Clark sparks St. Viator past Foreman

As St. Viator's basketball team continues making its mark, it helps having its Marc.

Marc Clark has been injured most of the season for the Lions. Finally healthy, the senior guard came off the bench Wednesday night in St. Viator's Class 3A Antioch sectional semifinal against Foreman and showed what kind of impact he can make.

Clark scored a team-high 17 points, including three 3-pointers, as the third-seeded Lions won going away, 68-33, to improve to 13-15 and advance to Friday's 7 p.m. final against top-seeded North Chicago.

"Everything's healed," Clark said.

Clark fractured his foot during football last fall, causing him to miss the first couple of games of the basketball season. He dislocated his shoulder at Joliet Catholic in January, came back for senior night against Carmel and promptly strained his arch. He guesses he's played in fewer than 10 games this season.

"When he plays and he's healthy, he's a big weapon for us," Lions coach Quin Hayes said. "It showed tonight."

For the third time in as many postseason games, St. Viator got off to a quick and kept adding to the lead. Clark's steal and bank shot in the closing seconds (he also was fouled but missed the free throw) had the Lions up 18-6 after one quarter. St. Viator helped force 6 turnovers in the opening quarter and limited No. 11 Foreman (10-18) to 2-of-10 shooting.

"Everything starts defensively for us, and I've been proud of the boys for committing to that end," Hayes said. "When they commit on that end, it turns into offense."

Jeremiah Hernandez added 15 points, including a dunk, and 5 rebounds for St. Viator, which went into halftime up 31-14. Hernandez had 10 points in the opening, and then he and his teammates watched Clark take over in the second half. Clark scored 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the third and finished the quarter with a layup to make the score 56-23.

"That's the X Factor for us," Hernandez said of Clark. "He's a defensive stopper, he loves playing defense, and he's got a nice shot. It really helps us, especially against a zone."

Clark finished 6 of 7 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. The veteran also had 3 steals.

"I missed one shot (in the second quarter), and I was feeling a little down," Clark said. "But then I made a couple of shots and started feeling it. I was like, 'This is fun.' "

St. Viator has had plenty of fun in the postseason. The Lions' pair of regional wins included blowouts of No. 14 Vernon Hills (70-42) and No. 10 Payton (70-34).

"We've been prepared and we've been unselfish," said Hernandez, who was 6-of-8 shooting and sat the entire fourth quarter. "We've been playing well on defense, and getting stops and run-outs. We wouldn't let (Foreman) set up in their 3-2 zone. When they did, we destroyed that."

Foreman first-year coach Brian Rose started four sophomores and 6-foot-6 senior Gregory Kester, who led the Hornets with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

"We had trouble stopping (St. Viator), and it started at the defensive end," Rose said. "We got flustered because (St. Viator) played great defense. They were up the line, they used their length, and I think that translated to the (offensive) end of the court for them."

Daniel Morton and Tom Majerus added 7 points apiece for St. Viator, which will seek its first sectional title since 2010 when its faces North Chicago (20-8). The Warhawks pulled away from Antioch to win 81-59 in Tuesday's semifinal.

"North Chicago is a tough team," Hayes said. "Very well-coached, very athletic, very active defensively. We look forward to the challenge."