Boys basketball: St. Bede upset over Marquette brings back memories of 1985 regional

St. Bede’s 61-57 regional semifinal upset win Tuesday over top-seeded Ottawa Marquette, a team it had lost to by 34 points (72-38) very early in the season, brought back memories for longtime Bruins fans.

And Princeton fans.

In 1985, Princeton was ranked No. 5 in the state with a powerhouse team that had only two losses by one-point each - an overtime loss to Ottawa, a Class AA state finalist, and to Pittsfield in the Macomb Holiday Tournament finals.

Tony Lavorato’s Tigers were loaded with the likes of senior starters JD Smallwood, Doug Robbins, Mike Flaig, Tom Harris, the defensive specialist, and big man Bill Cartwright.

The Tigers had beat St. Bede by 20 points (67-47) at Princeton just the week before.

Then came a shocker when the Bruins upset the mighty Tigers, 61-60, for the regional championship on March 1, 1985 in front of a stunned packed Prouty Gym crowd as Princeton’s last-second shot missed.

Hugh Skinner’s headlines in the BCR read: “St. Bede ambushes Princeton.”

It was the shot heard around the state.

“It was a big upset. Princeton was the class of the area. They had a group of players that grew winning championships after championships,” said Joe Perona, a sophomore standout on the 1985 Bruins team.

“Princeton was making reservations in Champaign. They had a really strong team. They were really not thinking about losing to us in the regional. There was no reason to have sweated us that year.”

The Bruins, who improved to 19-8 with the win, were especially hot from the floor that night with Don Kotecki (21), Kerry Comiskey (18) and Perona (16) combining for 55 points.

“Ultimately it was really hot shooting. I think we shot over 70 percent,” said Perona, who is an options trader in Chicago and runs a highly successful summer baseball program. “We had three scorers. You can’t double team three scorers. We had three hot shooters that day.”

It was a memory Perona will never forget.

“Not everybody gets to experience those upsets. I’m sure the St. Bede group that beat Marquette this week, it will be a moment they never forget,” he said.

St. Bede went on to knock off another area power, 25-2 Tiskilwa in the sectional semifinals, before falling to Ohio in the finals, finishing 20-9.

The loss was stunning for Princeton; still is to those who played in it.

Lavorato said somberly in the coach’s office after the game: “I don’t know what to say. St. Bede played a heck of a game. I feel very sorry for our kids, one of the best teams to play here in years... Yes, I’m bitter about it. I just hope the community understands. There is no way these kids are losers.”

Tom McGunnigal was a freshmen member in the St. Bede program and remembers the night well.

“It was a crazy scene. Prouty was packed. I don’t think it ever got to a more than four or six point lead for either team,” he said. “I think St. Bede played a 1-3-1 or some type of gimmick defense. Princeton had a big kid (Cartwright), who was dominant and I think Mike Pomatto was tasked with ‘follow him to the concession stand.’

“They were very similar to our team in ‘88 - a group of guys who were close off the court, played all the sports together, played for each other and were able to pull off the ultimate upset.

John Reinhardt, who has put four sons through the Tiger program, was a junior reserve on the 1985 team, and remembers it well.

“It was probably not as hard on me as the seniors, because I had one more season. The Ohio loss (in the 1986 sectionals) was much more crushing my senior year,” he said. “It was tough to watch a season come to an end we thought we were going to go pretty far.”

While the 1985 Bruins team had won 19 games at the time, this year’s edition had just nine wins entering the game when it upset Marquette.

Kevin Hieronymus has been the BCR Sports Editor since 1986. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com