While it’s nice to be conference champion, coaches Ken Styler of Marist and Gene Pingatore of St. Joseph don’t mind sharing this season’s East Suburban Catholic title.
St. Joe secured a share of its 14th straight conference title with a 60-59 victory over Benet on Friday. Marist, a 52-48 winner over Notre Dame, gained a share of the title for the first time in 18 years. Both have 11-3 league records.
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Rodney Horton scored 22 points and Brandon Kelly 11 in St. Joseph’s victory, while Dave Steward finished with 16 points and Pat Fagen 13 for Benet (13-12, 8-5).
“This is the 14th year for us (to have either tied or win the conference) and I’m very pleased,” said Pingatore. “Benet is a very tough team, but we held on and are playing well going into the postseason.”
Marist, trailing Notre Dame 44-43 late in the fourth quarter, got four straight free throws from Dan Michalak down the stretch. Dan Cahill led the Redskins with 16 points and Ed Saidat added 11.
“A lot of these kids weren’t even born when we last won the conference,” said Styler. “I give this team high praise for not quitting.”
Naperville North 74, Wheaton-Warrenville South 47: Sean Jones’ 27 points powered Naperville North (21-3, 12-2) in the Du Page Valley.
Lyons 53, Oak Park 41: Mike Warkentien scored all 13 of his points in the second half to lead No. 11 Lyons (21-4, 11-1) in the West Suburban Silver. Steve Liedtke and Dennis Carroll added 12 apiece. Idris Osei-Agyeman’s 18 paced Oak Park (15-10, 6-6).
Downers Grove South 75, Morton 36: Adam Shafer (16 points) led the Downers South attack in the West Suburban Gold.
Downers Grove North 56, Glenbard West 43: Jonathan Redd’s 12 points helped lead Downers South past Glenbard West in the West Suburban Silver. Jon Brackmann finished with 20 for West.
West Chicago 46, Wheaton North 42: Dante Norwood scored 19 points to help West Chicago (13-11, 5-9) capture the Du Page Valley contest.
West Aurora 50, East Aurora 43: Doron Massie scored 29 points for West Aurora.
Hinsdale South 67, Leyden 51: Mike Campagno and Jon Bischmann scored 14 points apiece to lead Hinsdale South (7-17, 5-8) in the West Suburban Gold.
St. Patrick 71, Carmel 59: Kevin Buford scored 21 points as the Shamrocks cruised in the East Suburban Catholic. Dan Stasiek and Bob Glaziek scored 13 points apiece for Carmel.
St. Viator 68, Holy Cross 53: Brian Kopp led the St. Viator with 26 points in the East Suburban Catholic. Tommie McNeal finished with 12 points for the Crusaders.
Leo 58, Fenwick 57 (OT): Mike Poleski (17 points) rebounded a missed shot at the buzzer to lift Leo in the Catholic League. Poleski’s earlier buzzer-beater forced overtime. Prentice Baker’s 30 topped Leo.
Glenbrook South 73, Niles North 63: Aaron Baskerville scored 17 points to lead Glenbrook South (18-7) to the non-conference victory. Mike Gussis lead Niles North with 25.
Class A regionals
At Luther North: Tony Lara scored 21 points, Foster Moore 18 and Tony Keys 15 as St. Gregory (17-10) downed Latin 68-65 to win the regional.
Latin’s Alexi Giannoulias scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half, including four three-pointers, as Latin built a 37-30 lead. Alan Ferguson paced Latin with 28 points.