Dons edge Lions in OT

St. Viator dug a big hole for itself in the East Suburban Catholic Conference boys basketball matchup with Notre Dame at Cahill Gym Friday night in Arlington Heights.

The Lions trailed 39-24 with 1:20 left in the first half to the Dons. To its credit, Viator fought back to tie the game at 61-61 at the end of regulation before faltering 72-69 in overtime.

"In the overtime," said Viator coach Joe Majkowski, "they made fewer mistakes than we did."

What hurt the Lions (9-5, 2-3) was conecting on just 3-of-8 free throws in the overtime. The Lions had hit 12-of-13 in the first half but only 11-of-22 after the break.

"We've been pretty good at the free-throw line this year and the kids on the line are good," Majkowski said. "It was just one of those things."

The Lions used a 13-0 run that covered the end of the second quarter and the first 3:20 of the third to get within 39-37.

Notre Dame (9-3, 3-1) led 61-55 with 2:52 left on a 3-pointer by Billy Hughes.

Bryce Hensley then hit on a 3 and an offensive rebound to pull the Lions to 61-60. Alan Aboona hit the second of a 2-shot foul with 1:10 left to go to tie it at 61-61.

Richard McLoughlin's (18 points, 7 rebounds) off-balance jumper in the lane bounced off the rim as time expired.

"I looked to go inside and made a spin move to the basket, but it hit the rim," said McLoughlin. "We just have to be able to close out game better the rest of the season."

Shawn Wallace put in his own missed shot with 2:45 left in the overtime to give the Dons the lead for good at 65-63.

Viator pulled to 70-69 as K.J. Sherwood (12 points) hit 2 free throws with 12.2 seconds left. Jimmy Martin (19 points) made 2 free throws for the Dons with 9.3 seconds left and Sherwood's 3 bounced off the rim.

"Viator did a great job of being resilient," said Notre Dame coach Tom Les, whose team won 53-52 in their second-round meeting in Wheeling's Hardwood Classic. "When they took the lead we fought back. Martin to his credit hit 2 really big free throws."