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St. Viator holds off Prospect

Prospect coach John Camardella could've sworn hot-shooting Grant Miller's beat-the-clock 3-pointer was going in.

St. Viator coach Quin Hayes was wishing it wouldn't.

Hayes got his wish and his Lions got the win Tuesday night, 49-48 in the Class 4A boys basketball regional semifinal at Wheeling. Miller's shot, as time expired, hung high and bounced softly off the front rim and backboard before hopping out.

Fifth-seeded St. Viator will meet No. 4 Lake Zurich on Friday night for the regional title and a spot in the Barrington sectional semifinals next Tuesday.

Prospect had pulled off a magical rally and had actually forged ahead for the first time all night when Miller hit 1 of 2 free throws with 32 seconds left.

But Viator center Sal Cannella answered with two clutch free tosses with :19.9 to go.

St. Viator (18-9) made it tough on Prospect to get off the shot, but after a scramble, Miller, who had hit his previous six shots - half of them 3-pointers - got his look from the top of the key.

He had 9 of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter as Prospect (12-15) rallied from down 44-29.

"We couldn't get stops in the fourth quarter," Hayes said after Prospect scored 14 straight to pull within 44-43.

Miller had a pair of 3-pointers in the rally, and Greg Suarez, working hard inside against taller defenders, got to the free throw line three times.

Fortunately, after Miller's go-ahead free throw, "I found Sal (Cannella) and he got fouled," said Kevin Monson, the point guard who paced St. Viator with 12 points.

Monson ignited Viator offensively, hitting a long 3-point bomb to close the first half and another to open the second.

He added another in the quarter, and it got contagious as Patrick McNamara hit one, too.

Monson's driving 3-point play to open the fourth made it 44-29 and seemingly over.

"It came down to our senior leadership," said Hayes, referring to Monson and Cannella (11 points), along with Nick Ferrante off the bench, who provided a lift with 7 points.

"Monson did a great job shooting the ball - he's a heck of a shooter," Hayes said. "He did a great job defensively."

As did the Lions, who held Prospect to 4-of-21 shooting on 3-pointers through three quarters.

For Prospect, it was a second one-score loss to Viator this season.

"They took us out of a lot of what we wanted to do early," Camardella said of Viator's first-half defense. "In the second half, we played well enough to win. It speaks to the character of these kids as individuals and as a team."

Same for St. Viator.

"Our kids didn't quit when Prospect grabbed the momentum," Hayes said. "You're going to have games like this in the tournament."

Images: St. Viator vs. Prospect, boys basketball

  St. Viator's Sal Cannella smiles after his team's victory over Prospect in a Class 4A Wheeling regional semifinal Tuesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  St. Viator's Ricky Muench, middle, celebrates his team's victory over Prospect in a Class 4A Wheeling regional semifinal Tuesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  St. Viator's Patrick McNamara makes a move toward the basket against Prospect's Kyle Formanski during the Class 4A Wheeling regional semifinal Tuesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  St. Viator's Danny Walsh, left, steals the ball from Prospect's Kyle Formanski during the Class 4A Wheeling regional semifinal Tuesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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