Benet 46, St. Viator 45

Benet found itself in a ticklish situation in the final minutes of its East Suburban Catholic Conference boys basketball game Friday at St. Viator when Ryan Haggerty fouled out with the Redwings tied against the surging Lions.

That's when Joe Meyerhoff entered the game and made an immediate impact. Normally a starter for the Redwings, matchups against the shorter Lions dictated the 6-foot-8 Meyerhoff come off the bench to spell Haggerty, who was in foul trouble throughout the contest.

The junior center scored on a strong inside move to give the Redwings a lead they never gave up in their 46-45 win, their third straight league victory.

"He stepped up tonight," said Benet coach Marty Gaughan. "I'm very happy for him. He came through when it counted."

"When Ryan fouled out, I knew I had to step up at the end," Meyerhoff said. "We've won three in a row and have great chemistry on the court. We're playing well together."

St. Viator had a chance to win right up to the final buzzer. Jim Platania's basket with 23.2 seconds left cut the Lions' deficit to 45-43. Alex Gasick made 1 of 2 from line with 20.9 seconds left to make it 46-43, and Eric Huber's tip-in with 7.2 seconds remaining pulled the Lions (7-9, 2-5) within 1.

When Brian Gaughan missed the first of a 1-and-1, St. Viator called time out to set up a final shot and had four seconds to do it. The Lions got the ball across the 10-second line, but an errant pass prevented them from taking the potential game-winning shot.

"We knew it was going to be a dogfight," said St. Viator coach Joe Majkowski. "That's why we can't make mistakes. We got sloppy at times."

Platania, recovering from a sprained ankle and making his second start, led all scorers with 16 points. Bryce Hensley scored 11 and Rich McLoughlin added 10 for the Lions.

"It's unfortunate we didn't get the win," Platania said. "We found ourselves settling for jump shots. The offense wasn't there. We didn't run the offense that we know we can run."

Benet (4-3, 8-7) did not have a single player score in double figures, but seven of the eight players who got into the game scored.

Jono Davern led the Redwings with 9 points. Brian Gaughan, Haggerty and Meyerhoff each scored 8. Chris Blaney added 7.

"The way we play, we share the ball with different people," Marty Gaughan said.