Fenwick Falls In Regional Semifinals

The Fenwick boys basketball team took a two-point lead into the final six minutes of its Class 4A Willowbrook regional semifinal, and appeared primed for a strong finish.

Not only did the Friars have momentum, but their opponent looked tired.

That advantage turned out to be fleeting, however. Morton found renewed energy in the success of its press and used a 13-0 run to beat Fenwick 59-48 Wednesday night in Villa Park.

Guard Jeff Jarosz scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Mustangs (18-9).

“Their star guard, Jarosz, just stepped up,” Fenwick coach John Quinn said. “We held him pretty much in check through three quarters. It’s just he’s got the capacity to make a lot of plays. He’s such a winner for their team. He gives them great confidence.”

Jarosz figured it was time to finally get even with some of the Friars (14-12).

“I used to play them back when I was in eighth grade in middle school and they always used to beat me so I wanted to beat them,” he said.

Tyshaun Eaton provided the Mustangs with a spark with a string of steals. He registered six to go along with 11 points and eight rebounds.

“I thought Tyshaun saved the day,” Morton coach Tony Martinucci said.

Morton led by as many as 10 in the first half and took a 25-18 edge into intermission.

Fenwick opened the third quarter with a 10-1 run to vault ahead 28-26 on Peter Haefner’s fast break bucket. The teams exchanged the lead with the Friars moving back ahead 36-34 on Tyler Sewall’s pair of free throws with 6:37 remaining.

But then Morton parlayed its press into a game-changing run. It was capped by Anthony Lewis’ steal and coast-to-coast drive for a lay-in that gave the Mustangs a 47-36 advantage with four minutes left.

The Friars cut their deficit to six twice down the stretch, but Jarosz scored nine points in the final 1:49 to keep them at bay.

“Jeff took over at the end,” Martinucci said. “He only gets stronger as the game goes along.”

“He found another gear,” Quinn said of Jarosz. “He’s a really impressive kid that way.”

After a Sewall three-pointer brought Fenwick within 52-46 with 1:24 to go, Jarosz answered with a long drive that produced a three-point play, putting Morton back up comfortably at 55-46 with 1:13 left.

Sewall made four three-pointers and finished with a team-high 20 points, including 12 in the final quarter, for Fenwick.

“Tyler’s that kind of kid,” Quinn said. “I’m proud of him.”

Dylan Barnett added 15 points, while Sam Ainsworth contributed nine points and 16 rebounds for the Friars.

Fenwick center John Malone suffered a knee injury a couple minutes into the game and played less than a quarter. The Friars could have used his inside presence as they wound up shooting 29 percent (15 of 51) from the field. They stayed in the game by making 14 of 16 free throws.