By Dan McGrath
With a tall, rangy, active front line, Perspectives IIT seemed to have an advantage over the height-challenged Leo Lions in their Malcolm X Shootout matchup at Malcolm X College on Saturday.
But never underestimate the value of determined guards … or a popular staff member making his head-coaching debut.
After nursing a 38-36 lead into the final period, Leo used a 14-0 run to break open the game and race off to a 59-41 victory. Guard play was decisive — the Lions generated offense from defense with the pressure they applied to Perspectives’ overmatched guards and kept the ball away from Javion Thompson and Ledarell Gros-El, who combined for 15 points and nine rebounds in the first half.
The effort brought a shy smile to the face of Mario Pittman, the Leo assistant filling in for head coach Jimalle Ridley, who served a mandatory one-game suspension for being ejected in the final seconds of Leo’s title-game loss to IC Catholic in the Westmont/IC Catholic Christmas tournament five days earlier.
“We won this game with effort and defense,” Pittman said as the players mobbed him in the victorious Leo locker room. “It’s something to build on.”
Leo (7-6) dressed only nine players, and was down to eight after Brian Kizer left with an ankle injury late in the second quarter.
But the guards refused to let the Lions lose. Sophomore Asa Harris scored a season-high 16 points, 10 in the fourth quarter. Fellow sophomore Karon Shavers had 13 and Ethan Jackson contributed 11. Senior Deontae Bell was simply all over the floor, finishing with 14 points, five steals and five assists as the middle man in everything Leo did during the game-turning fourth quarter.
Pittman was a standout player at Leo who led the Lions to 19 victories and won the three-point-shooting state championship as a senior in 2017. He is in his third year as an assistant.
“This is definitely one to build on,” he said.
The Lions resume Catholic League action this week, playing host to St. Rita (3-11, 0-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Wheaton to face St. Francis (6-8, 1-1) on Thursday at 7:30.