St. Viator falls to Loyola at Steve Pappas Shootout
The St. Viator boys basketball team came within one-half second of beating Loyola Academy Saturday afternoon.
Connor Kochera's 3-point attempt went in but the buzzer had sounded an instant before, negating the score.
The Lions lost a tough one 40-39 in overtime at DePaul Prep in the second annual Steve Pappas shootout.
"On the play before," said St. Viator coach Quin Hayes, "we didn't box out twice at the other end of the court."
Matt Enghauser of Loyola pulled down a missed Rambler shot with six seconds left and was fouled going back up for a score.
Enghauser (13 points) made both free throws for the 40-39 score.
Aidan Harrington inbounded the ball for the Lions to Owen Hickey. Hickey found Kochera as time was winding down. Kochera had to take an extra step to avoid the Loyola defender. Time ran out.
"We did what we had to do today," said Hayes. "We want to play the best teams in the state, and hopefully we will get better from it. I think that happened tonight."
The contest was tight for the entire game. The Lions had a 5-point lead at 27-22 following Patrick Schumacher's 3-pointer with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
St. Viator (11-6) was able to get the ball right back but turned it over. That was the turning point the 17-1 Ramblers needed.
Bennett Kwiecinski scored 6 of the game's next 8 points for the Ramblers to pull within 29-28. Kwiecinski scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
Harrington and Loyola's Matt Mongan exchanged baskets that saw the Lions lead 31-30 at quarter's end.
St. Viator committed 6 turnovers in the quarter.
"Turnovers are a killer to every team," said St. Viator's Mike Campagna, who scored 9 points. "But they seem to be a real killer for us."
Kwiecinski scored all 6 of his team's points in the fourth quarter for a 36-34 lead with 3:46 left in the game.
Kochera (19 points) scored on an assist from Campagna with 3:30 left in the game.
The Lions had the last shot in regulation but Kochera's scoop shot missed. Campagna grabbed the rebound but his follow-up hit the side of the rim to force overtime.
"I think Loyola was a little off tonight and that helped us," said Hayes. "We double-teamed them down low and it worked for the most part. Our defense was really good."
"We had a whole week to prepare for Notre Dame (a 59-42 East Suburban Catholic loss Friday). Both teams are very good," said Campagna. "It came down to one more play and who wanted it more. They got the rebound and made the free throws. We want to learn from games like this where it's neck-and-neck. Those are games that mean something."
Loyola coach Tom Livatino was impressed with Kochera's play.
"He's a great player," said Livatino. "I thought our players put out a great effort individually and as a team. He's the best player I've seen this year period. He is in complete control of his game. He'll post you up, shoot off the dribble and can knock down 3s. He's real hard to guard."
The Lions' road show continues next week at St. Patrick Friday at 7 p.m.