Peter Picks Up JCA

In a basketball uniform, Joliet Catholic Academy junior Ryan Peter looks like a baseball player. He’s athletic, skilled and smooth, moving with the grace of an infielder or the burst of an outfielder.

Last week in the Student Activity Center, the 6-foot-3 Peter did not need his batting eye to notice the difference between the Hilltoppers and the big, brawny, offensive line-like appearance of Lemont.

Hoops, right?

“They almost look like a football team when they walk into the gym,” Peter said, nodding. “But then they have the speed and shooting ability to go with it. Put together, that makes a pretty good ballclub.”

Led by Peter’s game-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, JCA played a pretty good ballgame. But Lemont used its physicality to prevail in a 55-42 nonconference victory.

Junior point guard Shakar Washington added 9 points and 3 assists for JCA (4-13), which shot better from 3-point range (45.5 percent, 5-of-11) than overall (44.4 percent, 12-of-27). Peter, a native, added 5 boards.

Meanwhile, Lemont (15-2) placed two players in double figures, had two others with 9 points and stayed in control despite the Hillmen holding two leads and forcing a pair of ties during a hard-fought first half.

The closest the Hilltoppers came was a 29-24 deficit at 3:29 left in the third quarter on Washington’s drive and free throw for a 3-point play. But Lemont just wore JCA down and then hit seven 3-pointers.

“Absolutely,” JCA coach Joe Gura said. “And the second thing was they had four or five guys who can shoot. As soon as we would cover a shooter, they would slip it in. They’re very good — 15-2 for a reason.

“I thought we played a heck of a game and we got it to our tempo the whole game. Unlike the first time we played them (a 40-21 loss at the Romeoville Christmas Tournament), the press didn’t bother us at all. We did everything that we could, and I told the kids we made a lot of good basketball plays tonight.”

The best belonged to Peter, who hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the first half. He scored 9 points in the fourth quarter and ended up shooting 4-of-4 from the free-throw line as JCA’s all-purpose threat.

“Yeah, ‘Pete’ was outstanding,” Gura said. “He plays defense, he calls the signals on defense, he’s our scorer outside and he has to be our scorer inside. He always answers the bell and does a great job.”

A 3-ball by Peter and a back-door cut on a feed from Peter for a 3-point play by junior forward Anthony Salata put JCA on top 6-4 in the first quarter. Peter’s fourth trey made it 15-14 in the second quarter.

“In the beginning, I felt comfortable,” Peter said. “Even during the warmups, I felt good. I started hitting some shots in the game, got my confidence going, and I had to keep working to help my teammates. We go 6-7 deep, they go 10 deep, and that gives them more energy. But we play hard — as hard as we can.”

NOTES: Lemont was led by junior guard Juozas Balciunas with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He also shot 4-of-6 on 3-pointers and had a game-best 4 assists … The Indians received 10 points and 5 rebounds from senior forward Matt Lipowski, 9 points from sophomore guard Mike Wisz and 9 points and 8 rebounds from senior guard/forward Paulius Otruskevicius … JCA shot 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the free-throw line … Lemont’s 2-1-2 full-court press produced only 7 steals … The Indians ended up 21-of-44 from the floor (47.7 percent) and 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) on threes … The Hillmen did not record a steal in the first half … Junior guard Keith Craig contributed 4 points and 4 rebounds for JCA.