Leo 73, U-High 41; nonconference game at Leo,
makeup of a December 21 postponement
Three days after DePaul Prep dumped the Leo basketball team from its horse rather emphatically, the Lions climbed back aboard and took a comfortable ride, dismissing University High 73-41 at Leo Monday in the makeup of a December 21 nonconference postponement.
Campaigners from the Independent Schools League, the young Maroons were game and engaged. But the Lions forced a brisk pace, and U-High couldn’t keep up, giving Leo a bundle of extra chances with 14 first-half turnovers while falling behind 41-28 at the break.
The Maroons kept it that close through shrewd utilization of their one discernible advantage: Noah Hoereth, an agile, 6-foot-4 wide body capable of doing some damage underneath. Hoereth had 13 of his team’s 28 first-half points, and the smaller Lions at times seemed incapable of stopping him.
But they made the necessary defensive adjustments to keep the ball out of his hands for most of the second half – Hoereth finished with 16 points – and settled things by racing past the Maroons 24-9 in the third quarter. A running clock was in effect for much of the fourth.
Dontae Bell led four double-figures scorers with 19 points, tacking on five assists. Karon Shavers had 14 points, Ethan Jackson scored 13 and Stephen Barze 11, an encouraging sign for the senior forward, whose recovery from a knee issue is vital to Leo’s IHSA playoff hopes.
Leo’s sophomores made it a clean sweep for the evening with a 61-31 win over the Maroon sophs in the preliminary game.
The Lions are back at it tonight, traveling to St. Francis de Sales, which is 5-19 overall and 2-3 in the Catholic League White Division, but owns two straight wins over Leo.
Then comes the Lions’ toughest stretch since early December: Catholic League Blue matchups with Loyola Academy (Alumni Night), Mt. Carmel and St. Ignatius, who are a combined 60-15 as this is written.
Nobody said this was going to be easy.
Leo’s next game is at
February 4 – Tuesday
at St. Francis de Sales
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