Lake Park edges out St. Viator
Eric Eicholz scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday to lead Lake Park to a 62-59 win over St. Viator and a berth in tonight's semifinals of the 33rd Annual Wheeling Wildcat Hardwood Classic.
Lake Park will face Niles North, a 62-46 quarterfinal winner over Wheeling, at 8:45 p.m., and St. Viator will face the tourney host Wildcats at 5:30.
Eicholz made 3 baskets and all 8 of his free throws in the fourth quarter, and the Lancers needed practically every one of those points.
"Coach has been working with me on my free throws," Eicholz said. "Once I hit the first one, I'm confident I can hit the next."
"He plays loose and relaxes at the end," said Lake Park coach Josh Virostko. "At the end of the game, he doesn't get rattled. He's a 90 percent foul shooter."
St. Viator trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter after Carlos Cortez' 2 free throws made it 47-37, but the Lions put together a rally that cut the deficit to a single point, 55-54, on Chris Myjak's free throw.
Eicholz made a pair of free throws with 44.6 seconds and and another pair with 21.3 seconds remaining to make it 59-54.
Myjak scored 15 of his team-best 17 in the fourth quarter, including a pair of free throws with 17.6 seconds left and a 3 pointer with 4.0 seconds left, which cut the margin to 61-59.
"We started looking for him," St. Viator coach Joe Majkowski said. "That's what we need from him."
Dominique Spencer (16 points and 12 rebounds) made the first of 2 free throws, and a desperation shot from beyond half court missed the mark at the horn.
"When things go against us, we didn't give up," Majkowski said. "I'm glad to see our kids battle."
The Lancers (9-3) rebounded from an 18-6 deficit late in the first quarter by outscoring St. Viator (8-2) 26-6 over the last 10:01 of the first half, and led 32-24 at halftime. Spencer scored 8 points in that run.
"In the first quarter, we were on our heels defensively, and they went at us," Virostko said. "We settled down, and our defense let us back into the game. That was the difference."
St. Viator clawed its way back into the game and trailed 41-37 after three quarters.
"We seemed a little winded in the third quarter," Virostko said. "Our energy dropped in the third quarter."
D.J. Morris scored 14 points for St. Viator and added 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
Niles North 62, Wheeling 46: Niles North was not about to let Wheeling continue to build momentum from its first-round upset in its 33rd annual Wildcat Hardwood Classic boys basketball tournament.
The Vikings turned up the defensive pressure early and used strong ball movement to keep it up offensively as it put away the feisty Wildcats 62-46 in Tuesday night's final quarterfinal game.
"They dictated the tempo and pace of the game from the start," said Wheeling coach John Clancy, whose team gave Vernon Hills its first loss Monday. "We knew we were going to play some stifling pressure defense and we didn't respond."
The Wildcats (4-6) committed 23 turnovers and shot just 35 percent (14-for-40) from the field to wind up in today's 5:30 p.m. game against St. Viator, a 62-59 loser to Lake Park.
"They're a great team and we knew they were going to pressure us all game," said Wheeling junior Charlie Kirk, who scored a career-high 14 points. "It took us a little by surprise. We tried to keep on pushing through it but (Abdul) Nader wore us down.
"We talked about it after the game and we couldn't really get what we wanted to establish offensively. We didn't get a flow on offense going."
And Niles North (7-4), which plays Lake Park in the 8:45 p.m. semifinal, did as the New Mexico-bound Nader had 19 points and 5 of his team's 16 assists against Wheeling's 1-3-1 zone. Andre Shaw came off the bench to get 15 points and 8 rebounds and Malachi Nix had 4 assists.
"Wheeling is a very well-coached team and we knew they were going to be prepared and we knew they were going to believe they could win the game," said Niles North coach Glenn Olson. "In our walk-through we probably went through five or six different defenses. But no matter what defense they're playing we're sharing the basketball and getting great shots."
Matt Hart added 8 points for Wheeling but foul trouble also limited guard and scoring leader Tyler Shapiro's minutes and production to 5 points. Niles North also shackled Ricky Schwind to 4 points and 1-for-2 on 3-pointers after he hit seven on Monday.
"The way they executed tonight, they're a scary, dangerous team," Clancy said of Niles North.
Marty Maciaszek
Maine West 57, Streamwood 45: Maine West rebounded from its worst loss of the season with a 57-45 victory over Streamwood on Tuesday in the consolation bracket of the 33rd annual Wheeling Wildcat Hardwood Classic. Junior Conor Hart scored 22 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field and 10-for-14 on free throws for the Warriors (7-3), who lost their tourney opener 75-51 to Lake Park. Odera Eneogwe had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Paul Solka and Kevin Garcia added 8 points apiece. Maine West will play at 2 p.m. today against Carmel (4-9), a 65-55 winner over Vernon Hills. Mike Montgomery's 14 points led Streamwood (3-9), which plays at 10:30 a.m. against Vernon Hills.
Connersville (Ind.) 52, Westminster Christian 41: Ian Dutcher had 17 points and Brandon Cork added 14 but the Warriors (8-2) fell in the opening round of the Wettig Memorial Tournament in Richmond, Ind.