Leo 48, Payton 39
Breast Cancer Shootout at Rich Township, January 26
Maybe they were still sore from a bruising loss to Fenwick two nights earlier.
Maybe there was no heat on the bus that delivered them to Richton Park.
Whatever the reason, the Leo Lions were colder than a tax examiner’s heart in the early stages of Sunday’s game with Payton College Prep in the Breast Cancer Shootout at Rich Township High School – they scored two points and shot 1-for-9 in the first quarter.
Thankfully for them, the Grizzlies weren’t exactly lighting it up, managing just eight first-quarter points. Weary of watching his starters either miss or pass up the shots the Payton defense was allowing them, Coach Jimalle Ridley turned to Brandon Gandy. The sophomore guard delivered, nailing three straight three-pointers in the second period to get the Lions going.
The defense took it from there as Leo rolled to a 48-39 victory, improving to 12-8 for the season and 6-2 since the calendar turned. “We don’t win this game without Brandon Gandy’s shooting,” Ridley said. “He gave us an incredible lift.”
Payton is a selective-enrollment school, an academic leader within CPS. The nine-point final margin was the largest of the day as the North Siders hung tough against a deeper, more athletic team. Desmond Opoku-Ware did some clever things along the baseline and finished with a game-high 17 points, but the other Grizzlies managed just 22 among them.
“They battled us,” Ridley said. “They were gritty and well-coached.”
Dontae Bell scored 12 of his team-high 14 in the second half. Gandy finished with nine, and Asa Harris, Karon Shavers and Brian Kizer had eight points apiece, though Ridley indicated the guards’ most meaningful contributions came at the defensive end.
“We don’t win that game if we don’t defend the way we did,” he said. ”Karon was outstanding.”
The Lions are looking at a soft spot on the schedule with Providence St. Mel (9-10, 1-3 Catholic League White) visiting Leo on Tuesday ahead of a Wednesday trip to Aurora Central Catholic (4-18, 0-4 CCL White) for the makeup of a game postponed by cold weather last week.
Then things get really tough. DePaul Prep (20-3, 3-1 CCL Blue) visits Leo on Friday, and the Rams are likely to be ornery. They had been the top-ranked team in the state and the top-ranked team in the Sun-Times’ Super 25, but back-to-back one-point losses to Brother Rice and Homewood-Flossmoor are likely to knock them from that perch.
“If we don’t take care of business Tuesday and Wednesday,” Ridley cautioned, “the DePaul game won’t mean anything.”
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