Boys Basketball: Stefan Vasic, Lyons survive tough first-round matchup with Proviso East

SUMMIT – Senior guard Stefan Vasic expressed the harsh reality of postseason basketball before Lyons Township played Proviso East in the Class 4A Argo Regional semifinals Wednesday.

“You want to go as long as you can for playoffs. It could always be your last game together,’ Vasic said.

“What I said to the guys was one of the teams is going to leave here crying and it’s not going to be us.”

Vasic did tear up, but only temporarily. In the third quarter, the ball was slammed to the floor and right into Vasic’s face.

His nose and the Lions survived admirably. They beat the Pirates 74-57 in the tough matchup between the No. 8 and 9 seeds of the LT Sectional.

“I couldn’t see for like two plays. My eyes were watering,” Vasic said. “I’m purple now and everything. I’m going to go get it checked out, but it’s not going to stop me from (playing), that’s for sure.”

LT senior Grant Niego scored 31 points for yet another 30-point effort. Senior Anthony Georgelos and Vasic added a season-best 14 and 13 points, respectively, and senior Ben Engels and junior Christian Desimone seven apiece.

The No. 8 Lions (21-8) led 52-43 after three quarters and by at least nine throughout the final period. Seven players combined for 14 assists and four each combined for 18-for-22 free-throw shooting (10 for 12 by Niego) and seven threes.

“It’s definitely one of the best wins. It was an all-around team effort,” Georgelos said. “We were swinging the ball around, good ball movement. We were kind of playing off of Grant. They were really double-teaming him. With that, we were able to get a lot of other people open looks.”

Niego’s huge fourth quarter left him exhausted and battered in the locker room afterwards. He scored 15 of the Lions’ 22 points, including 9-for-10 shooting from the free throw line.

“That kid is a hustler. That kid plays good, no matter what,” Vasic said. “For us, it’s not anything crazy, but the kid’s a (heck) of a player.”

The Lions have won eight straight and are going for their second straight regional title at 7 p.m. Friday. Their opponent is top-seeded Curie (27-2), rated by many No. 1 in 4A this season.

“That’s the way it goes. If you want to win the state championship, you’re going to have to beat the best teams in the state. We’re going to show up and give them a run for their money,” LT coach Tom Sloan said.

“We’ve been a team that’s tough and makes tough plays. For most of the year, we’ve been in games and given ourselves a chance to win and tonight was no different. The kids really competed hard.”

LT appeared to take control midway through the second quarter, but the Pirates exploded for a 10-0 run behind back-to-back threes from senior Michael Osborne (20 points) to close to 25-23.

Sloan called a timeout and the Lions returned to their initial man-to-man defense after experimenting with zones. LT then scored 12 unanswered points and led 39-26 at halftime.

Georgelos began the run with a putback and two free throws. He made 3 of 4 free throws in the fourth quarter to finish 5 for 6.

Oftentimes on their free throws, the Lions had nobody stand in the lane to prevent transition baskets.

“If it wasn’t for our free-throw shooting, I think it would have been a lot closer,” Georgelos said. “(Offensively) I was getting a lot of dump downs to me. If it wasn’t for my teammates passing me the ball, (14 points) wouldn’t have been possible. They kept feeding me.”