Leo 46, Crane 43, season opener at Crane
No matter how terrific a basketball career Elon Henderson eventually has at Leo, he’ll be hard-pressed to top his debut.
Exactly 1.7 seconds remained in a 43-all tie with Crane Monday night when Henderson, a 6-foot-7 freshman, took an inbounds pass from Asa Harris. Catch-and-shoot was a high-risk proposition with so little time remaining, so Henderson, stationed free-throw-line-extended left, just past the three-point line, redirected the ball as much as he shot it.
It left his hands on a high-arcing trajectory, then barely rippled the net as it dropped through for a three-point bucket that gave the Lions a hard-earned 46-43 victory in their season opener at the Chicago Legends Shootourt at Crane High School.
Just like interim Coach Mario Pittman drew it up.
“It’s a play called four across,” Pittman said. “Asa’s supposed to inbound to the guy who has the best shot. And Elon is a pretty good three-point shooter.”
Indeed, Henderson made three three-pointers in his high school debut to match Harris’ team-high nine points. Crane’s Jamier Montgomery never met a shot he didn’t like and his form is hardly textbook, but he willed his way to a game-high 15 points. Teammate Brad Blackman scored nine of his 10 in the second half, but offset them with seven turnovers.
The game was more gritty than pretty, with the Lions back on their heels and trailing nearly all night against Crane’s attack-dog pressure. Pittman, mild-mannered by nature, got on his team for being soft after the hosts scratched out a 43-38 lead with just under four minutes remaining.
But Crain wouldn’t score again, undone by seven fourth-quarter turnovers. Brian Kizer brought the Lions back with a layup and a game-tying three, and overtime seemed likely after a two-minute exchange of empty possessions.
Then came Henderson, with a shot he’ll remember for the rest of his life.
So will Pittman – he remained undefeated in two games filling in for suspended Coach Jimalle Ridley.
“It would be nice to keep it going,” Pittman said as the Lions prepared to hit the road for Effingham and four games in the Effingham St. Anthony’s Turkey Tournament, beginning with a game against Effingham on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Lions will face host St. Anthony on Wednesday (8 p.m.) and Edwardsville on Friday (3 p.m.) after a one-day Thanksgiving break. Their opponent and start time for Saturday’s game will be determined by the results of three rounds of pool play.
Speak Your Mind