Basketball Recap: Wheeling Falls Short of Stevenson in the Playoffs

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Wheeling can now relate to. They were outmatched by the Stevenson Patriots and fell 71-32. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 413th, while the Patriots are ranked 43rd).

Leading Stevenson to victory were Aidan Bardic and Atticus Richmond. Bardic almost dropped a double-double with 14 points and nine assists, while Richmond shot 58% from the field on his way to 18 points and six boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Liam Curtin, who went 5-for-7 to rack up 11 points and five rebounds.

Wheeling has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost five of their last six matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 11-20 record this season. Stevenson has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-10 record this season.

Wheeling does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Stevenson, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 53-45 win against Schaumburg on the 28th.