Patient St. Viator pulls away from Conant

St. Viator had possession of the ball to begin the second half against Conant, and the Lions took more than a minute-and-a-half off the clock while looking for an open shot.

Viator didn't get one - as a matter of fact the Cougars got a steal - but it was an example of the kind of patience the Lions used all game to attack Conant's rugged zone defense.

The patient approach worked wonders for the Lions at the Joe Majkowski Thanksgiving tourney Friday as Viator got off to a quick start en route to a 60-43 boys basketball win.

Senior Treyvon Calvin scored a game-high 20 points for Viator while classmate Jeremiah Hernandez added 18 points.

"That's something that we planned on doing this game," said Lions 6-foot-7 junior center Michael Huene of his team's composed offensive attack.

"It went well for us," added Huene. "We tried to go with a 2-1-2 (offense) with a guy in the middle. Usually our guy is J Hernandez - he's a great passer and knows how to find the guys. And we have shooters in the corners and we just try to space it out so we can get middle penetration."

Huene pitched in with 10 points for Viator, while senior Brandon Blakely paced the Cougars with 14 points.

"We were trying to shut them down (early), and we didn't do that," said Blakely.

"We wanted to limit Calvin and Hernandez, and obviously we didn't do a good job," said Conant coach Jim Maley. "We just didn't come ready to play, and we're just not talented enough to not come ready to play.

Viator (3-0) jumped out to a 10-point lead as Calvin scored 10 points in the opening period.

The Lions added on in an impressive second quarter, and 4 late points by Huene helped the tournament hosts open a 32-14 advantage at the break.

"We knew we wanted to take our time against that zone," said Viator coach Quin Hayes. "The more you have experience against it, the more you want to take time on each possession. You get to see gaps and where the weaknesses are, and our boys did a good job of being patient."

The Lions opened up a 21-point lead in the third quarter, but Conant was able to close the gap in the final stanza.

Blakely led the run with two 3-pointers and a couple of free throws, and with 4:25 remaining the Lions' lead stood at just 53-41.

"I think that we started to play how we're meant to play," said Maley. "We had a tough halftime, then we came out and we were into the game. We can't afford to wait."

Conant had a chance to creep even closer but a Blakely 3 just rimmed out, then Viator righted the ship with a couple buckets.

And when Lions junior Michael Campagna got a steal then hit a 3 on the other end, Viator led 58-41 and went on to the victory.

"I thought they (St. Viator) set the tone today," said Maley. "Usually it's the other way around with a team that's a top-ranked team, sometimes they don't come ready to play and the underdog is ready to go. But we weren't ready to go for whatever reason."

Conant senior forward Rajat Mittal posted a strong effort with 12 points including 6-of-7 from the free throw line, while teammate Devon Ellis scored 4 points.

Campagna contributed to the Viator winning effort with 6 points.

"Their number 11 (Blakely) is a really good shooter," added Huene. "He hit some tough 3s."

Huene said that the Lions called timeout midway through the fourth with the intent on stopping the Cougars' rally, especially the play of Blakely.

"We had to head hunt him (Blakely)," said Heune. "But he found ways to get his shots up. There was really nothing we could do about it."