From: Dan McGrath
The Leo Lions traveled to Oak Park Friday night for a Catholic League Blue Division matchup with Fenwick.
They wound up being taken to the woodshed.
The Friars are a basketball team with a football mentality. They don’t guard so much as they punish, which stands to reason — their star is Nate Marshall, an athletic, 6-foot-4, 235-pound specimen, a five-star recruit headed for Michigan to play defensive end.
The Lions — smaller and slighter at every position — seemed a bit cowed in falling behind 15-6 after a quarter and 26-14 at the half.
But they rallied to make a game of it and trailed by six (39-33) with just over three minutes remaining. Fenwick then ran off six in a row to get the lead back to 12 before settling for a 50-42 victory as a boisterous Senior Night crowd looked on.
The Friars (14-6, 4-1 CCL Blue) knew they’d been in a ballgame.
“We fought,” Leo Coach Jimalle Ridley said after the Lions slipped to 11-8, 1-3. “Physical as they were, big crowd — we could have just taken a beating and got out of here. But we didn’t. We battled ‘em. I’m extremely proud of our guys.”
Wearing Jamarion Upshaw like an extra shirt, Marshall scored only five points. But he rebounded ardently, he distributed skillfully … most of all, he set a tone. Almost every time a Leo player drove to the basket he wound up on the floor, and it was no accident.
Most often it was Marshall’s doing, but his teammates were just as ornery and built for the task — the sturdy Friars know their way around a weight room.
The lone exception is point guard Donte Meeks, who is slightly built but was hiccup-quick in slithering his way to a team-high 13 points. Kamren Hogan scored 11 and Dom Ducree had 10.
Ethan Jackson buried three three-pointers in the third quarter to bring Leo to life, finishing with 13 points. Asa Harris scored 10 of his 13 in the final period.
“We fought,” Ridley reiterated. “We competed. We’re building toward something. This will serve us well down the road.”
Especially if they’re involved in an alley fight.
A four-game week awaits the Lions: They face Walter Payton College Prep (11-8) on Sunday in the Breast Cancer Shootout at Rich Township before traveling to Providence-St. Mel (9-10) on Tuesday and Aurora Central Catholic (4-18) on Wednesday.
DePaul College Prep, the Catholic League leader and top-ranked team in the state, visits the Lions Den on Friday.
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