St. Pat's too much for St. Viator
St. Viator found out Saturday night what St. Patrick's boys basketball team can do when Jacob Williams and Kortney Darby both come to play.
Williams and Darby showcased their talent in sweeping past the Lions 68-58 in Chicago.
Williams scored 26 points with 11 rebounds and Darby scored 18 points with 12 rebounds as the Shamrocks improved to 12-11 and 5-5 in the East Suburban Catholic. The Lions dropped to 12-9 and 4-6.
"They are two really good players," said St. Viator coach Joe Majkowski.
St. Viator hung tough and trailed 15-14 after the first quarter. The Lions led 22-20 with 4:30 left in the first half when St. Patrick coach Mike Bailey switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense.
"St. Viator was getting inside and getting some penetration," said Bailey. "Our extended 1-3-1 took away a lot of their penetration. The other thing that made a difference is that we didn't put them at the line (Viator was 16-for-23 in a 54-51 overtime win Dec. 10). They had to earn their points from the outside."
The Lions ended up shooting 19 of 46 while the Shamrocks hit 22 of 42 overall and 12 of 17 from the field in the second half.
St. Patrick hit 9 fo 9 free throws in the first quarter and 23 of 29 for the game to stay ahead.
With Kevin Walsh providing most of the Lions offense with 24 points including four 3-pointers, St. Viator tied the score at 39-39 with 2:19 left in the third quarter on 2 free throws by D.J. Morris (10 points).
The Shamrocks finished the quarter with a 10-0 run which was started by a 3-point basket by Williams and ended with two baskets by Mahlike Graham.
St. Pat's Elijah Watson gave the Shamrocks a 59-43 with 3:34 left in the game.
While Colin Carney, Walsh and Morris all hit 3 pointers down the stretch, the Shamrocks hit 7 of 9 free throws. Chris Myjak added 12 points for the Lions.
"With their 1-3-1 zone they made it tough on us with their arm length and quickness," said Majkowski. "We just didn't execute when we needed to on both ends of the floor."
CL South 58, Barrington 56: Crystal Lake South had a lost-and-found second half in Saturday night's nonconference boys basketball game with visiting Barrington.
The Gators lost their way defensively for an eight-minutes stretch and found a 10-point lead turned into a 6-point deficit.
But they didn't lose their composure and found a way to complete a weekend sweep with a 58-56 victory at Gator Alley. The Gators (13-10) also rallied in the second half Friday to beat Jacobs.
"We haven't been playing that well lately," said CL South senior Kevin Rogers after he scored 8 of his 15 points in the final 6:50. "To come against two good teams on our home floor is a real good confidence-builder."
And CL South, which won the first meeting with the Broncos (17-9) at the Jacobs tournament on a desperation 3 at the buzzer, had to watch this time as they got an open 3-pointer for Brad Zaumseil that bounced off the front rim as time ran out.
CL South had taken a 35-25 lead as Ethan Breitenstein scored 13 of his 16 points and it got 14 points off 12 turnovers against its extended 1-3-1 zone.
But a torrid stretch where Zaumseil (9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Tyler Weathered (18 points, 5-for-9 on 3s) and Mark Bennett (9 points) hit five straight 3s sparked Barrington to a 48-42 lead with 7:08 to play.
"I felt we got complacent," said CL South coach Dan DeBruycker, who made that point clear during a timeout less than a minute later. "They got a couple of loose balls for easy baskets and you can't leave (Weathered) because he's a great shooter."
Rogers responded with a driving 3-point play and CL South's eighth 3 for the first of four fourth-quarter ties.
"We play all seniors so we've been in this position before," Rogers said. "Down six, we knew we had to trust each other to play our game."
A free throw by Robbie Lemke at 1:05 and 2 free throws by Gavin Rubin at 0:39 after a turnover put CL South up 57-54. John Schneider (12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks) countered with a baseline drive for Barrington at 0:26 before Ryan Price split 2 free throws at 0:19 to set the final score.
"Both nights we had breakdowns where we let teams execute offensively," said Barrington coach Bryan Tucker, whose team lost in overtime to Schaumburg on Friday. "We just didn't react properly and we gave some really talented teams some really good opportunities."
Conant 46, Glenbrook N. 43: Conant continued to build some late-season momentum as London Dokubo hit a pair of big 3-pointers in a 46-43 overtime victory over visiting Glenbrook North in Saturday's nonconference boys basketball game.
Dokubo hit a 3 early in overtime to put Conant (16-7) in position for its fifth win in six games. Avery Osby didn't start because of illness and got some key rebounds down the stretch and Kyle Lee held his own as he started for Osby.
"Kyle did a great job," said Conant coach Tom McCormack. "He's a 6-1 post player battling all those 6-8 guys and he a did a great job defending the post."
Rolling Meadows 50, Round Lake 44: Scott Shewmon and Paul Volkman each scored 13 points and teammate Tyler Gaedele added 11 to lead host Rolling Meadows (13-10) to a 50-44 nonconference home win over Round Lake. Meadows point guard Brian Nelms missed his second straight game because of illness and starting guard Eric Lowe was on a baseball recruiting trip.