LT Sports Roundup: Lions' Strong Showings at Holiday Basketball Tournaments [VIDEO]

The Lyons Township boys basketball team certainly didn’t look like a lineup that had won just one game prior to the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York.

On Friday, the unseeded Lions claimed seventh place in the 16-team field with their second tourney victory, 70-61 over seventh-seeded Maine South.

With an outstanding shooting display, LT (3-9) opened action by upsetting fourth-seeded Waubonsie Valley 80-71 Dec. 27 and nearly pulled off another upset in the quarterfinals but was edged by fifth-seed Naperville North 59-56 Dec. 28. The Lions then lost to unseeded St. Francis 72-57 Dec. 29.

Waubonsie Valley (9-4) went on to win the consolation bracket, Naperville North (8-4) finished fourth and St.  Francis (8-3) was sixth. LT resumes action with games at Downers Grove North and Waukegan Friday and Saturday.

“We got four games against really good teams, and in three of them, we played as well as we have all year,” LT coach Tom Sloan said.

“I’m just really glad that we bounced back from one of our worst performances of the year (against St. Francis) to play as we have all year (against Maine South). I’m happy for the kids. Yesterday was a real downer and to end with a really good game against a really good team and a win, it sends us into the new year on a real positive note.”

Senior guard Kenneth Smith led the Lions over the four games with 61 points and four three-pointers, along with team highs of 14 assists and eight steals plus 11 rebounds. Other standouts included junior Chris O’Reilly (56 points with 7 three-pointers, 10 rebounds, 5 assists), senior Matt Robare (44 points with 6 three-pointers, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks), junior Jarryd Heath (30 points with 6 three-pointers, 6 assists), senior Chris Antalek (25 points, team-high 13 rebounds), junior Matt Aikens (18 points with 2 three-pointers) and senior David Reed (11 points, 6 assists).

Against Maine South (7-6), LT scored on eight of its first 11 possessions and surged to a 19-9 lead. The Hawks kept coming, but the Lions responded every time.

After back-to-back treys by Maine South’s Andrew Vey (26 points with 8 treys) opened the third quarter and cut the lead to 42-34, LT got a trey from Reed and steal and basket from Smith on its next two possessions. When the Hawks closed to 63-56 with 5:05 to go, Robare nailed a three-pointer from the left corner. LT finished with 10 three-pointers in the game among five players.

In beating Waubonsie, the Lions held on after their lead was trimmed to four points twice in the fourth quarter.

“More than anything (we’ve gained) just confidence and instead of playing in a situation in the fourth quarter where we’re chasing team, this (Maine South) game and the Waubonsie games were really the first times that we’ve had to hold onto a lead,” Sloan said. “It’s something we hopefully will be in a position in again soon. We’ve got to do a good job of taking care of the ball and learning from the mistakes we made in those situations.”

The Lions shot 66 percent from the field (27 for 41) with eight treys after shooting 34 percent through their first eight games (141 for 417) with 23 treys. They also made 19 of 21 free throws.

Smith had 26 points on 9-for-10 shooting (7-for-7 on two-point shots) and also sank 9 of 10 free throws. After LT ended the third quarter with a 14-1 run to establish a 65-54 lead, Smith hit two more free throws early in the fourth quarter to extend the gap to 13 points.

Also in double figures were O’Reilly (18 points with 2 treys), Robare (14 points with 3 treys) and Antalek (12 points). Robare’s buzzer beater from beyond halfcourt put LT ahead 28-20 after one quarter.

“We shot the ball very well. That was really the key,” Sloan said.

Another Robare three-pointer tied the Lions’ game against Naperville North at 45-45 with 5:57 left, but the Huskies responded with a 7-0 run and led the rest of the way.

LT scored four straight points on a Robare trey and Smith free throw to close to 54-53 with 2:46 to go. Moments earlier, the Lions coaxed back-to-back steals with their pressing and trapping, but the Huskies handled the ball flawlessly on the ensuing possession for roughly two minutes.

The Huskies’ Kyle Lindberg hit his first three throw, and teammate Mike Keane got a key rebound of the missed second one and added another free throw for a three-point margin with 28.6 seconds left.

