Boys basketball: St. Viator’s comeback falls short vs. Marist
St. Viator’s furious rally fell just a bit short Friday in Arlington Heights.
The Lions overcame a 15-point deficit late in the third quarter to surge ahead for a one-point lead against Class 4A power and ESCC conference rival Marist. But Viator couldn’t hang on and dropped a 59-53 decision.
“That is the great thing about this group, they never give up,” St. Viator coach Michael O’Keeffe said. “They never come up with excuses. And they just continue to fight.”
The loss ended the Lions’ 9-game winning streak. It also moved Viator (15-6, 4-1) out of sole possession of first place in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. The Lions are now in a 4-way tie with Marist (20-2, 4-1), Benet and St. Patrick.
Marist appeared on its way to an easy win over the Lions. Leading 21-20 at the half, the Redhawks hit their first six shots of the third quarter and scored on their first 8 possessions. It enabled Marist to scamper to a 44-29 lead with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.
The next five minutes became Henry Marshall time.
The St. Viator senior, who was limited to just 8 points at that point, exploded. He drove around and through the long-armed Marist squad. He scored 13 consecutive points for the Lions and 15 of the Lions’ next 17 points, including a rare 4-point play.
His basket with 3:56 to play put the Lions up 48-47. It capped an impressive 19-2 run by Viator with the Lions scoring the final 10 points.
“We just needed to put that third quarter behind us,” said Marshall, who finished with 30 points. “It was a whole new mindset. We just knew we had to go out and give it our best effort. And that’s what we did from one end of the bench to the other.”
Unfortunately for Viator, Marist’s offense then woke up.
The Redhawks scored the next 7 points to pull ahead 54-48 with 1:02 to play. Viator cut that margin to 55-53 on a pair of free throws by Marshall with 23.2 seconds left. Marist then drained four consecutive free throws to pick up the victory.
“We told our kids that Marist is definitely the most athletic team we will see all season,” O’Keeffe said. “They are a very talented team. We were down 15 and our guys kept fighting.”
St. Viator had got of to a solid start to begin the game. The Lions forced 7 Marist turnovers and Dawson Charles was red hot as Viator went ahead 15-8 early in the second quarter.
“That was just me playing my role,” said Charles, who is a sophomore and scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half.
“I play my role whether it is getting rebounds or points. I do what the team needs me to do.”
Marist, which was led by Marquis Vance’s 25 points and Rokas Zilys’ 12 points, went on a13-2 run to lead at the half.
Viator and Marshall will look to keep things rolling Saturday when Viator travels to Rockford Boylan. Marshall who scored 52 points in two games on Monday and 30 on Friday, will be looking to break the century mark for the week.
“Henry is a stud,” O’Keeffe said. “We have all seen it here at Viator. But I think a lot of people outside of Viator are seeing it now.”