Harper's free throws lift Sting past Curie

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It wasn’t an accident that Seton junior Khameron Harper was in the game to drain four free throws in the final 30 seconds of the No. 7 Sting’s 62-60 win over No. 9 Curie Saturday in the Public League Shootout at Attack Athletics.

“He’s our best free-throw shooter so we had to get him in,” Seton coach Ken Stevenson said. “Those were his only points of the game, but that’s what it takes to win, everyone doing their part.”

Stevenson has done a miraculous job of getting his team to buy into that philosophy. Before the season, Seton was looked at as a talented group of players, led by two transfers from Hales (point guard DJ Cooper and 6-7 Jordan Walker) that would take awhile to jell.

“I’m fortunate that these kids have understood how crucial it is to play as a team if you want to win,” Stevenson said.

Walker was the star of the game, both offensively and defensively. He scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. Just as important was his defense on Curie’s 6-5 forward Dennis Hodges. Walker’s length frustrated Hodges, who scored 17 points in the Condors’ game on Friday. He didn’t score against Seton.

“I definitely got to him,” Walker said. “He won’t go up against too many people that are taller than him and just as fast, so he’ll be ok.”

Seton led by 11 early in the fourth quarter, but a 13-2 Curie run led by sophomore Asante Smiter tied the game. Smiter scored nine of his 13 points during the run.

“This was our toughest game of the season so far,” Walker said. “They just kept coming at us.”

Kenny Stevenson, Corbin Thomas, Tony Nixon and Cooper all scored nine points for the Sting.

Sophomore Wayne Blackshear led Curie (1-1) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Senior Jason Ford came off the bench to contribute 17 points.

“This was a statement game for us,” Walker said. “We talked about it in the locker room, how this was our first chance to prove ourselves in the city.”

Walker is a complete unknown in the area. He started his high school career at Champaign Central and transferred to Hales last year, but had to sit out the season and then headed to Seton over the summer.

“It’s great to be playing again,” Walker said. “This is what I wanted, to come to Chicago and show people what I could do.”