No offense to previous opponents CVS, 21st Century Charter or Bogan, but the Leo Lions played a big-boy team in their Catholic League opener at De La Salle on Friday.
Much of the preseason speculation has centered on DePaul Prep, Mount Carmel and Brother Rice as contenders for the Catholic League title and beyond, but those who would sleep on the Meteors (4-1, 1-0) do so at their peril. Their size, strength and defensive tenacity were too much for the Lions, resulting in a 64-46 romp in which the hosts were never really threatened.
Before the game, De La Salle named its court for the late Jerry Tokarz, its longtime coach who concluded his Hall of Fame career with a brief stint at Leo. Tokarz made his bones at De La Salle, winning more than 400 games and eight Catholic League titles while making three trips to the state tournament.
More than a dozen Tokarz family members and close to 50 former DLS players were on hand for the classy ceremony.
Then the game started, and De La Salle scored the first nine points while Leo was missing nine of its first 10 shots and committing six turnovers. It was 22-4 after a quarter, and the Lions would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Utilizing a fullcourt press, a halfcourt trap and straight-up man-to-man defense, the Meteors imposed their will on the proceedings and kept Leo from getting anything going near the rim.
An occasional three-pointer by Ethan Jackson (10 points), Dontae Bell (10 points) or Brian Kizer (nine points) was pretty much the extent of the Lions’ offense – they missed a half-dozen open layups. Plus they looked like wispy Ethiopian distance runners next to the Meteors’ lineup of brawny weightroom devotees.
De La Salle got 18 points from clever left-hander Charles Barnes, 12 from Remi Edwards and 10 from Roosevelt Thomas. Given the resolve and success with which the Meteors attacked the offensive glass, their best offense was often a missed shot.
It was a rough night in Bridgeport for the Lions, as their sophomore and freshman teams lost by a combined 10 points. They have three games in the week ahead: St. Laurence at home on Tuesday, December 10; at Brother Rice on Friday, December 13, and Christ the King in a nonconference exercise at Leo on Saturday, December 14.
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