Naperville North’s Matt Stacho (13 points) made it 57-53 with his free throw with 8.9 seconds left, but Heath hit a three after missing one on the previous possession to make it a one-point game with 2.3 seconds left.

David Sinickas (11 points) made two free throws with 1.6 seconds left and Robare’s baseball-style full-court pass for a last-second shot was
intercepted. LT was 19-for-58 shooting (33 percent) with six treys.

“(Naperville North) did a really good job the last couple of minutes of taking care of the ball,” Sloan said. “They made most of their (late) free throws. We made a key mistake where they get a rebound off a free throw. We had a couple of three-point shots I thought were going to go in that didn’t. To the kids’ credit, they kept battling. I’m proud of the effort. It’s just too bad that we didn’t put the ball in the basket a couple of more times.”

LT trailed St. Francis 22-4 after one quarter and never got closer than eight points at 33-25 late in the second quarter. The Spartans, who had 10 treys for the game, opened their biggest lead at 56-35 early in the fourth quarter.

Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York

Lyons Township 70, Maine South 61
LT leaders: Matt Robare (15 points with 3 three-pointers), Chris O’Reilly (15 points with 3 three-pointers, 4 rebounds), Kenneth Smith (14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Jarryd Heath (8 points with 2 three-pointers), David Reed (7 points with 5 assists), Chris Antalek (6 points), Matt Aikens (5 points)

St. Francis 72, Lyons Township 57
LT leaders: O’Reilly (14 points with 2 three-pointers, 3 rebounds), Aikens (13 points, 5 rebounds), Smith (9 points), Jemari Burks (6 points on 2 three-pointers, 5 steals), Joe Carroll (4 points, 3 steals)

Naperville North 59, Lyons Township 56
LT leaders: Robare (13 points with 3 three-pointers, 3 rebounds), Smith (13 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals), Heath (10 points with 2 three-pointers), O’Reilly (9 points, 3 rebounds), Antalek (5 points, 6 rebounds)

Lyons Township 81, Waubonsie Valley 69
LT leaders: Smith (26 points with 2 three-pointers), O’Reilly (18 points with 2 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Robare (14 points with 3 three-pointers), Antalek (12 points, 4 rebounds), Heath (9 points, 3 rebounds)

LT girls basketball

The Lyons Township girls basketball team enjoyed its greatest comeback and nearly pulled off its biggest upset in recent memory at Wheaton North’s Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.

The Lions (9-4) finished fourth in the 16-team tournament with a disappointing 51-37 loss to West Aurora Dec. 29 after taking eventual champion and top-seeded Waubonsie Valley to limit in the semifinals, losing 47-43 Dec. 28 after taking a 30-20 lead with 6:03 left in the third quarter.

The No. 4 seed, the Lions defeated fifth-seeded Elk Grove 38-31 in the quarterfinals Dec. 27 after once trailing 23-5 in the second quarter. LT opened by beating winless Elgin 70-15 Dec. 26.

Senior guard Colleen Connors was named to the 10-player, all-tournament team. LT, which a top-four finish at the Falcon Classic for the first time since taking third in 2004, returns to action with West Suburban Conference Silver Division games at home against Downers Grove North Friday and at Oak Park-River Forest Saturday.

“We made a giant stride (against Waubonsie Valley) and then we took a step back (against West Aurora) ,” second-year LT coach Katie Meyers said. “I’d say we’re still ahead of the curve right now. We’ve got a few days to recover and rest, but we’ve got to come back really hard and get ready for our (Downers North) game.

“It was unfortunate that things fell apart (against West Aurora) like they did because they girls fought so hard (against Waubonsie) and I really wanted them to come out with a third-place trophy. Going into the new year, we have to work on being a consistent team, playing the same way every single game no matter who we play, not just show up for the glory games.”

Connors scored 51 points over the four games with five three-pointers, scoring in double figures every game and hitting 18 of 22 free throws. She also had 17 rebounds and a team-best 10 steals.

Other LT leaders included junior Ashanti Davis (29 points with 2 three-pointers, 14 rebounds, team-high 7 assists, 4 steals), freshman Victoria Swift (28 points with 4 three-pointers, 10 rebounds, 4 steals), sophomore Kayla Morrissey (19 points, 12 rebounds), senior Clare Polega (16 points, team-high 18 rebounds) and junior Sara Beck (18 points, 15 rebounds). Beck came on strong the final two games after returning to action briefly against Elk Grove, her first game since suffering a concussion.

