Morris, St. Viator speed past Maine West
St. Viator senior point guard D.J. Morris and been searching for a breakout game.
He found it in the 34th Annual Wildcat Hardwood Classic in Wheeling on Tuesday night.
“I’ve needed to get myself more under control,” Morris said. “I worked with the coaches on changing speeds. I realized I had been going so fast that I was out of control.”
Morris connected on 8 of 12 shots, including 4 of 5 from the 3-point arc for a season-high 22 points to go with 5 assists as the Lions ran over Maine West 62-42 in first-round play.
“I thought before the game that D.J. had alot of energy,” said Lions coach Mike Howland, who saw his team stay unbeaten and improve to 11-0. “I knew he would come ready to play and shoot the ball well. Every day in practice, he brings it. He’s our spark plug.”
Morris helped St. Viator lead 15-9 after one quarter by hitting 2 3-pointers and converting on a 3-point play.
Maine West (4-5) pulled as close as it would get at 17-13 with 5:44 left in the first half following Cody Zimmerman’s putback basket.
Lions sophomore swingman Ore Orogundade (14 points, 8 rebounds) fueled his own 8-0 run, including a key assist from Morris, to build a 25-13 lead.
“We had some small opportunities at the begining of the game,” said Warriors coach Erik McNeil. “ We played some good defense but then could not make it pay on the other end. We got lost at times on defense and Morris hit some 3s and they expanded the lead. Their guards made it tough on us.”
St. Viator led 31-20 at the break and put the game away with a 11-1 run over the first 4:37 of the third quarter.
Morris hit a pair of 3-pointers, Patrick Martin hit from long range on a Morris assist, Chris Myjak (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) connected and St. Viator led 42-21.
The Lions had 15 assists and 7 steals.
“It’s the kind of balance that on any night, any one of six or seven players can have a big night,” said Howland. “We’re looking at this tournament as a mini-sectional. You win tonight, it’s the regional semifinal. Tomorrrow you go for the regional final.”
“Everyone is going to have a different night,” said Morris. “We just need to get the ball to that person. We’re playing well together and we’re clicking.”
Maine West, which meets Carmel at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, had Conor Hart with 15 points and Kevin Garcia with 12.
The Lions next meet Naperville Central, a 54-46 winner over Carmel, at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday.