St. Patrick beats St. Viator

St. Viator found out Saturday night what St. Patrick’s boys basketball team can do when Jacob Williams and Kortney Darby both come to play.

Williams and Darby showcased their talent in sweeping past the Lions 68-58 in Chicago.

Williams scored 26 points with 11 rebounds and Darby scored 18 points with 12 rebounds as the Shamrocks improved to 12-11 and 5-5 in the East Suburban Catholic. The Lions dropped to 12-9 and 4-6.

“They are two really good players,” said St. Viator coach Joe Majkowski.

St. Viator hung tough and trailed 15-14 after the first quarter. The Lions led 22-20 with 4:30 left in the first half when St. Patrick coach Mike Bailey switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense.

“St. Viator was getting inside and getting some penetration,” said Bailey. “Our extended 1-3-1 took away a lot of their penetration. The other thing that made a difference is that we didn’t put them at the line (Viator was 16-for-23 in a 54-51 overtime win Dec. 10). They had to earn their points from the outside.”

The Lions ended up shooting 19 of 46 while the Shamrocks hit 22 of 42 overall and 12 of 17 from the field in the second half.

St. Patrick hit 9 fo 9 free throws in the first quarter and 23 of 29 for the game to stay ahead.

With Kevin Walsh providing most of the Lions offense with 24 points including four 3-pointers, St. Viator tied the score at 39-39 with 2:19 left in the third quarter on 2 free throws by D.J. Morris (10 points).

The Shamrocks finished the quarter with a 10-0 run which was started by a 3-point basket by Williams and ended with two baskets by Mahlike Graham.

St. Pat’s Elijah Watson gave the Shamrocks a 59-43 with 3:34 left in the game.

While Colin Carney, Walsh and Morris all hit 3 pointers down the stretch, the Shamrocks hit 7 of 9 free throws. Chris Myjak added 12 points for the Lions.

“With their 1-3-1 zone they made it tough on us with their arm length and quickness,” said Majkowski. “We just didn’t execute when we needed to on both ends of the floor.”