Montini win has extra meaning
Bob Lozano has coached and won many games prior to Tuesday's season opener at Fenton High School.
But Montini's 61-57 victory against West Chicago at the 31st Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving Tournament certainly had a little extra meaning.
Not only is Lozano in his first year as the Broncos' varsity coach, he is also replacing his good friend Daryl Thomas, who passed away on March 28.
"It's very special," said Lozano, who was Montini's sophomore coach a year ago. "I talked to the guys and thanked them for coming out and playing as hard as they did and getting that first win. And a shoutout to Coach Thomas, he means a lot to us and our program."
The contest wasn't decided until the middle stages of the fourth quarter after there were seven lead changes and five ties in the second half.
Training 45-44 with just over four minutes remaining, the Broncos went on a 14-0 run to seize control. Jalen McBride put his team ahead for good with a 3-pointer before sophomore Kai Evans added 6 points in the spurt. He scored 13 overall in the fourth and finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 5 steals.
"We were struggling offensively, but we knew that would come," Evans said about the game-clinching run. "Defensively is where we needed to improve majorly. Once we got the energy up on that end, we went on that run and were able to get the win.
"We've got a group of young guys who can score the ball and also play good defense. That's our motto, defense over offense. Let our defense translate into baskets."
Missing four players due to football, two of whom are starters, Montini also received 9 points from Luke Morrill and eight apiece from Nick Bucaro and Julian Gatewood. Morrill and Gatewood added 6 rebounds each.
The Wildcats put three players into double figures but were hurt by 19 turnovers. Sam Ricci led the way with 14 points, making 9 of 11 attempts from the free-throw line, while Isaac Nelson and Jordan Wilkins chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Wilkins hit a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including two in the final minute to pull West Chicago closer. The Wildcats led 16-10 after one quarter and 26-24 at half.
"Take nothing away from Montini, they came out and played an entire game," West Chicago coach Bill Recchia said. "But I was disappointed in our overall effort and our lack of execution and our lack of doing things we should be doing better. We have experience on the floor, but we didn't play like that.
"We were trying to do things outside the scope of what we are trying to do. We need to stay within ourselves."