Manteno’s Ray Lee too much for Joliet Catholic to handle

KANKAKEE – Manteno’s Ray Lee dazzled for much of the of the small-school division title game, but the shot that ultimately played a big part in the Panthers securing their second consecutive Kankakee Holiday Tournament title was easily his ugliest of the night.

With Joliet Catholic mounting a fourth-quarter rally, Lee banked in a 3-pointer to keep the Hilltoppers at arm’s length, and the Panthers carried that momentum over for a 71-58 victory.

Lee finished with a game-high 28 points and earned the tournament’s MVP honors for the small-school division.

“I did not call the bank,” Lee said. “No way. I felt like we needed to step up, and I had trust in my teammates, and we’ve been through moments like this before.”

Manteno entered the fourth quarter with a 48-42 lead, but Joliet Catholic climbed back. Jayden Armstrong’s pair of free throws pulled the Hilltoppers to within 51-50.

But Lee did what he did for much of the game and helped the Panthers respond, getting to the foul line to drop two free throws in before Manteno forced a turnover and Lee launched in the banked in 3-pointer.

It was really the only time Lee’s game wasn’t anything but silky smooth in the victory, as he displayed a nifty midrange game the Hilltoppers could not solve.

“He’s not gun-shy when he puts shots up,” Manteno coach Zack Myers said. “But he hit some big shots for us, and I think the biggest thing was that Ray was getting to the free-throw line, too.”

When Lee wasn’t scoring for Manteno, other Panthers seemed to be constantly contributing offensive rebounds and extending possessions even when it wasn’t leading directly to scoring.

As such, many Manteno possessions seemed to include multiple attempts.

Lee’s fellow all-tournament pick, Andrew Norred, finished with 16 points, and Cooper Monk also tossed in 10 points for Manteno (9-6).

“We talked about in every big game, the roller coasters, the ups and downs and the scoring runs and stuff,” Myers said. “And I thought our kids handled that really well tonight. One of the big turning points was that we were able to crash to the glass and get a few put backs offensively.”

Joliet Catholic (6-5) started the game strong and led 19-15 after the first quarter. But the Hilltoppers almost completely stagnated in the second quarter, scoring just seven points and finding themselves down 31-26 at the break.

And for the rest of the game, Joliet Catholic was playing an unsuccessful game of catch-up.

“I think we cut it to one at one point. And I think we had an opportunity on transition, and we threw it away,” Joliet Catholic coach Adam DeGroot said. “They came down and scored, and that was kind of it for us. We could never turn the corner.

“I also don’t know what the official stats were, but they absolutely destroyed us on the glass. You can’t give a good team like that second, third and fourth scoring opportunities.”

Armstrong led Joliet Catholic with 15 points, while Donavyn Simmons and JJ Sterrett added 11 points to the Hilltoppers' cause.