St. Viator struggles, but survives

St. Viator gave itself a large degree of difficulty in Friday night's East Suburban Catholic Conference boys basketball game with visiting Joliet Catholic.

A lot seemed to be missing for the Lions. Sophomore starter Chris Myjak didn't dress because of illness and senior reserve Julian Sipiora was on a football recruiting visit to Drake.

Offensive and defensive continuity and energy were lacking. So was something else vital as the Lions (14-4, 4-3) rallied late and escaped with a 63-62 win at Cahill Gym in Arlington Heights.

"We struggled to have fun out there," said Viator senior Richard Markovits, who scored a career-high 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting in his first varsity start. "The coaching staff told us during one of the timeouts it didn't look like we were having fun."

The penetration of Joliet Catholic (7-11, 1-6) junior Breshion Tucker (14 points) and the long-range shooting of junior Wes Koral (25 points on 10-for-15 shooting) wasn't exactly making it enjoyable for the Lions as they trailed 60-55 with 3:56 left.

"It was a game-long problem where we weren't at our best," said Viator coach Joe Majkowski. "It's so hard because there is the sense out there, 'Oh, it's Joliet Catholic.' They're a pretty good team - I don't care what their record is."

Viator finally put it together on both ends in the final 3:42 starting with Markovits' layup off 1 of 3 assists by Richard McLoughlin (14 points, 13 rebounds). McLoughlin also drew a charge and forced another turnover, Jack Etchingham (11 points) forced a five-second call.

Brendan King (11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) hit a jumper, Etchingham had a layup and Alan Aboona (8 points, 5 assists) hit 2 free throws to make it 63-62 with a minute left. Aboona then forced Breion Tucker into an off-balance 21-footer off the back rim at the horn.

"That last stretch we buckled down and did the right things," Majkowski said.