Wrap: Benet big man leaves Viator a point short
Benet Academy found itself in a ticklish situation in the final minutes of its East Suburban Catholic Conference boys basketball game at St. Viator on Friday.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee-bound Ryan Haggerty fouled out with the Redwings tied at 39-39 against the surging Lions with 2:36 left.
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 that 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 wouldn't give 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 left pulled the Lions (7-9, 2-5) within a point.
When Brian Gaughan missed the first of a 1-and-1, St. Viator called timeout and had four seconds to set up a final shot. The Lions got the ball across midcourt, but an errant pass prevented them from taking the potential game-winning shot.
"We knew it was going to be a dogfight," said 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 (8-7, 4-3) did not have a single player scored in double figures, but 7 of the 8 players who got into the game scored.
Jono Davern led the Redwings with 9, while Brian Gaughan, Haggerty and Meyerhoff each scored 8, and Chris Blaney added 7.
"The way we play, we share the ball with different people," Marty Gaughan said.
-- Larry Weindruch
Leyden 50, AT 47: Leyden had been in this position before as a 15-point first-quarter lead had disappeared by the fourth quarter.
But the Eagles (4-12, 1-5) responded to win their second straight game 50-47 over Addison Trail in the West Suburban Gold matchup at Farina Fieldhouse in Franklin Park.
"We had some guys who stepped up and decided we were not going to lose," said first-year Leyden coach Bill Heisler, who noted his team has lost six times this season with a lead heading into the fourth quarter. "When (Deron Guyton) wants to take over a basketball game, he can."
Guyton scored a game-high 20 points and capped one of the biggest plays after Addison Trail (3-13, 0-5) took its first lead at 43-42 on a pair of Lormuel Jones free throws with 3:17 to play.
A steal near midcourt by guard Joe Natale led to Guyton's slam dunk. Natale and Alex Regalado (17 points) helped preserve the win by hitting 2 free throws apiece in the final 42 seconds.
"It has been a recurring theme -- this has been the third or fourth game where we put ourselves down early," said Addison Trail coach Brendan Lyons, whose team trailed 17-2 in the first quarter. "We made plays, but they answered back."
Ian Horvath scored 9 of his team-high 13 points in the third quarter to help the Blazers (3-13, 0-5) cut into the Leyden lead. Guard Vince Beachem contributed 12 points for the Blazers.
-- Brian Pitts