Winning bling: St. Viator pitches a loss at Prospect

It was a ringing success for St. Viator on Wednesday in Arlington Heights.

First, the basketball team chimed out a huge 71-60 win over rival Prospect in the Joe Majkowski Thanksgiving tournament.

Then, during halftime, the baseball team was awarded their state championship rings before a huge crowd in the Cahill gymnaiusm.

St. Viator (2-0) made sure it got to the ring ceremony in style.

With Treyvon Calvin, Jeremiah Hernandez and Jack Geary leading the way, the Lions shot a blistering 70 percent (19-of-27) from the field as they built a 46-23 lead.

"It starts with our defense," said St. Viator coach Quin Hayes. "They (Prospect) had a hard time getting into what they wanted to do. Our boys were up to the challenge."

Hayes said that defense, which limited Prospect to 32 percent (9-of-28) shooting in the first half while forcing 7 turnovers, was the key to the great start.

"Once we got that energy from that defensive end we got run outs and everyone sharing the basketball," Hayes said. "It is just a fun way to play."

At halftime, the baseball team, which won the Class 3A state title in June, was awarded its state championship rings. The coaches all received their rings in a ceremony that took place at center court.

Cori Korab, who caught the last out in the state title game and plays on the basketball team at St. Viator, was happy to have a day like Wednesday.

"I showed off the ring to all my family which was here and all the basketball guys," Korab said. "Everyone came out of the locker room to watch the ceremony. It was the perfect night."

Viator did not let up in the second half.

Calvin, who is a junior, was nearly on fire with his shooting.

The junior, who finished with 22 points, converted 8 of 9 shots from the field including all 3 of his shots outside the arc.

"I was just open and found my shots," Calvin said. "I felt really good during warmups and it carrie into the game."

Hernandez, who was in foul trouble in the Lions' opener on Monday finished with 15 points.

Geary was a huge contributor for Viator, finishing with a career-high 12 points. The senior, who was way down on the Lions bench last season, worked his way into the starting lineup this year.

"I looked for shots when they were there," Geary said. "I thought I played well in the flow of the offense. My teammates helped me out a lot by setting good screens. Good defense led to good offense."

Peter Lambesis also came up with a big game for the Lions, finishing with 10 points.

Prospect (0-2), which nearly turned over its entire starting lineup from last season, looked for the right combinations on the court.

"We just need to be a little bit better coming out of the gates," Prospect coach John Camardella said. "This is the second game in a row when we have not been ready to play from the jump. This tournament will show you the truth - that's what we love about it. We have really solid young men on our team and they are good basketball players."

David Swedura led Prospect with 11 points while Tim Lussenhop had 10 points and Ben Zellmer came off the bench to score 9 points.