Viator coach Joe Majkowski doesn’t really believe in zone defense. But against a St. Joseph team with vastly superior quickness and jumping ability he felt he had no choice but to play a 2-3 zone.
It worked in the first half, with St. Joe’s flailing away helplessly from the outside as the Lions built a 28-21 halftime lead. But one reason many coaches don’t like to play a zone is because it is harder to rebound out of it. And that’s the problem the Lions faced, as St. Joe’s scored 23 points in the third quarter and held on for a narrow 49-47 victory over St. Viator Friday night in Westchester.
“We don’t play a zone that often, but it helps us in a game like this in one respect,” said Majkowski. “But you have to know how to rebound out of it.”
The Chargers outrebounded the Lions 25-15. St. Joe’s pounded the offensive boards to grab 14 offensive rebounds, topping St. Viator by nine.
Marlon London, a 6-foot-3-inch senior, did most of the damage, scoring a game-high 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, eight off the offensive glass.
But in the first half, the zone did its job as the Chargers (6-5, 3-1) threw up brick after brick from the outside. St. Joe’s could hit only 3-of-14 shots in the first quarter. The Lions (8-6, 2-2) attacked the basket and got to the free throw line early and often.
The Lions hit 9-of-10 free throws in the first quarter, as they grabbed an 11-7 lead after 8 minutes despite scoring only one field goal in the first quarter.
A fast-break layup by Bryant Bocinsky gave the Lions a 19-9 lead with 5:20 left in the second quarter, as the Chargers missed their first six shots of the second quarter. At the half, St. Joe’s had taken 33 shots but made only 9 of them, while the Lions had made 6 of 15. The Lions outscored St. Joe’s 14-3 from the charity stripe in the first half.
But in the second half, St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore instructed his team to take the ball inside and began to press full court.
“The first half we were playing with no confidence,” said Pingatore. “When we turned up the defense it also got us moving up and down the floor offensively.”
Pingatore also moved London inside.
“He is a very talented kid,” Pingatore said. “We put him inside because we felt there was no one who could stay with him. You have to go inside, you just can’t rely on outside shooting.”
London and Rob Walls (14 points) combined for 18 of the Chargers’ 23 third-quarter points, as they used their quickness and leaping ability to dominate the offensive boards. London tied the game at 32-32 with 4:08 left in the third quarter as he completed a 9-0 St. Joseph run with a basket inside.
But the Lions hung tough and beat the Charger press for two easy buckets. A monster dunk by Walls put the Chargers up one, but Mike Howland (16 points) hit a runner to give the Lions their last lead at 40-39 with 1:26 left in the third.
But then the Chargers went on a decisive 7-0 run to grab a 46-40 lead on another dunk by Walls with 6:37 left in the game. Sophomore Tony Papanicholas (nine points) stopped the bleeding with his third three-pointer of the night with 5:26 left.
Then the Chargers held the ball in an attempt to force the Lions out of their zone. But St. Viator just extended its zone as the Chargers played keep away. The Chargers milked the clock for four minutes before London was fouled.
With 1:26 remaining, London hit one free throw to put the Chargers up 47-43. Brian Lacny (six points) scored on a drive and was fouled with 1:13 left, but a Viator player stepped into the three-point arc as Lacny held the ball at the free throw line and was called for a lane violation.
Larry Sanders scored his only bucket on the night on a drive with 35 seconds left to put the Chargers up 49-45. Howland answered right back with a driving layup 10 seconds later.
Then the Lions caught a break as Walls missed a layup with 14 seconds remaining and Lacny grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 12 seconds left.
But St. Joes had two fouls to give and they used both. After a Viator timeout, Lacny inbound the ball to Howland with just 7 seconds left. Howland was double-teamed and passed back out to Lacny, who shot a wide open three-pointer short with 2 seconds left. London grabbed the ball on the floor as time expired.
“We wanted the ball in Mike’s hands and we wanted Mike to do the right thing,” said Majkowski. “If he was open, take the shot. If he wasn’t open, find the open man. Certainly there was an open man and he found him.”
