A 34-point, running-clock drubbing of winless Providence-St. Mel on Friday didn’t answer the questions facing the Leo Lions after De La Salle took them to the woodshed 63-37 on their own floor two nights earlier.
On Saturday, against Riverside-Brookfield in the Team Rose Shootout at Mt. Carmel, Leo looked more like the team that had raced off to a 5-0 start this season. The Lions were impressively efficient in a 66-50 dismantling of the Bulldogs, a Class 4-A competitor from the Upstate Illini-East Conference who brought a 6-1 record in with them.
They looked ready to build on it when they buried four straight three-pointers to open the game, seizing a 14-8 lead. But with Karon Shavers on his way to the game of his life, the Lions (7-1) regrouped and scored the last eight points of the first period for a 16-14 advantage they would never relinquish.
Shavers, a junior guard and a three-year starter, prevailed in a shootout with R-B’s smooth Cam Mercer, knocking down seven of 11 three-pointers to finish with a career-high 29 points. He was 5-for-6 on three-pointers in the first half for 17 points, offsetting the 13 Mercer scored while en route to 25.
Shavers also had five rebounds, four assists and only two turnovers in 30 minutes. Fellow junior Nate Stephens, demonstrably more confident in the leg he injured last season, scored eight points with a game-high eight rebounds.
Leading by four (46-42) heading into the final period, Leo spread the floor and went to a delay game, forcing the Bulldogs to foul if they wanted the ball back. The strategy worked – the Lions went 14-for-16 from the free throw line to put the game away. R-B managed just eight points in the period.
On a day when leading scorer Brian Kizer (three points) was uncharacteristically quiet, Leo got a 20-point contribution from the four freshmen Coach Jimalle Ridley had in uniform, including 10 from Kierre Brooks. Elon Henderson, Tyler Thornton and Andre Tucker were the other freshmen who played.
A solid effort all the way around … and five days to practice and improve before the Lions face St. Francis de Sales (0-5) at Leo on Friday, December 19.