St. Viator tips Conant for title
More seemed to be at stake than just a start of the season trophy from the 34th annual St. Viator boys basketball Thanksgiving tournament.
The host Lions and Conant battled with the intensity and energy of two teams trying to stay alive in March. Every possession had a crucial feeling before a lively crowd Saturday at Cahill Gym in Arlington Heights.
And Viator junior point guard D.J. Morris hardly looked like as if he was playing just his fourth varsity game in late November.
The 5-foot-10 Morris scored 11 of his game-high 26 points in the final 4:02 as Viator (4-0) answered every challenge to win its third straight tourney title 60-59.
“It was awesome,” Morris said. “It was great competition. We were just going at it, me and London (Conant guard Dokubo) and the whole team was behind me. It was relentless.
“Coach (Joe Majkowski) said we didn't always do everything right, but we got one stop or got one shot that kept us in it.”
Morris also didn't resemble the player who struggled with his shot on the sophomore team. On Saturday he was 7-for-11 from the field, 8-for-10 on free throws and 4-for-5 on 3-pointers.
But he said he worked six hours a day and took thousands of shots in the summer to improve.
“He worked really hard on it,” Majkowski said of Morris, who had 28 points and five 3s Friday night. “He's got a lot of confidence right now and you can see that.”
Especially after Conant (3-1) rallied from a 43-35 deficit to get within 54-51 with 2:08 left on one of five 3s by Dylan Bartuch (23 points).
Morris drove to the left baseline where he pulled off an impressive sequence of crossover dribbles behind his back and between his legs and nailed a baseline jumper with 1:46 left.
“One-hundred times better,” Morris said of his confidence. “Last year I wasn't very confident in my shot. This year I'm trying to get confident and not hesitate. It was all training.”
Bartuch's baseline drive 3-point play got Conant within 57-56 at 1:03 and Viator missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
But the Cougars committed their 18th turnover on a bad pass with 22.6 seconds left. Morris sandwiched 3-for-4 free throws around Dokubo's tying 3 try with 10 seconds left and Bartuch could only set the final score with a 3 at the buzzer.
Chris Myjak (8 points, 7 rebounds) shot 5-for-7 on free throws and Kevin Walsh was 4-for-4 as Viator finished 20-of-26 to Conant's 15-of-24.
“Our guys really competed and it would have been nice to see if we could get a good look on that possession,” Conant coach Tom McCormack said of its last chance to take the lead. “The difference in free throw percentages was ultimately the difference in the game.
“In a 1-point game, anything below 65 percent is usually not going to win too many close games against good teams.”