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Walsh, St. Viator ready to go in victory over Hinsdale Central

A St. Viator student picked the right day to show up in a Penguin costume to cheer on the Lions.

On a snowy, blustery Saturday afternoon, the host Lions outlasted Hinsdale Central 48-45 in a nonconference boys basketball game at Cahill Gymnasium.

Senior forward Danny Walsh picked the right day to put on one of his better performances. He seemed to be at the right place at the right time all afternoon.

"I guess you would call it the luck of the Irish," said Walsh.

Walsh led the Lions with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

Walsh and Jake Stepuszek (11 points) helped get the Lions off to a fast start, something that was missing in Tuesday's loss to Bartlett.

Walsh scored 8 points and had a pair of 3s in the first quarter. Stepuszek scored two baskets for 5 points in helping the Lions break out to a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

"St. Viator came out ready to play," said Hinsdale Central coach Nick Latorre. "Their fast start made a big difference in the game. We had to use a lot of energy to come back at them."

Walsh made big plays in each quarter. His 3 steals in the second quarter prevented the Red Devils (8-7) from getting any closer than 22-20 with 1:12 left in the period.

Matt Trimberger, who normally starts, came off the bench and hit a big 3. That was followed by Andrew Soukup's basket at the buzzer for a 27-20 lead.

Walsh hit a basket with 3:49 left in the third quarter to help the Lions sustain a 31-27 lead.

During the fourth quarter, Hinsdale Central forged a 43-40 with 4:40 left in the game on baskets by Brad Huth (3) and Peter Blust.

Walsh finished a 3-point play to tie the game at 43 with 4:03 remaining before Tom Majerus' free throw gave St. Viator (10-3) the lead for good with 3:28 left.

With St. Viator leading 46-45, Walsh was fouled. He hit the first of a two-shot foul, then secured the rebound on the missed second shot. Walsh tossed the ball to Kevin Murphy, who made a free throw with :07 left.

A 3-point attempt to tie the game by Huth fell short.

Trevor Hamilton came off the bench to score all of his team-high 13 points in the first half for Hinsdale Central.

"It was good to win a close game like this," said Walsh. "When we fell behind 43-40 we didn't panic. We knew what we had to do. As a team we learned after the loss to Bartlett that we cannot come out flat to start a game. We played good defense from the start."

"Walsh and Jake are our leaders," said Lions coach Quin Hayes. "They played great defense and it became contagious to the other players. A lot of players contributed to this win."

  St. Viator's Matt Trimberger is fouled by Hinsdale Central's Peter Blust but gets to the basket at St. Viator on Saturday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  St. Viator's Matt Trimberger and Hinsdale Central's Chris Eck battle for a loose ball in the first quarter at St. Viator on Saturday afternoon. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
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