Myjak tips St. Viator into Wheeling semis
Sophomore Chris Myjak put back a missed Julian Sipiora jumper as time expired in overtime, giving St. Viator a 58-56 victory over Stevenson in the quarterfinals of the 32nd annual Wheeling Wildcat Hardwood Classic Tuesday.
The Lions (11-2) will face Deerfield at 8:45 p.m. today in the semifinals, and Stevenson is paired with Vernon Hills in the 5:30 game.
Stevenson rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit and led for the first time at 39-38 when Jeff Levitt scored to open the fourth quarter.
Levitt (game-high 18 points) and Nate Johnson (15) led the Patriot surge by combining for 11 points in the third quarter and 12 more in the fourth.
The Patriots forced the overtime when Johnson scored with 33.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
St. Viator overcame a poor free-throw shooting night, making 15 of 30. The Lions missed 6 straight down the stretch. In overtime, Sipiora hit a pair, and Richard McLoughlin (15 points) was 1 of 2.
McLoughlin's free throw gave St. Viator a 56-54 lead with 30.8 seconds left.
"We shot our free throws well (Monday) night," St. Viator coach Joe Majkowski said. "It's one of those things."
Levitt tied it with 20.6 seconds left, and St. Viator called timeout to set up a play for the last shot.
"We wanted Rich to go 1-on-1, but the play broke down," Majkowski said. "They did a good job."
"It's a tough way to lose," Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose said. "We did enough things right.
"Give them credit. We should have boxed out better (on the last shot)."
Sipiora shot from the right wing, and the rebound went right to Myjak, who put the ball in the basket at the buzzer.
"It felt amazing," Myjak said of his game-winner. "We're usually not that bad (at the foul line), but we battled through it."
St. Viator played most of the way without point guard Alan Aboona, who left the game with a broken nose less than four minutes into the contest.
"We're happy for the guys who played," Majkowski said. "It was a nice win. I feel good for the kids. They battled hard."