ST. CHARLES – As the all-time leading scorer in program history, Orchard Farm senior Brady Wolf has accomplished almost everything possible on a basketball court for the Eagles.
Almost everything.
Wolf had never defeated St. Charles West, losing all nine matchups since he earned a starting role as a freshman.
“Every year I played them, we always cracked under pressure. We’d see the name ‘West’ on their chest and play scared,” Wolf said.
That changed Wednesday.
Wolf scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and junior Alex Wineholt poured in 19 points of his own as Orchard Farm defeated St. Charles West 67-62 in overtime in a Class 4 District 7 semifinal Wednesday at St. Charles West.
Orchard Farm (20-8), which has won 10 of its last 11 games, will face Lutheran St. Charles (12-15) in the district championship game at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Charles West.
Lutheran St. Charles defeated Winfield 73-50 in the other semifinal.
Wolf, who has accrued over 1,600 points in his career, was completely bottled up in the first half by a stifling St. Charles West defense.
Senior guard Nick Lewis used his length to bother any perimeter shot Wolf attempted, and if Wolf drove towards the lane, he was immediately greeted by a second defender at the free throw line.
“We’ve guarded him really well, and if you asked him, probably the toughest of anybody on their schedule, ever,” St. Charles West coach Pat Steinhoff said. “We just couldn’t sustain it. He got the best of us.”
After scoring just two points on 0-for-6 shooting in the first half, Wolf used the intermission to recalibrate.
“I was being stupid and chucking up shots, so I had to change that and realize when to go in and take my own (shot) and when to pass it to a teammate,” Wolf said.
That teammate was often Wineholt, who scored 11 points in the third quarter. The 6-foot-5 post player quickly converted two assists from Wolf with crafty, reverse layups along the baseline.
Then, Wineholt began creating for himself.
His straight-line drive gave Orchard Farm the lead, and his straight-away, three-pointer put the Eagles ahead 38-33 with 2 minutes 43 seconds to play in the third quarter.
“Honestly it was just my teammates. They kept feeding me the ball and giving me good opportunities to score,” Wineholt said.
But St. Charles West seniors Andre Montemayor and Barry Thomas Jr. were finding their own opportunities to score.
The duo combined for 10 consecutive points in the final two minutes of the quarter, putting the Warriors ahead 43-42 and setting up a wild finish.
Wolf began his 13-point fourth quarter with a tough layup that resulted in a three-point play. He drained a left-wing triple to tie the score at 50, then entered the lane, drifted left and shot right as the degree of difficulty increased with every basket.
“I think Alex (Wineholt) getting hot opened room for Brady in the second half. He saw the gaps better and he started attacking,” Orchard Farm coach Mike Hohe said.
But Montemayor, who scored 19 points, and Thomas, who added 21, matched Wolf shot-for-shot, often with a similar degree of difficulty.
Montemayor flipped in an underhand scoop to give St. Charles West the lead, and Thomas drained a contested triple to put the Warriors ahead by four.
But Wolf had a final Houdini act.
He received the ball on the left wing, found a small crease and lofted a layup onto the glass with enough English to rival the final day of the Premier League.
That three-point play, followed by a free throw from sophomore Jorden Matlock tied the game at 58 with 3.9 seconds to play in regulation.
Then, Thomas almost won it for St. Charles West.
He received the ball from under his own basket, raced the length of the court, entered the paint and watched the ball glance off the back iron as his body crashed to the floor.
“Once he got past halfcourt and I saw there were still two seconds left, I thought he was just going to go score,” Steinhoff said. “A lot of contact, but no foul. Just a bad luck play.”
In overtime, Matlock and senior Josh Bartig knocked down consecutive baskets to open the scoring for Orchard Farm, and Brady Wolf and cousin Will Wolf closed out the game by going 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
In the final moments, Orchard Farm freshman Will Wolf, who chipped in 14 points, dove across the floor to thwart a St. Charles West attempt to roll the ball inbounds. It symbolized the change in demeanor for the Eagles against their Gateway Athletic Conference rivals.
“I didn’t think we looked nervous tonight. We had composure, and we were playing the game to win as opposed to hoping somebody else makes a play,” Hohe said. “It seemed like we wanted that win for the first time in a long time against these guys.”
It was the first victory for Orchard Farm against St. Charles West since Jan. 26, 2018, and it broke an overall losing streak of 11 games against the Warriors.
“We didn’t play scared, even in the overtime,” Wolf said. “Our team played tough the whole way through.”
