolfpack broke into the scoring column when sophomore Hunter Reestman drilled a trey from the right corner. Ashton Evans added another one seconds later and suddenly the Wolfpack began to find the mark. Chad Bode had back-to-back baskets midway through the quarter to cut the Renegades’ lead to 30 to 11.
A three-point play by Kenny Bush sparked an eight to two run to close out the first half. Evans’ trey just before the buzzer made the score 34 to 19.
EPPJ started the second half the way they ended the first half, attacking the Renegade defense, outscoring CWC 11 to four. Kyle Schumacher had two field goals, Evans added a trey while Bush and Bode each had two points to cut the Renegades’ lead to eight points with under two minutes to play in the quarter. The Renegades added five points before two Schumacher free throws made the score 43 to 32 with one quarter left to play.
Missing on several chances to cut the lead to single-digits early in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack made it an eight-point game with 5:49 to go when freshman Conor Ramold sank two free throws. That’s the closest the Wolfpack would get as they would manage just five points the rest of the game as the Renegades claimed the victory.
Evans led EPPJ with 11 points, Bode had 10.
Renegades 52, Wolfpack 40
Wolfpack 0 19 13 8 — 40
Renegades 24 10 9 9 — 52
Wolfpack — Kenny Bush 2-7 2-3 6, Chad Bode 2-3 6-10 10, Hunter Reestman 1-6 0-0 3, Conor Ramold 1-5 2-2 4, Ashton Evans 3-9 2-2 11, Kyle Schumacher 2-8 2-2 6. Team totals: 11-38 14-19 40. Three-pointers — Wolfpack 4-16 (Hunter Reestman 1, Ashton Evans 3). Renegades’ team totals: 21-43 4-5 52. Three-pointers — Renegades 6-14
Team statistics — Rebounds — Wolfpack 26 (Chad Bode 8, Hunter Reestman 6), Renegades 21. Assists — Wolfpack 9 (Ashton Evans 3, Kyle Schumacher 3), Renegades NA. Steals — Wolfpack 9 (Kenny Bush 4), Renegades NA. Turnovers — Wolfpack 14, Renegades 11.
