Boys Basketball: Jaden Schutt scores 2,000th career point, but Yorkville Christian loses to New Trier at shootout

LISLE – Jaden Schutt had a delayed reaction at the mention of the career milestone he set Saturday, Jan. 22.

He surely has loftier aspirations in mind.

Next month, Schutt and Yorkville Christian will begin pursuit of a Class 1A state championship. With a grueling schedule of large-school opponents, unheard of for a 1A school, the Mustangs could start the postseason with a .500 record and still be a prohibitive favorite.

[ Photos: Yorkville Christian vs. New Trier boys basketball ]

Yorkville Christian stepped out again Jan. 22. The No. 1-ranked Mustangs met New Trier, ranked No. 7 in Class 4A, a school with more than 4,000 students, in the opener of the “When Sides Collide” shootout at Benet Academy in Lisle.

Schutt scored 17 points, including his 2,000th career point, and the Mustangs were within eight points midway through the third quarter. But a rough end to the first quarter could not be overcome in a 71-55 loss.

New Trier (20-2) went on a 12-0 run, the first 10 to end the first quarter, for a 27-12 lead, and never looked back.

“We had a tough stretch at the end of the first quarter,” said Schutt, a Duke recruit. “It felt like the rest of the game we were fighting an uphill climb against them.”

Needing four points to reach 2,000 for his career, Schutt hit his first 3-point attempt of the game. He passed the mark with a driving layup a minute into the second that ended New Trier’s run.

“It’s cool. It’s something that comes with consistency,” said Schutt, who shot 7 for 17 and grabbed eight rebounds. “It’s definitely a blessing from God to be able to go out and play and to have success.”

The odds were stacked to have success against the Trevians. New Trier ‘s 6-foot-8 senior Jackson Munro, a Dartmouth recruit, scored a game-high 26 points on 12-for-15 shooting. The Trevians, whose only losses have come to Chicago Simeon and Glenbrook South, shot 65% for the game, 81% on two-point field goals.

Giving away 4 inches, Yorkville Christian’s Brayden Long battled Munro, but Munro was the beneficiary of several easy scores in transition off live-ball turnovers.

“I thought they did a really good job on [Munro]. [Long] is a tough kid and shoots it well,” New Trier coach Scott Fricke said. “It wasn’t easy for Jackson. That kid worked his tail off.”

Yorkville Christian (12-12) was within 15-12 with a minute left in the first quarter, but New Trier ripped off 10 straight points in the final minute, capped off by Karlo Colak’s buzzer-beater off a turnover.

The Mustangs had eight of their 11 turnovers in the first quarter, contributing to several easy baskets for New Trier.

“It was 15-12 and then it was 27-12, and we just can’t do that. That’s kind of how the Burlington Central game went,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said. “You’re fighting an uphill climb. A double-digit lead against New Trier might as well be a 20-point lead.”

Indeed, the Trevians’ disciplined offense and a tough 1-3-1 defense are not easy to come back against. Yorkville Christian, a team that hangs its hat on 3-point shooting, made only 5 of 18. Its top two shooters, Schutt and KJ Vasser, combined to go 2 for 12.

“We didn’t shoot it very well and we didn’t [get] great shots,” Sovern said. “We didn’t react well to the 1-3-1. I was surprised we didn’t react better to that.”

The Mustangs trailed, 41-24, at half, but cut it to 47-39 on Tyler Burrows’ floater with 3:27 left in the third quarter. Munro followed with two baskets inside to reclaim momentum for New Trier. Burrows scored 11 for the Mustangs and had three assists and three steals.

“We stayed together throughout the game,” Schutt said. “We had tough stretches but we stayed together. Even when we get down, we’re going to keep battling. We stayed with it and had our chances.”

Colak, who normally comes off the bench, scored 19 points, 11 in the first quarter, and Jake Fiegen 13 for New Trier. Fricke, for one, thinks Yorkville Christian will do just fine once the postseason rolls around.

“They’re a 1A school, but not really a 1A school. They’re talented,” he said, “and let me tell you, nobody is going to come close to them once the playoffs start. They’re doing themselves a favor by playing the toughest schedule in Illinois.”

The schedule hardly lightens up.

Yorkville Christian faces Kenwood, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, on Jan. 29 at a shootout at Orr, and faces Peoria Notre Dame, No. 7 in Class 3A, on Feb. 5.

“Every time you look at the schedule it’s like, OK another big game,” Schutt said. “It will definitely prepare us.”