Kings of the Hill: JCA Tops Lemont

The Joliet Catholic Academy boys basketball team had a bad case of deja vu early on Monday in the MLK Day of Hoops at Joliet Central.

Lemont was converting in transition, dominating the boards and basically outplaying the the Hilltoppers in all facets of the game.

For the Hilltoppers, it was most definitely looking a lot like last year's dreadful  31-point loss to the Indians. But, suddenly, JCA awakened, and with a 28-point effort from Breshion Tucker, rallied for a 70-58 victory.

"We just let them, in the first half, do what they wanted to to," Joliet Catholic Academy coach Jeff Budz said. "I told them that if that's how you're going to play in the second half then we're going to lose by 30 points."

Lemont (7-11) took a 30-21 lead midway through the second quarter on a fastbreak bucket by Evan Bridwell.

"It was like we weren't even existing our there," Budz said. "They did whatever they wanted to do."

But as quickly as they fell behind, the Hilltoppers roared all the way back to tie it at 34-all on a steal and a layup by Breshion Tucker with 1:30 left in the first half.

The teams were tied twice in the third quarter before the Hilltoppers pulled away with an 8-0 run. Brequan Tucker had a driving layup, Breshion Tucker drained a pair of free throws and made a nifty drive to the hoop, and Chris Harris (12 points) scored inside with 19 seconds left in the third quarter for a 50-40 lead.

"Defensively, we aren't where we need to be," Lemont coach Rick Runaas said. "We've given up 70 points in our last few games, and you aren't going to win many high school games giving up 70 points."

Bridwell got off to a fantastic start for the Indians, scoring 11 straight points during one stretch and 17 points as a whole in the first half.

The Hilltoppers limited Bridwell to seven second-half points, but the senior had a chance to pull the Indians to within four midway through the fourth quarter, but his three-point try was off target.

"I think if you asked him he'd tell you he was disappointed in his second half," Runaas said. "He missed a lot of shots around the basket."

Joliet Catholic Academy (6-9) converted 3-of-4 free throws after Bridwell's missed three-pointer to stretch its lead to 63-53 with 4:01 left, and the Hilltoppers would cruise the rest of the way.

Brequan Tucker added 18 points for JCA despite a sore knee. Budz had considered resting him but soon realized his presence was needed after Lemont's hot start.

Bridwell led the Indians with 24 points, while Martin Sosinski made considerable contributions in a starting role, scoring 14 points.

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