Boys basketball: St. Viator starts fast, tops Wauconda in Hardwood Classic opener
Saint Viator woke up early and was ready to roll Monday morning in the opening round of the Wheeling Hardwood Classic.
The Lions forced 7 turnovers in the first four minutes of the game to roar past Wauconda 72-35.
Saint Viator (6-4) will meet Deerfield in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 3:45. Deerfield beat Buffalo Grove 72-23.
With the game tied 2-2, Saint Viator, behind Henry Marshall, went on a huge run to blow the game open early. Marshall ignited a 15-0 run with a putback. He also had a three-pointer and a driving layup after a steal during the run.
“We wanted to knock them out with intensity,” said Marshall, who finished with a game-high 20 points for the Lions and did not play in the fourth quarter.
“It is a mission of ours to come out more intense and put them away early.”
Marshall, who just recently committed to MIT, said his team uses its defensive pressure to fuel its offense.
“It always starts with defense for us,” Marshall said. “Our best offense is when we are on defense. While we are good at half-court, we are at our best when we are running up and down the court. Lacking a big the last three years has really taught us that we need to learn how to play small ball. How to get open shots and run the floor. And our offensive rebounding just goes to show what kind of effort we put in.”
Marshall missed a pair of games due to an injury and the Lions dropped both contests. But he is healthy now and Viator coach Michael O’Keeffe said he is looking to the Hardwood Classic to measure how well his team can grow.
“We have had a unique six weeks,” O’Keeffe said. “We got of to a great start. We had some injuries and lost back-to-back-to-back games by one possession. We really challenged our guys that this is our week truly to come together as a team. And not only prove to everyone else, but to ourselves on who we are.”
The Lions got 11 points from Jack Leonard, 10 points and 7 rebounds from Jaylan Sziachetka, and 7 points each from Dayvion Ellis and Dawson Charles.
“I knew I had to play with confidence,” said Leonard, who scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter thanks to a trio of three-pointers.
“I have great teammates and a coach who believe in me.”
Wauconda, which was 16-14 a year ago and also played well in the Hardwood Classic last year, is also looking for this tournament as a measuring stick for a team that lost five starters. Coach Ty Weidner said his Bulldogs (1-9) will need to come up with a better effort.
“As far as progress today, honestly there was none,” Weidner said. “We regressed after where we were after the Mundelein and Dundee-Crown. That being said, there were some guys who earned some extra playing time battling in there.”
Wauconda, who will meet Buffalo Grove at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, was led by Tony Salemi, who had 7 points, and Alex Ortega and Leo Brinias, who each had 6 points.