Falotico’s flurry helps Viator past Carmel
So who was that masked man coming to St. Viator’s rescue again and again Friday night at Carmel?
Like the Lone Ranger, there was a bit of mystery to Mark Falotico, who wears a clear mask over his face to protect a broken nose.
Carmel fans, and even some Carmel players and coaches, were caught a bit off guard by Falotico, a reserve guard for the Lions who played hard-nosed defense and knocked down clutch shots from the perimeter in guiding visiting St. Viator to a 66-52 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory over Carmel.
As far as the Corsairs were concerned, it was like he came out of nowhere.
“We knew a little bit about him, I guess,” Carmel coach Tim Bowen said of Falotico. “But not nearly enough, and not nearly as much as we do about the other guys on that team.”
That’s because the other guys on the St. Viator roster have all been around for awhile. There’s a scouting report on them.
Falotico is a freshman, a mysterious unknown.
Yet, at times, Falotico looked just like a veteran in scoring a team-high 16 points, including 7 big points in the final minutes of the third quarter when St. Viator stopped a furious Carmel rally and regained control of the game.
St. Viator, which improves to 13-2 overall and 3-0 in the ESCC, dominated the first half and went into the locker room with a comfy 33-18 lead. But behind the determined efforts of seniors Brandon Motzel and Connor Jordan, Carmel cut that 15-point deficit to just 6 points (40-34) midway through the third quarter.
Motzel and Jordan combined for 11 points during the Corsairs’ rally.
“We fought back into it. We played hard and we were getting stops and we were getting to the hoop,” said Motzel, who fought through double teams and brushed off a beating in the paint to finish with a game-high 22 points. “But then, they got a 3-pointer and all these free throws and all of a sudden, it was back to a (double-digit) game.”
Falotico was largely responsible for that. He scored all but two of the Lions’ final 9 points of the quarter to push the lead back up to 13 points.
The rookie hit a jumper and all five of his free throws during that stretch. He was unshakable at the line, even hitting three in a row after being fouled on a 3-point attempt.
“I just take a deep breath, calm down and compose myself,” Falotico said of his free throw ritual. “Then, I’m ready to play.
“I’m just trying to take advantage of the opportunities when they’re there. I’m out there to shoot, play tough defense and help my team win.”
Falotico, who broke his nose five weeks ago in a game against Notre Dame when a taller player elbowed him in the face while chasing down a rebound, did all of those things against Carmel, and was supported with double-figure scoring efforts from teammates Chris Myjak (15 points) and Kevin Walsh (12 points). Danny Forde and D.J. Morris added 9 and 7 points respectively for St. Viator.
“I was disappointed in that third quarter, because we gave up 18 points in the quarter after giving up 18 points in all of the first half,” St. Viator coach Mike Howland said. “But we buckled down on the defensive end in the fourth quarter. We had a defensive group in there that did a really good job of getting back to the way we were playing in the first half. When we get stops, we’re tough to beat.”
Carmel, which drops to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in league play, also got double-figures out of Jordan. He had 13 points. Besides Motzel and Jordan, though, no one else had more than 5 points for the Corsairs.
“We gave a good fight, especially in the second half,” Carmel coach Tim Bowen said. “But when you have a strong, physical team like St. Viator and you’ve got to come back from so far down, it’s tough (to get over the hump). That was the difference tonight.”