Comeback kids: Ignatius rallies past Meteors

By Dave Owen
YourSeason.com

The comeback kids of the York Tournament saved their best for lastagain.One night after St. Ignatius rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Downers South in the tournament semifinals, the Wolfpack (11-1) produced more late heroics to upend No. 12 De La Salle 47-44 for the York title.Tournament MVP Brian Howard scored 19 points to lead the way, highlighted by a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in regulation that forced overtime tied at 39.I was getting very tired, and I went back to what I know best, Howard said. When I get tired I have to get my legs into the shot, and thats what I did.Howard wasnt done, nailing another trifecta in overtime to put the Wolfpack up 44-40 with 1:55 left.Hes a great pressure shooter, and has been for three years here, St. Ignatius coach Rich Kehoe said.I thought the last game was the toughest I had ever played, Howard said, but this one was definitely the toughest Ive ever played. We deserved the championship.Theyre a very good team, but we have a lot of good senior leadership and that was very beneficial for us.Weve got the heart of a champion, and the coaching staff is the best Ive ever been a part of.Jack Crepeau had given St. Ignatius the lead 41-39 on a 15-footer 50 seconds into overtime. And while Howard provided the outside punch, 6-8 center Peter Ryckbosch (17 points, seven rebounds) excelled against De La Salles talented and tall front line.You just have to play physical, not back down and keep fighting no matter how hard it was, Ryckbosch said.Alvin Ellis (15 points, three steals), Marcus White (12 points) and Gavin Schilling (nine points, 11 rebounds) led the way for De La Salle, but the Meteors (10-2) were unable to get in sync all night.We knew they like to do a lot of high-low stuff, Howard said, so we tried to front their bigs as much as possible and give help on backside.Adding to De La Salles challenge was its free throw struggles. The Meteors were just 10 of 21 from the line in the game, 2 of 7 in the fourth quarter as a 38-34 lead with 2:15 left in regulation vaporized.St. Ignatius was 13 of 19 from the line overall. Both teams shot under 33 percent from the field.With a fast start (up 12-5) and a clutch comeback finish, St. Ignatius toppled a De La Salle team that had rolled into the finals with three lopsided wins.Were a team, and we play hard together, Ryckbosch said. Im looking forward to the rest of the season.