Kochera's 29 points lead St. Viator past Wheeling

Connor Kochera is considered one of the top 3-point shooters in the state. The St. Viator senior showed that he is dangerous wherever he has the ball.

Kochera hit five 3-pointers and scored 29 points Monday to lead the Lions past Wheeling 66-36 in the opening round of the 42nd annual Wheeling Hardwood Classic. When play resumes on Thursday, St. Viator (9-3) will meet Glenbrook South at 8:45 p.m.

St. Viator coach Quin Hayes said that Kochera does so much for his team.

"The unique thing about him is that he scores in so many ways," Hayes said. "We take away the 3-pointer and he can attack the rim now. You take away the 3 and attack the rim and he can post up. It is kind of like pick your poison."

"I was just letting it fly," said Kochera, the William & Mary recruit who also had 4 assists and 7 rebounds. "I let it come to the flow of the offense and just knocked it down. I had a slow start, but at halftime I knew I could come out and do my thing."

Wheeling coach Michael O'Keeffe, who was a 2007 graduate of St. Viator and a good scorer in his own right, said his team schemed to slow down Kochera.

"We tried to trap Kochera and get the ball out of his hands," O'Keeffe said. "At times it worked. At other times, he is 6-foot-5, he sees over our defense and is a really skilled player. He found the open man and he hurt us a little bit."

Kochera scored 10 points in the first half as the Lions opened up a 37-19 lead. Kochera then scored the next 19 points for Viator as the Lions pulled away to a 56-33 lead.

"He is another coach on the floor," Hayes said. "He is so versatile with his basketball skill. His basketball IQ is off the charts. When they can't hear me on the floor, he is the coach on the floor. And every team needs that and he does that for us as well."

Hayes was pleased to see his team get off to a good start in the Hardwood Classic.

"We were focused," Hayes said. "We took them out of the game early. It is a credit to our guys to come in so focused after we laid an egg last Saturday against DePaul Prep."

The Lions also came up with a solid defensive effort.

"We really emphasize defense in practice," the Lions' Michael Campagna said. "We go through an hour and half of defensive drills. It is just the backbone of this team."

Aidan Harrington added 10 points for the Lions while Campagna had 6 points on a pair of 3-pointers, Connor Benson also had 6 points while fan-favorite Matt Geary came of the bench to score a basket.

"It is a lot of fun cheering on these guys," Geary said. "It was great to get a chance to score thanks to a good pass from Aidan Harrington."

Wheeling (5-4) was led Javen Reid, who had 12 points on four 3-pointers and Joe Jordan who had 8 points.