Viator sticks with it, sinks Streamwood

This time St. Viator made sure it didn't stumble elsewhere when its shots weren't falling.

The Lions missed 19 of their first 23 attempts from the field against Streamwood in Monday's first-round game of the 33rd annual Wheeling Wildcat Hardwood Classic boys basketball tournament.

But the Lions (8-1) kept defending and rebounding until shots finally started dropping in their 56-42 victory.

"Hersey was a big wakeup call for us and we had to rebound after that one," Viator senior Quinn Murray said of an 81-62 loss Dec. 18. "It was just important for us to get back in the flow of things."

Murray, a 6-foot-1 senior, helped set the defensive tone with a steal on the game's first possession as the Lions advanced to today's 7:15 p.m. quarterfinal against Lake Park (8-3), a 75-51 winner over Maine West.

He guarded perimeter players and 6-8 Josh Harris and 6-2 Julius Evans inside as Streamwood (3-8) shot just 41.9 percent from the field (18-for-43), committed 20 turnovers and was outrebounded 31-26.

"Quinn is a very smart player," said Viator coach Joe Majkowski. "He knows what he has to do on defense no matter who he is guarding, and he's athletic. He did a very good job."

And Murray, who had 6 points and 5 rebounds, knows his role.

"We have guys on the floor for specific reasons for their offensive skills," Murray said. "I'm one of the guys who will be out there for defense."

The Lions got it rolling offensively after Streamwood tied it at 19-19 in the first 30 seconds of the second half. They made 14 of their last 25 shots from the field as Kevin Walsh had a game-high 16 points and D.J. Morris hit three second-half 3-pointers and scored 13 of his 15 points.

Viator also got a big lift inside from 6-1 junior Nick Abel as he scored all 11 of his points in the second half.

"It was an incredible effort from him and we really needed that," Murray said.

"What a job by him," Majkowski said of Abel. "He loves playing in there and uses his body well. He moves his feet well defensively and he played as hard as he could.

"I'm not sure if we win the game if Abel doesn't have the kind of game he had."

Streamwood, which plays Maine West at 12:15 p.m., got 13 points and 6 rebounds from Mike Montgomery, 10 third-quarter points from Evans and 9 points from Tim Cohen.