Viator falls at St. Joseph; Maine West cruises
The East Suburban Catholic Conference faceoff between St. Viator and St. Joseph on Friday night played more like a rewind than a rematch.
The ESCC-leading Chargers used their height advantage and home court to full potential and once again stymied the Lions, this time by a score of 59-41.
St. Viator (12-8, 4-6) still had no answer for 6-foot-8 senior center Louis Green, who scored a game-high 16 points for St. Joseph (18-3, 10-0) and prevented perhaps twice as many with his imposing figure.
Green grabbed 13 total rebounds, one shy of the 14 that St. Viator had collectively.
"We just couldn't hang with him," Lions forward Brendan King said of Green. "We were deciding whether or not to switch screens or fight through him. We switched up all night, but nothing seemed to work."
King (11 points) led the Lions offense, just as he did two months ago in the first meeting between the two teams. His three 3-pointers did little, though, to offset Viator's struggles under the basket.
Forward Richard McLoughlin (9 points) was unable to provide his usual authority in the paint, something the Lions offense can typically rely upon. Even so, Viator had opportunities to take the lead in a first half, but mustered only 2 points on the Chargers' 11 turnovers.
"We couldn't capitalize offensively," King said.
"Everybody's got to learn to handle pressure and size a little better when they face a team like that," Viator coach Joe Majkowski said. "We tried to make a couple adjustments, but they're so big and good inside."
Maine West 71, Niles North 48: Tommy Solis (18 points), Alex Seiler (16 points) and Sebastian Stasiakiewcz (12 points) led Maine West (5-17, 3-5) as it snapped a five-game losing streak with the Central Suburban North win over Niles North (3-17, 1-7).
Leyden 68, Willowbrook 60: Leyden (10-10, 4-5) made sure the night honoring one of the most successful coaches in state history was a success with the West Suburban Gold win in Franklin Park.
The Eagles, who play at Fremd at 6 p.m. today, dedicated the basketball court in East Leyden's Farina Fieldhouse to Norm Goodman, who had a 548-185 record in 29 years as head coach.