Boys basketball: Luca Carbonaro, Wheaton Warrenville South hold off Geneva 40-33

GENEVA – Even if Luca Carbonaro’s shot isn’t falling, his presence on the floor late in basketball games perhaps says more about his evolving overall impact beyond offense.

Carbonaro, the Wheaton Warrenville South sophomore, only finished with six points during Wheaton Warrenville South’s ultimate 40-33 victory over Geneva on Wednesday. Carbonaro missed two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, but his defense helped seal the deal for the Tigers.

With 29 seconds remaining and the Tigers nursing a 37-33 lead, Geneva sophomore Jack Hatton was stripped in traffic by a reaching Carbonaro, who just nicked a piece of the basketball into waiting Tigers hands. Geneva senior Jimmy Rasmussen quickly fouled out, and it led to Marco Gonzalez making 1 of 2 free throws with 20 seconds left.

Carbonaro again answered with another tip-away leading to making two free throws of his own to ultimately seal the deal.

It’s a collective sequence that showed a voice of confidence on coach Mike Healy’s part in his sophomore’s ability to make a play in a pivotal moment.

“Luca is showing some maturity, because he didn’t shoot the ball extremely well tonight, but he had two steals, I think, because I think he was the other one that tipped it and it bounced off a Geneva kid’s hand, and then he knocked down his free throws,” Healy said.

“So, we always talk: ‘You’re not going to play great all 30 games, but find a way to do something.’ We got to trust him a little bit more defensively. All of them. They just play their tails off. They’re going to keep us in games. We just wish we were a little bit better offensively.”

For Carbonaro, that trust is helping with his confidence on the floor.

“It’s awesome. It really does help me out [when Healy] believes in me,” Carbonaro said. “I appreciate him so much for that. It’s all about sticking true to [what we do] and keep working no matter what.”

The Tigers (6-1, 2-0) managed to hold off Geneva, who managed to pull within one point at three different occasions in the fourth quarter. Geneva senior Mick Lawrence hit a layup with 4:30 left to make it 32-31, but Max O’Connell responded with three made free throws to offset it.

Geneva hit 2 of 5 free throws between Hatton and Jimmy Rasmussen within the game’s final two minutes to make it 35-33, but Wheaton South’s defense and making a combined 5 of 6 free throws closed it out.

“The last two, two and a half minutes, I thought our kids were great,” Healy said. “We handled the ball better. We made free throws. [Geneva] had no open look. I mean, we got three turnovers in the last two minutes; that’s what we talked about [postgame], we said we’re never going to be perfect, but the way they closed it out, come here and beat Geneva, who is an outstanding basketball team on their floor.

“We’re thrilled to walk out of here with a win.”

The Tigers were led by Braylon Meredith’s 13 points and four rebounds. O’Connell had 11 points, and Gonzalez added four points.

Geneva (4-3, 1-1) was paced by Lawrence’s nine points and two rebounds. Hatton had eight points, and Tommy Diamond had seven points and five rebounds.

“I thought the defense was outstanding,” Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. “Overall, it was just a phenomenal game. I thought they’re really good. We’re getting better. The free throws hurt again. We were under 50% or right at 50%. We’ve just got to get better.

“I told the kids after the game: The effort was awesome. The defense was awesome. We ended up losing by seven, but it was a one- or two-possession game the whole night, and I’ll take the blame on [the offensive struggles].”

“I thought Jack Hatton played a really good game,” Hennig continued. “We’ve just got to keep getting better, execute and do what we do.”