Through the first half of its battle with St. Viator Friday night in Westchester, St. Joseph seemed to be picking up where it left off at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament.
The Chargers, who lost two games last week at Proviso West, made just three of 14 field-goal tries in the first quarter and nine of 33 for the half against St. Viator. They trailed the defending East Suburban Catholic champion by seven points at intermission.
“The first half, you saw a team with no confidence,” St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore said after the Chargers had rallied for a 49-47 triumph. “Our big men were just standing around. The second half was a real confidence-builder.”
St. Joseph (6-5, 3-1) took control in the third quarter, when it outscored the Lions 23-12. St. Joseph’s Marlon London (11 rebounds) scored eight of his 19 points and Rob Walls had nine of his 14 in the third to fuel the victors.
Walls opened the fourth quarter with a dunk off a pass from London to complete a 7-0 St. Joseph run and give the Chargers a 46-40 lead. St. Viator (8-6, 2-2) kept the game close, coming within two points on a basket by Mike Howland (16 points) with 25 seconds left, but the Lions missed shots in the final seconds.
St. Joseph’s Steve Chvatal, a senior playing in his first game of the season after injuring his leg, scored two points. The Chargers are still playing without the injured Mark Treadwell.
Argo 78, Oak Lawn 57: Marcus Mister totaled 22 points and 14 rebounds and Enos Taplin added 20 points and eight rebounds to guide Argo (10-3, 3-0) in the SICA North. Aaron Altenburg scored 15 for Oak Lawn (6-9, 0-3).
Brother Rice 70, Loyola 45: Pat Harvey sparked Brother Rice (11-4, 4-2) with 20 points in the Catholic League game. Loyola dropped to 4-11, 1-5.
Amundsen 50, Schurz 48: In the closing seconds, Jose Santiago tied the Public Blue North game for Amundsen with a free throw but missed his second attempt, which Michael Dequattro rebounded for the winning shot. Sergio Menendez scored 16 for Amundsen, which is 1-1 in league play. Schurz is 4-9, 0-2.
Antioch 55, Lake Forest 47: Chris Groth sparked Antioch (8-4, 3-2) with 22 points in the North Suburban. Gregory Belcher, Paul Griswold and Michael Pitt each scored 11 for Lake Forest (6-8, 2-3).
Chicago Latin 47, University High 37: Latin (8-5, 2-2), led by Tony Williams’ 15 points, outscored U-High 18-8 in the third quarter for the Independent School League victory. Justin Slaughter’s 15 ledr U-High (2-1 in league play).
Elgin Academy 75, Morgan Park Academy 47: Elgin Academy (9-3, 2-0 Independent League) jumped to a 51-27 halftime lead. David Timmons scored 20 points and Ryan Hurley added 16 for the Hilltoppers.
Lane Tech 78, Senn 40: Nick Johnson scored 17 points to lead Lane (4-8, 1-1 Public Red North).
Lemont 62, Ridgewood 44: Matt Frazier paced four players in double figures with 15 points for Lemont (8-5, 4-0) in the Suburban Prairie Blue. Tony Santucci’s 13 led Ridgewood (3-11, 1-3).
Lindblom 61, Harper 58: Shohn Williams (25 points) hit two free throws to seal the Blue Central victory for Lindblom. Miles Heard scored 21 for Harper.
Marist 38, Benet 33: Mike Reilly’s 16 points paced Marist (6-6, 2-2) in the East Suburban Catholic. Benet fell to 7-9, 1-3.
Notre Dame 55, Carmel 33: Notre Dame (9-3, 4-0) remained unbeaten in the East Suburban Catholic as Carmel was held to just 11 first-half points. Kevin Clancy had 12 to lead the victors.
Oak Forest 45, Thornton Fractional North 36: Packy MacFarlane (14 points) and Matt MacFarlane (13) helped Oak Forest (4-9, 1-2) prevail in the SICA Central. Letouer Turner scored 13 fourth-quarter points for T.F. North (8-6, 2-2).
Prosser 55, Mather 45: Marque Perry’s 19 points and Marcus Jordan’s 15 paced Prosser in the Public Red North.
St. Benedict 63, Holy Trinity 48: Troy White and Corey Seiner had 11 points apiece for St. Benedict (9-4, 4-1) in the Chicago Prep. Holy Trinity’s Michael Reed led all scorers with 13.
Steinmetz 61, Taft 54: Curtis Harris (17 points, eight rebounds) led Steinmetz (12-1, 2-0) in the Public Red North. Tavares Harrington had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Taft (8-5, 1-1).
