McDonald, Vernon Hills complete weekend sweep of Maine West
Old McDonald had a ... game.
Quite a game.
Vernon Hills senior Josiah McDonald, that is. The Cougars' lone senior on the varsity boys basketball team - "We have more senior team managers than we have senior players," cracked VH coach Matt McCarty - poured in 17 of his 19 points in the second half of VH's 52-47 defeat of visiting Maine West Saturday afternoon.
The 6-foot-1 guard scored 8 of his team's first 10 points in the fourth quarter, with 6 coming on a pair of treys, and capped the matinee's scoring with a field goal following a steal and an acrobatic save from junior teammate Justin St. Louis.
Vernon Hills (2-3, 2-0 in the Central Suburban League North) led 50-47 when an alert St. Louis disrupted a Maine West possession and vaulted his 6-foot frame out of bounds underneath VH's basket to bat the ball back and retain possession.
Seconds later, McDonald's bucket turned it into a two-possession game. Neither team scored in the final 1:42.
The Blues play hockey in St. Louis.
Vernon Hills' St. Louis gave Maine West's Warriors (0-3, 0-2) the blues with his all-out hustle.
"Justin showed a lot of awareness on that play," praised McCarty, whose club had topped Maine West 64-58 - after enjoying a 34-15 lead - Friday night in Des Plaines. "I also liked the job he did defensively on (MW standout and Loras College-bound Jared) Pearson (game-high 20 points).
St. Louis finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds. Modest stats, yes. Not so quiet: his presence, his smarts, his steadiness.
Cougars junior Erik Rimas, a football recruit, passed like an accurate quarterback on hardwood Saturday. A tight end/defensive lineman in his other sport, the 6-5 Rimas (7 points, 10 rebounds) shoved a lengthy assist to wide-open sophomore guard Milan Rival (7 points) near the end of the first quarter. He later zipped another point-guard-like delivery to classmate Vincent Rodkey, who then hit a field goal to put the hosts up 46-40 at 5:16 of the fourth quarter.
VH guard Nick Heiser's second 3-pointer in the second quarter secured the biggest lead, 23-11, of the contest. All 8 of the 5-foot-11 junior's points came in the first half, and he ranked second among teammates in rebounds, with 7.
Maine West junior forward Conor McAndrews tossed in 12 points.
"We're still hesitant in securing rebounds and loose balls," said Warriors coach Tom Prokopij, whose squad trailed 26-25 at the half. "Today, too often, we'd get a stop and then fail to finish the possession.
"We still have a lot of work to do. We're young."