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DePaul ends Carmel's season

Carmel Catholic senior forward Johnny Roeser will have stories to tell someday.

He already has them, in truth.

About how he and his classmates Lukas Galdoni and Jalen Snell got called up to varsity midway through their freshman basketball season. About how their head coach lost his mother unexpectedly during their senior season. About how they won 22 games and a regional championship, despite of it.

"It felt like I was in high school forever," Roeser joked Tuesday night at Grayslake Central, after No. 3 Carmel lost to DePaul College Prep 57-46 in a Class 3A sectional seminal. "It's something I can look back on. Maybe I'll tell my kids one day about it. It was definitely fun."

Carmel had fun against DePaul Prep (23-9), leading 17-7 after one quarter, before the Rams used big second and third quarters en route to securing a berth in Friday's 7 p.m. final against top-seeded St. Viator (25-6).

Roeser (8 points) scored a couple of baskets in that first quarter, Galdoni drilled a 3-pointer, and Snell snagged 3 rebounds.

"I thought we played hard and played together," said Carmel coach Zack Ryan, whose Corsairs finished 22-12. "I just thought there was a stretch there where we got away from what we were doing so early that was successful. They're a tough team to come back against when they get a lead because they got so many guys that can handle the ball and make free throws."

Sophomore guard Tyler Johnson knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the third quarter, as DePaul turned a 23-21 halftime deficit into a 40-29 advantage heading into the fourth. Johnson finished with a game-high 20 points. The Rams got strong games from their other three guards on the floor as well. Brown University-bound Perry Cowan Jr. added 14 points. Raheem Anthony made 8 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points, and Lance Mosley had 10 points.

"We lost (Johnson) a couple of times and he got some open shots," Ryan said. "It turned the game around a little bit. ... I thought we executed our game plan for the most part. We just got bogged down a little on offense in the second quarter and third quarter."

Carmel proved resilient in the last month. It was Feb. 2 when Ryan's mother, Kathleen, went missing en route from Wisconsin to Carmel's game in Mundelein and was later found deceased. Ryan kept coaching, and the Corsairs kept winning games.

"When Coach told us, 'My mom would have wanted me to come back and coach and do this for you all,' we were like, 'We got to do this for his mom. We can't let him down,' " said sophomore point guard Kimahri Wilson, who led Carmel with 15 points (three 3-pointers) against DePaul. "So we went out and won him a regional championship. We came up short for sectionals, but that's our coach. If he has to go through something like that, we got to stick with him."

It was the only thing to do, the only right thing to do. A couple of weeks later, the Corsairs took the court wearing a "KR" patch on their jerseys to honor Kathleen Ryan.

"The thing we pride ourselves on is family," Roeser said. "It's more than basketball. At the end of the day, basketball is important to us, but it goes beyond that. When someone needs help, we all just rally behind them. And it was our coach, so we just had to be there for him. It was cool to see how everyone came together."

  Carmel's Damone Williams-Gray, left, and Jalen Snell leave the floor after their loss to DePaul Prep in the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Damone Williams-Gray (3) is fouled by DePaul Prep's Raheem Anthony during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel head coach Zack Ryan looks concerned during their loss to DePaul Prep in the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Kimahri Wilson, left, drives past DePaul Prep's Tyler Johnson at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Kimahri Wilson, right drives on DePaul Prep's Lance Mosley during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Jalen Snell dives for the ball during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Johnny Roeser, left, drives on DePaul Prep's Darren Shower during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Bryce Moore, right, is fouled by DePaul Prep's Lance Mosley during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Kimahri Wilson drives in for a layup during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Damone Williams-Gray, left, drives on DePaul Prep's Pavle Pantovic during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Jonathan Roeser, right looks to pass during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Johnny Roeser, left, shoots over DePaul Prep's Tyler Johnson during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel head coach Zack Ryan looks on during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Kimahri Wilson, right drives on DePaul Prep's Lance Mosley during the Class 3A boys basketball sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central High School Tuesday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
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