Jack Superits’ big night, Jayden Armstrong’s key late plays give Joliet Catholic thrilling win over Providence

JOLIET – In theory, rivalry games are meant to be fun, exciting matchups between schools that know each other well. They don’t, though, always live up to the hype and anticipation.

Saturday night’s game between Providence and Joliet Catholic, however, was exactly what a rivalry game should be.

A tight contest throughout, JCA was up by two with 22.5 seconds left when Jayden Armstrong went to the free throw line. He wound up attempting six free throws in those final 22.5 seconds, going just 2-for-6 with Providence nailing a basket to pull within two. After his final trip to the line, though, Armstrong hustled back on defense, planted his feet and drew a charge with 3.7 seconds to go.

The ball went back to the Hilltoppers on Armstrong’s play, Providence didn’t foul again and JCA escaped with a thrilling 52-50 rivalry victory.

Joliet Catholic was aided by a superb second half by Jack Superits, who finished with 23 points after scoring just five in the first two quarters. Armstrong finished with 12 points and six assists, but it was his key play late while dealing with cramps that secured the Catholic rivalry win.

“These rivalry games are always going to be close,” JCA coach Adam DeGroot said. “Two great teams battling back and forth. ...I couldn’t be happier with the way we responded after a tough loss to Marian Catholic yesterday. For us to turn around and respond with that kind of effort and gut this one out was huge. The guys really stepped up when we needed to and it was just a fun atmosphere.”

Early on, the game was about who could make a shot. The two teams started a combined 1-of-10 from the field with Ryan Lipke’s layup for Providence the only shot that went through the basket. It took nearly three minutes for JCA to get its first basket on a reverse layup by Armstrong to tie the game up. Lipke answered with a shot off the glass before free throws by both teams led to a 9-8 Providence advantage.

The battle extended into the second quarter as Kelechi Enyia of Providence and Elias Passehl exchanged baskets and the teams exchanged leads. Providence picked up its biggest lead of the evening on a layup by Curtis Stubbs to make it 15-12 with 5:06 left in the half. Superits and Passehl then hit layups on assists by Armstrong to put JCA in front 16-15.

A Superits three-pointer extended the edge to 19-15 before Providence began to climb back. AJ Rayford later hit a three-pointer with 1:49 left until the break to tie things up at 24-24, but Armstrong gave JCA a 26-24 edge at the buzzer after he stole the ball and hit a layup with three defenders around him.

The third quarter was JCA’s. With the Hilltoppers up 34-31, Superits nailed back-to-back three pointers to give his team a 10-point advantage as things were sailing smoothly Lipke hit a turnaround jumper and Enyia sunk a layup with one second on the clock to cut the Celtics’ deficit to 41-35 entering the final period.

Providence used a 6-2 run to start the fourth to get back within two before Superits hit back-to-back threes once more to make it 49-41 midway through the period. The Celtics chipped away at the lead with Rayford hitting a layup with 2:23 left in the game to trim it to 49-47. That’s what set up the exciting finish with Armstrong closing out the victory.

“I was just thinking about getting the stop (on the charge),” Armstrong said. “I was trying to provide for the team and get the win.”

Providence was led by Enyia’s 19 points with Cheney chipping in 11.

“We’ve just got to keep pounding the rock,” Celtics coach Tim Trendel said. “We don’t feel like we’re too far away. We’re a young team that played three top-25 teams to start the season. It was a rivalry game tonight and we’ve had Catholic League games. We feel like we’re right on the verge of taking the next step. We just have to keep our heads about us and keep pounding the rock.”