WHEATFIELD | Rarely does Andrean not come ready to play. And Saturday was no exception. The Times No. 4 Andrean was locked in and played with high intensity from the outset Saturday in the Class 3A Kankakee Valley Sectional championship game against Hanover Central.
Andrean breezed to their fourth straight sectional crown and 19th overall with a 69-47 victory.
Andrean, which beat Hanover in last year’s sectional championship, denied the Wildcats their first sectional title since 1986.
Andrean advances to the Plymouth Regional and will play Gary Wallace at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Senior Collin Wojcik led the Niners with 20 points, while Nick Davidson added 11 points and six assists.
It doesn’t get any better for Andrean.
“It really can’t,” Davidson said. “This senior class can go out saying that they’ve never lost a sectional game, and that’s pretty impressive.
“We’ve won four sectionals in a row and it just goes to the credit to the coaching staff and the kid’s willingness to work and get better and to never be satisfied. This one is really sweet and we’re going to enjoy it, but we know if we keep working hard and keep our heads we can really do some damage.”
Andrean (20-3) blew the game open with a 3-point barrage in the second quarter, adding to a 20-7 lead after one period..
The Niners scored 28 points in the second quarter, including five 3-pointers — three from Wojcik.
After Wojcik’s first 3-pointer of the second put Andrean on top 25-7, Hanover coach Bryon Clouse called timeout to try to stem the tide. It couldn’t slow down the Niners, whose suffocating defense forced turnovers leading to baskets in transition.
“In the first quarter we got a little rhythm going and that carried over into the second quarter,” Davidson said. “It’s just so much fun, and that’s why you play the game for moments like that. You’re having fun out there with your teammates and just enjoying it.”
Andrean built an insurmountable 48-14 lead at halftime and used mostly bench players for the majority of the second half.
Dan Kubiak led Hanover (15-8) with 14 points, and Jeremy Pedersoli added 12.
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