Hernandez' big day lifts St. Viator over Oswego East
St. Viator's Jerry Hernandez and Oswego East's Raymond Dennis have known each other since second grade. They've played AAU basketball together for Chicago Select.
Saturday afternoon they were able to go head-to-head at Mt. Carmel's annual Team Rose Basketball Spectacular.
And spectacular it was between Hernandez and Dennis.
Hernandez scored 36 points including hitting 11 of 14 from the free-throw line as the Lions improved to 6-1 with a 72-69 hair-raising win over the Wolves. Dennis scored 34 points including an incredible 26 points in the fourth quarter alone.
"We've know each other for a long time," said Hernandez. "I knew this was going to be a tough matchup for us. But we came out and showed people what we've got. After I committed to Kent State my family told me just to go out and have fun."
Hernandez had a lot of fun in the first quarter by scoring his team's first 10 points and giving the Lions a 10-2 lead. But Oswego East (6-1), one of the highly ranked teams in the Chicago area, tied the game at 13.
Hernandez finished the quarter scoring his team's final 8 points as St. Viator led 21-13 at quarter's end.
The Lions kept the Wolves at arm's length at halftime (31-20, and 43-31 after three quarters) and would never give up the lead.
"We played really good ball for three quarters," said St. Viator coach Quin Hayes. "We didn't handle their pressure very well in the fourth quarter and that's something that we are going to have to get better at.
"Still, the kids had everything to do with getting the win. All the players that were out there played and lived up to their roles."
Following Connor Kochera's putback basket with 4:03 left in the game, the Lions led 56-44.
Sam Schultz, who finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds, started the comeback for the Wolves with a 3-pointer. Then, Demari Grant (11 points) and Dennis began hitting from the field.
Oswego East closed to 65-61 with 56 seconds left on two Dennis free throws.
Hernandez hit the first of two free throws with 50 seconds to play then stole the ball to score with 38 seconds left for a 68-61 Lions lead. Kochera scored on a long inbound pass from Hernandez for a 70-62 lead, Schultz hit 4 free throws before Treyvon Calvin's 2 free throws sealed the deal at 72-66 before Dennis' 3-pointer with two seconds left accounted for the final score.
"Jerry has improved each year he's played for me," said Hayes of Hernandez. "He's an excellent player and an excellent leader. Our team is coached by the players on the floor. They want to take ownership."
Calvin, who scored 21 points and was a perfect 8 of 8 at the free-throw line, saw the win as a building block.
"This was just a great atmosphere," said Calvin. "It's still early in the season and this was a good win for us. Everyone filled their roles and we got it done. Their pressure bothered us and we've got to be able to not let that beat us."