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Boys Basketball: Garrett O’Neill leads Brother Rice past Nazareth
Updated: May 9, 2012 10:08AM
Brother Rice won the first game played in the inaugural Hinsdale South Holiday Tournament on Tuesday, but coach Pat Richardson wasn’t celebrating.
That’s because his Crusaders had spotted Nazareth a 19-11 lead after one quarter and still led by just eight points during the final period.
A late 11-3 run helped Brother Rice wrap up a 74-58 victory over the Roadrunners in Darien. The final outcome did little to please the veteran coach.
“We lacked aggressiveness and it hurt us at both ends of the floor,” Richardson said. “We’re not aggressive with the ball, in transition or on the offensive boards and defensively we’re also passive and that has to change.”
The win advances the Crusaders (7-3) to Wednesday’s 3 p.m. quarterfinals, where they’ll meet Highland Park (6-4), a 32-29 winner over Lake Forest.
Brother Rice, which outscored Nazareth 22-8 in the second quarter, was led by Garrett O’Neill, who scored 25 points (7 three-pointers) and grabbed six rebounds.
Alex Majewski had 16 points and eight rebounds while Ray Rubio added 10 points and six rebounds for the Crusaders, who led 33-27 at halftime.
Sean Fitzpatrick and Jim Barista (11 rebounds) scored eight points each and Cal Kennedy chipped in with seven points for Brother Rice.
Nazareth (4-7), which plays Lake Forest at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, closed to within 44-40 with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter. But the Crusaders responded with three-pointers from Barista, O’Neill and Kennedy to take a 53-43 edge into the final period.
John Bonk led the Roadrunners with 16 points while Tyler Jackson added 12 points.
“I thought that was probably one of our better offensive games this year,” Nazareth coach John Bonk said. “We’re young, so we’ve been struggling offensively. If we eliminate the second quarter, it’s a different game.”
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