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St. Viator bounces back, downs St. Pat's

St. Viator's Jeremiah Hernandez and Jack Mahoney were on opposite sides of the spectrum Friday night at Cahill Gymnasium.

In St. Viator's 60-42 boys basketball win over visiting St. Patrick, Hernandez scored 21 points and Mahoney none, but both played key roles in the East Suburban Catholic win.

"Mahoney just did a great job in keeping (St. Patrick's Joseph) Fanning out of the paint and not allowing an inside game, " said St. Viator coach Quin Hayes. "Jack's getting better and better for us every game. He still has those football legs but now with more playing time I'm going to start expecting him to score. He has a nice shot. He brings that toughness/heart on the floor for us. In practice he does things you have to do to help the team. He works to get better every day."

Mahoney knows what his role is.

" I bring hustle and do the dirty stuff on the floor, " said Mahoney. "My job was to keep the big men out of the middle. Right now it's important for us to get everyone involved. For me, when the points come they come."

The Shamrocks (10-10, 0-4) used balanced scoring and quickness to stay in the game in the first half.

Austin Freeman (10 points, 8 rebounds) had 2 steals in the first half to go with 6 points. Nick Cioffi (10 points) scored 7 points in the first half.

Hernandez, with the help of junior Connor Kochera, began to break open the game in the third quarter after the Lions led 23-19 at halftime.

Hernandez keyed the start of the third quarter with a basket and then a 3-pointer. Kochera, who scored 17 points including five 3-pointers, hit from long range. Michael Campagna's steal and a following slam dunk by Hernandez gave the Lions (15-4, 3-1) a 33-19 lead with 5:07 left in the quarter.

St. Patrick chipped away to trail 41-30 after the third quarter.

More balanced scoring from the Lions in the fourth quarter helped them build a 55-35 lead with 3:27 left in the game.

"Hernandez and Kochera are two excellent players," said Hayes. "There play has been consistent all season. Jerry did a heckuva job for us in the third quarter. It's what you expect from a leader."

With the loss to Trey Calvin's broken left hand the Lions regrouped in practice this week.

"We knew we're still a good team," said Hernandez.

"This week we had three real good days of practice that helped get us prepare for tonight. When Trey was hurt last week we didn't have time to prepare for two really good teams (Notre Dame and Waukegan). Our defense keeps us in games and we have enough offense. What's good about our situation is that the other players know they can play well and contribute."

St. Viator shot 21 of 43 from the field and the Shamrocks 17 of 32.

The Lions won the rebounding battle 23-15 and only committed 9 turnovers.

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