BOYS BASKETBALL: Team play helps Lemont defeat Joliet Catholic

Updated: December 26, 2011 10:42PM

Lemont’s Mike Wisz hustled to reach the ball before it went out of bounds and deflected it off a Joliet Catholic player, saving the possession for the Indians.

The quick-thinking play epitomized Lemont’s effort in the second quarter Monday night when the Indians overcame a slow start and outscored Joliet Catholic 14-4 on their way to a 41-27 first-round victory in the small school group of the Romeoville Christmas Classic.

“We had a lot of guys make contributions,’’ Lemont coach Rick Runaas said. “Mike did a great job in the second quarter. And Joe Hehir, Jack Shereck—they came in off the bench with a lot of energy.’’

Lemont (9-1) will play U-High at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the second small school semifinal. Crane and Ridgewood meet in the first semifinal.

Eight players scored for Lemont led by Juozas Balciunas (nine points), Matt Lipowski (eight points), Paul Otruskevicius (seven points) and Shereck (six points).

“We’ve been fortunate this year, we’re deeper than we’ve been,’’ Runaas said. “We’ve got different players with different skill and ability. Guys came in off the bench and upped the tempo a little bit which is what we needed because we knew JC probably would want to slow things down.’’

Shakar Washington led Joliet Catholic (3-7) with eight points.

“I thought Lemont never got into the rhythm that I feared,’’ Joliet Catholic coach Joe Gura said. “The problem was we shot ourselves in the foot offensively. I think you give some credit to Lemont, and our kids not having enough experience and knowing how to handle tough situations.’’

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