Evanston 57, Niles West 31: Karlton Mims’ 13 points aided Evanston (9-4, 2-0) in the Central Suburban South. Brian Mierkiewicz tallied 12 for Niles West (5-8, 0-2).
Glenbrook North 56, Highland Park 42: Nick Robison scored 12 points to lead a balanced attack for Glenbrook North (9-5, 2-1) in the Central Suburban North. Seth Harris and Louie Lazar each scored 10 for Highland Park, which is 8-5 overall.
Rich East 51, Kankakee 50: Maurice Williams’ basket with 2 seconds left proved to be the game-winner for Rich East in the SICA South. Kankakee rallied from a 13-point deficit to take the lead but missed a front end of a one-and-bonus with 20 seconds left.
Gordon Tech 58, Providence 48: Gordon (10-4, 6-0) prevailed in the Catholic League as Hodges Smith scored 27. Tavaras Hardy had 23 for Providence (9-5, 3-4).
Bishop McNamara 52, St. Rita 46 (OT): Adam Wojnowski (18 points) scored on a layup to send the game into overtime, in which McNamara (5-10, 2-5) outscored St. Rita 11-5. Jason Kirstein scored seven of his 11 points in OT for the victors.
De La Salle 77, St. Laurence 67: Eddie Harvey’s 23 points and Courtney Bell’s 16 gave De La Salle (12-2, 5-1), which hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final period, the Catholic League triumph. Nick Mikal led all scorers with 32 for St. Laurence (7-8, 3-3).
Stagg 57, Andrew 51: Tim Bolognani’s 19 points led Stagg (7-7, 2-1) in the SICA West. Tom Nelson scored 21 for Andrew (10-6, 2-1).
Mundelein 75, Stevenson 63: Doug Rippberger scored a career-high 27 points to lead Mundelein (10-4, 4-1) to the North Suburban victory. John Fetterc’s 17 led Stevenson (8-5, 1-4).
Maine East 51, Glenbrook South 49 (OT): Dan Milojevic (13 points) hit two free throws with 9 seconds left in overtime to ice the Central Suburban South victory for Maine East (4-10, 1-2). Dwayne Phillipe led the victors with 22 points. Paul Elkins scored 14 for Glenbrook South (6-8, 0-2), which missed a last-second shot.
Libertyville 57, Warren 54: Jim Oboikowitch (21 points, 10 rebounds) hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to help Libertyville prevail in the North Suburban.
Maine South 77, Niles North 28: In the Central Suburban South, Eric Schmidt had 14 points as 13 players scored for Maine South (9-5, 1-1). Niles North fell to 4-10, 0-3.
Leo 67, Mt. Carmel 60: Leo won in the Catholic League behind Terrence West’s 22 points. Mike Smellie had 17 for Mt. Carmel (9-6, 4-3).
St. Patrick 60, Marian Catholic 54: Jack Maniscalco’s 13 points helped the Shamrocks (9-4, 4-0) prevail in the East Suburban Catholic. Mike Bohnenstiehl scored 15 for Marian (9-7, 3-2).
St. Ignatius 45, St. Francis de Sales 40: St. Ignatius (7-7) outscored De Sales 16-9 in the fourth quarter and held on in the Catholic League crossover. Jason Guiden led the Wolfpack with 16 points. De Sales is now 9-5.
Chicago Christian 71, Illiana Christian 65 (OT): In the Private School League, Chicago Christian (5-11, 3-3) rallied from a eight-point fourth-quarter deficit and prevailed in overtime. John Ahrens led the victors with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Quigley 67, St. Gregory 65: In the Chicago Prep, Quigley (6-9, 2-2) defeated St. Gregory for the first time in six years as Edgar Casas and Donald Higgins each scored 18. Aaron Artz had 29 points for St. Gregory (4-8, 1-3).
Luther North 69, Walther Lutheran 61: John Woods’ 19 points led Luther North (6-6, 2-3) in the Private School League.
Prairie Ridge 63, Dundee-Crown 59: Prairie Ridge (4-10, 3-4) held on in the Fox Valley as Chris McDonald led the way with 20 points. Jermaine Ferguson and Mike McKibben each had 20 for Dundee-Crown (5-9, 2-5).
Luther East 56, Mooseheart 55: In the Tollway Athletic, Gerry Alcantor (14 points) sank a free throw with 2 seconds left to give Luther East (1-10, 1-2) its first victory.
Weber 46, Hales Franciscan 41: Weber (3-10, 1-3) was victorious in the Catholic League with Charles Doyle’s 19 points and six assists. Hales was led by Lavon Drake’s 21 points.
