St. Viator gets sectional title shot

Just in case anyone forgets, the message is splashed across the back of their shooting shirts, which they wear for every game.

"Unfinished Business" are two words that the boys on the St. Viator basketball team have lived by this season.

A loss to Niles North in a Class 4A regional final last year didn't sit well with the Lions, and was the impetus for this year's slogan.

"That wasn't our goal at all," St. Viator senior guard Jeremiah Hernandez said of last season's early state tournament exit. "So we have unfinished business this year. We dropped the ball for last year's seniors and this is for them. We have a lot of goals moving forward and we're not done yet."

Top-seeded St. Viator is more motivated than ever, and is alive for at least another round after Tuesday's convincing 51-39 Class 3A sectional semifinal victory over St. Patrick at Grayslake Central.

The Lions advance to Friday's 7 p.m. sectional championship game and will face No. 2 DePaul College Prep, a 56-47 winner over Carmel in the other semifinal.

"We've wanted all season to give our best for last year's team," Hernandez said. "And I feel like our best is better than a lot of other teams so if we give that every night, we'll be OK."

The Kent State-bound Hernandez was one of three players to score in double figures for St. Viator Tuesday. He had 13 points as did Connor Kochera, who also finished with 13 points on three 3-pointers.

Point guard Trey Calvin, who will be playing at Wright State, had 12 points for the Lions on two 3-pointers.

St. Viator added to its 10-point halftime lead (31-21) by slowing the pace of the third quarter, almost stalling on some possessions, and trying to frustrate the St. Patrick defense, which was trying to pack the lane to take away the slashing skills of Hernandez and Calvin.

When the Shamrocks were forced to extend from the basket to prevent a never-ending game of keep-away, St. Viator capitalized with crafty cuts to the basket that resulted in some easy layups or drives and kick-outs for 3-pointers.

The Lions took a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter.

"It took a little time for our guys to adjust to that defense, but they stayed poised and did a nice job against it," St. Viator coach Quin Hayes said. "We were winning the game (at halftime) so we figured that if they were going to sit two guys in the paint, we were going to hold the ball (near half-court) until they wanted to come out and guard us and then we would run offense.

"It was just something we tried, and luckily it worked."

St. Patrick, an East Suburban Catholic Conference rival of St. Viator's, was ready to try a different kind of defense this time. Earlier in the season during league play, St. Patrick lost to St. Viator by about 20 points.

"We certainly did the job this time (on defense)," St. Patrick coach Mike Bailey said. "We made two Division I players have to hold the ball against us. We wanted to pack the lane."

While St. Patrick had some success defensively, there were problems on offense. The Shamrocks took 12 fewer shots than St. Viator, due to 14 turnovers.

Junior forward Joseph Fanning, a standout offensive lineman for the football team, was the only St. Patrick player in double figures. He had 13 points.

"We had a chip on our shoulder for this game, especially since they beat us by 20 during the conference," Fanning said. "We played a lot better this time. We've become a lot better team since then. We've had a lot of ups and downs this season, and we came through a lot of adversity and that has really meant a lot to me."