Saints dig out of hole only to falter in 4th

John Camardella will remember his first varsity coaching victory for a long time.

Years from now, the Prospect basketball coach will remember it perhaps more for the way in which it occurred.

After building a 17-point first-quarter lead and still comfortably ahead 39-27 at halftime, the Knights (1-1) watched their advantage slip away late in the fourth quarter.

Trailing Thanksgiving tournament host St. Charles East 66-61 with 2:07 remaining, the Knights responded with an 11-0 flurry that propelled the visitors to a 72-66 victory Wednesday night in St. Charles.

"It does feel good," Camardella said of his first varsity coaching victory. "I joked in there (locker room) that they didn't have to make it that exciting.

"Being down five with a minute or so to go, I'm proud of our team and the way they stuck with it."

Senior guard Jeff Heiden, who canned his first four shots -- including a trio of 3-pointers -- while helping the Knights build a 19-2 lead in the first six minutes, also played an instrumental role down the stretch.

First, he calmly drained his fifth 3-pointer of the night from the far corner with 1:45 left to pull Prospect within 2 at 66-64.

After the Saints missed a layup at the other end, Heiden drove the lane and converted a three-point play to give the Knights a 67-66 lead with 1:14 remaining.

"I think (Kevin) Reed got the rebound and I was a little deeper on the outlet," Heiden said of what turned out to be the game-winning, three-point play. "There was only one (defender) back so I went to the basket and tried to draw some contact."

Heiden poured in a game-high 22 points for Prospect, which also received a double-double from the 6-foot-6 Reed (20 points, 13 rebounds).

"Jeff's the type of player who wants the ball in his hands," said Camardella. "I thought that Jeff and Kevin (Reed) played extremely well."

Overshadowed in the loss was the all-around performance turned in by the Saints' Ryan Suits, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half while also pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.

"Ryan kept us in the game when things weren't going well in the first half," said Saints coach Brian Clodi.

Held scoreless in the first half, senior guard Collin Pryor (19 points) ignited a furious second-half rally, scoring 11 points during a 21-5 run that enabled the Saints to take a 48-44 lead late in the third quarter.

But Heiden and Knights got the last laugh.

"We're very disappointed that we didn't find him at the end," Clodi said of Heiden. "And it's disappointing to walk out of here with a loss."