Skyhawks can’t overcome St. Viator’s sharp shooting

Johnsburg's Derek Talbot walks off the court after the Skyhawks lost to St. Viator 66-54 on Friday in the IHSA Class 3A Vernon Hills Sectional. (Joe Shuman – For The Northwest Herald)

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VERNON HILLS – The Johnsburg boys basketball team again found its offensive rhythm in the third quarter, erasing a 10-point deficit to St. Viator and grabbing some momentum.

As the third quarter closed, the Skyhawks were in position to hound St. Viator the rest of the way, until Lions point guard Alan Aboona got the ball in his hands.

Aboona converted a deflating four-point play at the buzzer, giving the Lions a seven-point advantage and control. The 6-foot-1 senior guard then led a fourth-quarter parade to the free-throw line as hot-shooting St. Viator defeated Johnsburg, 66-54, in the IHSA Class 3A Vernon Hills Sectional championship game Friday night.

“They hit a lot of shots,” Johnsburg senior guard Tyler Chambers said. “A lot of shots. They didn’t miss at the line. They played a lot better than we expected them to.”

St. Viator (24-6) advanced to meet Chicago Marshall at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Hoffman Estates Supersectional. Johnsburg ended its season 27-3, the third-best record in school history.

“[St. Viator] is a great basketball team,” Skyhawks senior guard Mike Dixon said. “No. 12 (Aboona) is a great player and everything worked off him. Best of luck to St. Viator. I was impressed with the last effort we ever had.”

Johnsburg yearned for this season since Dixon, 6-foot-6 center C.J. Fiedorowicz and their classmates were wiping the floor with the competition in eighth grade. Dixon and Fiedorowicz were four-year varsity starters, and the starting lineup had been together for almost three seasons.

The Skyhawks fell behind, 26-16, at halftime after St. Viator, primarily a man-to-man defensive team, switched to a 2-3 zone.

At halftime, Johnsburg adjusted, moving Dixon into the middle and Derek Talbot outside. The switch re-ignited the offense and Johnsburg came back to tie the score at 29-29 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.

With a 34-31 lead and 6.7 seconds remaining, Aboona took an inbound pass in the backcourt, made a few moves and pumpfaked at the top of the key. Fiedorowicz was called for a foul as Aboona somehow tossed in a three-pointer, then converted the free throw.

“It felt good when it left my hand,” said Aboona, who was 13 of 13 from the line and poured in a game-high 33 points. “I was creating contact a little bit, and acting a little bit. It was amazing the way we played and the way we battled.”

Brendan King and Aboona both hit threes early in the fourth quarter and before long, Johnsburg was relegated to fouling. Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, it usually was Aboona who was fouled.

“It’s hard when you’re dealing with a player like Alan Aboona,” Johnsburg coach Luke Ravlin said. “He finds ways to get the ball then he knocks them down.”

Johnsburg cut St. Viator’s lead from 16 to eight points with 1:00 to go, but could not get closer. When Julian Sipiora made a layup with 16 seconds remaining, it was the Lions’ first two-point basket since midway through the second quarter.

“We knew we’d have to make some shots like that,” St. Viator coach Joe Majkowski said. “Their [2-3] zone is very good.”

The Lions hit 48.4 percent (16 of 33) from the field and connected on 80 percent (24 of 30) from the line.

“There was nothing we could do [in the fourth quarter],” Chambers said. “We could only hope they missed free throws and they had the ball in Aboona’s hands all the time. It was hard.”

Dixon led the Skyhawks with 17 points, while Fiedorowicz added 16. Chambers hit four threes and finished with 12 points. Richard McLoughlin scored 15 points and had a game-high nine rebounds for St. Viator.

St. Viator’s 17-5 edge in the second quarter proved critical, even though the Skyhawks came back strong in the third.

“It all comes back to experience,” Dixon said. “We knew these were the last games of our lives. It was a lot better in the second half than it was in the first.”

For the second consecutive year, Johnsburg’s season ended on Vernon Hills’ floor. The Skyhawks lost to North Chicago, 75-72, in last year’s regional final.

“It was an experience,” Chambers said. “We all love each other. Every day with these guys was fun.”