The Lions led Waubonsie (12-1) at halftime 24-20 and opened the second half with back-to-back baskets by Morrissey on second chances and a bucket from Connors to open a 10-point lead. The Lions still led 36-28 on an inside basket by Beck off a pass from Davis, but the Warriors scored the last basket of the third quarter and opened the fourth with an 7-0 lead to pull ahead 37-36 with 6:26 left.

Connors hit a key three and another basket for LT’s last lead at 43-42 with 1:16 left. The Warriors got an inside basket from Rachael Ross and a steal and two more points on two sets of free throws from Becky Williford, the second after her missed second free throw was rebounded by teammate Gratia Brooks. Williford added a key final free throw with 7.2 seconds left after a missed trey and then traveling call on LT, only its 10 turnover in the game.

“The bottom line was we outrebounded them for (most of) the game, but the critical rebounds they got were on second-chance points in the latter part of the third and fourth quarters and that’s where they would regain momentum,” Meyers said.

Against sixth-place Elk Grove (8-6), LT was down 13-3 after the first quarter and saw the Grenadiers score the first six points of the second quarter and build an 18-point advantage.

The Lions scored the last six points of the second half to close to 23-13 by halftime. They then outscored Elk Grove 7-2 in the third quarter with five points from Connors and opened the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run behind Davis (8 points) and Connors and Polega (2 points each) to storm ahead 32-25.

After Elk Grove got as close as 34-31 with 13.4 seconds, but Swift was 4-for-4 on two sets of free throws to seal the victory. LT sank 15 of 18 free throws for the game.

“It’s the most gratifying win I think I’ve had as a coach in the respect that we’ve never been down that much to come back for a victory,” Meyers said. “Our coaching staff made some adjustments and the players followed through, but the coaches only can do so much. The players have to execute and they did a great job. Every single person was invested into following through on the mission.”

No comeback happened against unseeded West Aurora (7-7). After two emotional games, the Lions came out sluggish and trailed 12-0 less than three minutes into the game. LT never got closer than nine points twice during the first half and fell behind as many as 22 points early in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve gotten down in the first quarter quite often and most of the time we’ve battled back. I say, ‘How did we do that? Great job, girls. But it’s bound to catch up to you.’ Some teams aren’t going to let go of that momentum and West Aurora was someone who held on to that momentum,” Meyers said.

“We did a lot of things well against Waubonsie and did very few things well today. As awful as that sounds, the girls know that. We don’t have to harp on it. We need to move on and let this go. The good thing about a basketball season is it does offer an opportunity for the girls to learn through mistakes. It’s inevitable.”

Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North

West Aurora 51, Lyons Township 37
LT leaders: Sara Beck (11 points, 8 rebounds), Colleen Connors (10 points, 4 rebounds), Victoria Swift (5 points), Maggie Orlowski (4 points, 3 rebounds), Ashanti Davis (3 rebounds), Clare Polega (3 points, 5 rebounds)
27 turnovers

Waubonsie Valley 47, Lyons Township 43
LT leaders: Connors (15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals), Swift (7 points, 4 rebounds), Beck (7 points, 7 rebounds), Kayla Morrissey (6 points, 6 rebounds), Davis (5 points, 4 assists), Polega (3 points, 6 rebounds)

Lyons Township 38, Elk Grove 31
LT leaders: Connors (14 points with 7-for-7 free-throw shooting, 8 rebounds, 3 steals), Davis (8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals), Swift (8 points, 3 rebounds), Polega (4 points, 6 rebounds), Morrissey (4 points, 5 rebounds)

Lyons Township 70, Elgin 15
LT leaders:  Connors (14 points with 2 three-pointers, 5 rebounds), Davis (14 points, 6 rebounds), Swift (8 points with 2 three-pointers), Taylor Bastyr and Morrissey (7 points each), Polega (6 points, 3 rebounds), Katie Callahan (4 points, 5 rebounds), Morgan Houk (3 steals)

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