Leo and St. Ignatius – both in the highly competitive Catholic League Blue – faced off Friday night with the home team beating the Lions 72-43 on Senior Night, which served as another reminder of how young Leo is with only one senior.
Leo finished its regular season 11-18 and 1-6 in Catholic League play.
Leo enters the IHSA 2A division as a No. 2 seed at the Julian Regional Wednesday at 6 p.m. versus the winner of the play-in game between No. 8 seed Harlan and No. 6 seed Longwood.
Julian is located at 10330 South Elizabeth Street, just east of Vincennes Avenue.
St. Ignatius College Prep enters 4A division competition with a regular season record of 15-12 and a 2-5 mark in Blue play.
While the young Lions have made significant strides this season, turnovers continued to plague them. A heads up 30-footer by Marlo Moore sparked the Lions to close the first quarter down 16-11.
As St. Ignatius saluted its seniors with generous playing minutes for some non-starters, Leo was able to keep the contest close, trailing 18-16 early in the second quarter. Enter the regulars, who smacked Leo with a 24-6 run for a 42-22 lead at half, along with a tutorial on crisp passing, limited dribbling and interior strength.
The home team had three players in double figures, led by Reggie Ray’s 13.
Stephen Barze led the way for Leo early with eight points and Kam’ron Dove decorated the scorebook with three 3’s in the final frame for a team-high nine points.
The good news is the Lions’ season starts fresh Wednesday after some home court practices to prepare for the spacious gym at Julian, where the Lions have had success and could win a regional with the lessons learned this season.
LEO’S OPPONENTS IN THEIR REGIONAL
Mon., Feb. 19
Game 1 at 7:00 pm: (8) Chicago (Harlan) at (6) Chicago (CICS/Longwood)
Wed., Feb. 21
Game 2 at 6:00 pm: (2) Chicago (Leo) vs. Winner Game 1
Game 3 at 7:30 pm: (3) Chicago (Julian) vs. (5) Chicago (Noble/Butler)
Fri., Feb. 23
Game 4 at 7:00 pm: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
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