Cold second quarter spells defeat for St. Viator

What St.Viator coach Joe Majkowski wouldn't give to replay the second quarter against Notre Dame on Friday night in Niles.

The Lions shot 3-for-12 and turned the ball over six times - which eventually led to a 72-62 loss to the Dons in East Suburban Catholic Conference boys basketball.

St.Viator shot 25 of 56 for 44 percent, while the Dons hit 29 of 51 for 56 percent.

"We're just puzzled on how things got away from us," Majkowski said. "We didn't execute in that quarter the way we wanted to. When they went to a (1-2-2) zone, it slowed the pace, and we didn't shoot well from the perimeter."

Junior forward Robert Pryor, a transfer from Evanston, came off the bench and did almost all of the damage to the Lions (11-5, 3-1) in the second quarter by scoring 14 of his 18 points.

"Once he got going it was tough to stop him," Majkowski said.

The Lions (12-4, 2-3) led 19-14 with 7:03 left in the half on an offensive-rebound basket by Chris Myjak (12 points, 8 rebounds).

The Dons went on a 13-2 run, with Pryor scoring 7 points. Richard McLoughlin (11 points) hit 2 free throws to pull the Lions to within 27-23 with 3:26 left - but Viator would get no closer.

Pryor hit a basket and then popped in a 3-pointer. Tim Hirsch (13 points) hit 2 straight baskets, and Pryor hit a final hoop before the half ended for a 38-23 lead.

"I began to step it up in practice," said Pryor. "This last week was a hard practice. Tonight I wanted to bring energy to the game and the hard work paid off."

The Lions pulled to within 46-37 with 3:04 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Jack Etchingham (11 points).

A 6-3 run to end the quarter put the Dons ahead a 52-40.

The Lions were unable to cut their deficit under double figures.

"I'm happy with the way we played the second quarter," said Dons coach Tom Les. "Beacuse of foul trouble, I switched to a zone and I think that might have confused them a little. They may have rushed some shots."

Quinton Chievous led Notre Dame with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Shawn Wallace added 13 points.

Alan Aboona led a balanced Lions attack with 13 points.

"Too many missed free throws early in the fourth quarter and turnovers hurt us," said Majkowski. "Everybody feels bad right now."