Everything was going so easily for No. 16 Leo Monday night. Maybe too easily.
The Lions squandered a 19-point, second-half lead and held off Morgan Park 72-71 in the semifinals of the Lincoln-Way tournament in New Lenox.
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“We looked like two different teams at times,” Leo coach Mike Manderino said. “We were good in stretches and then we looked like a grammar school team. To have a 19-point lead and then win by one is not too impressive.”
Leo (11-2) controlled the game from the start, using a 13-0 run over four minutes to lead 18-6 after the first quarter. After Morgan Park (4-6) went on a 10-0 run in the second quarter, the Lions settled down, taking a 35-24 lead at half.
Leo opened the third quarter with a 8-0 run over the first 3:13, opening a huge 43-24 lead. The Mustangs made their move in the fourth quarter, rebounding from a 59-50 deficit with five minutes left.
The game appeared to be over when Morgan Park’s Brandon Mason (28 points) picked up his fourth foul with 1:10 left and the Lions up 67-59. In the next 1:05, Leo hit five of six foul shots while Mason drained three three-pointers.
With 4.6 seconds left and Leo up 72-68, the Lions Terrence West (10 points) missed both ends of the bonus. Morgan Park outletted the ball to Mason, who hit a 40-foot three-pointer as the horn sounded.
Sophomore center Andre Brown lead the Lions with 20 points and seven rebounds. Morgan Park’s Derrick Winston scored 17 points.
Richards dumped Lincoln-Way 69-50 in the other semifinal. Demetrius McDaniel scored 19 points and David Bridgewater 16 for the Bulldogs (10-1).
Pontiac: Simeon coach Bob Hambric earned his 400th victory as Simeon (2-3) ran past Gage Park 80-48. Pierre Greene led Simeon with 21 points and Bobby Simmons added 20.
“It’s just another game that we want to win,” Hambric said. “If you stay around long enough the law of averages are going to catch up with you and you’re going to get the wins.”
No. 7 Joliet (9-0) defeated Danville 68-61 behind Tywayne Myers’ 15 points and seven rebounds. . . . United Township denied West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman his 400th career win by upsetting the Blackhawks 50-49. Demetrius Hunter led United Township (6-3) with 14 points. Byron Thompson’s 14 points paced West Aurora (5-4). . . . Curie defeated Waukegan 56-49. Eric Dunn scored 16 points and Jeremy Harrington 14 for the Condors. . . . Vincent Hamilton’s 25 points and eight rebounds sparked Lockport (7-2) to a 50-33 victory over Niles West (4-7). . . . Warren outlasted Oak Park in double overtime 71-68. Jourdain Milot poured in 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Blue Devils (6-3). . . . Frank Williams’ 29 points and eight steals led Peoria Manual (9-1) to a 77-40 rout of Hales Franciscan (3-8).
Public League Classic: Imari Sawyer scored 25 points and Anthony Johnson added 22 as No. 3 King (8-2) moved into Tuesday’s final with a 61-58 victory over No. 11 DuSable. John Bebley and Theo Williams each had 18 for DuSable (9-2). . . . Quentin Richardson scored 23 points and Cordell Henry added 16 as No. 1 Young moved into the final with a 68-56 victory over Gary (Ind.) Westside.
Driscoll: Brother Rice topped Prosser 65-47 for the tournament title. Tom Pavljasevic’s 21 points and Pat Harvey’s 17 sparked Brother Rice.
Lemont: Lemont edged Plainfield 63-61 for the Class AA third-place win. Matt Frazier’s 15 points and five rebounds led Lemont (7-3).
Luther North: Quiande Moore scored 20 points, including four three-pointers, as No. 12 Zion-Benton (11-1) advanced to the title game. . . . Mather erased a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to edge Luther North 55-52 in the other semifinal. Darryl Clark’s 18 points led the Rangers (5-4).
Rockford: No. 13 Providence St. Mel knocked off Antioch 65-49 for the championship. Irving Richardson’s 18 points and Patrick Cunningham’s 13 put the Knights (11-2) on top. . . . Eddie Harvey, with 19 points, led four scorers in double figures for De La Salle (10-2) in the third-place game.