St. Rita tops Homewood-Flossmoor, vying for first sectional title

By Steve Millar
Correspondent

St. Rita’s Morez Johnson knows how deflating it is for an opponent when it plays strong defense and forces the Mustangs into a missed shot, only for Johnson to grab the rebound and score.

“Those second-chance points hurt the other team a lot,” Johnson said after St. Rita defeated Homewood-Flossmoor in the semifinals of the Class 4A Thornwood Sectional. “It’s a momentum boost for us and it definitely hurts them.”

Johnson, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward who is already committed to Illinois, did it time and again against the second-seeded Vikings, leading third-seeded St. Rita to a 68-58 win on March 2.

Johnson had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Mustangs (23-11), who advanced to take on top-seeded Kenwood in the sectional championship game at 7 p.m. tonight.

St. Rita has never won a basketball sectional title.

Junior guard Kaiden Space added 17 points for the Mustangs. A pair of freshmen also came up big: Amari Edwards scored 11 points off the bench and Melvin Bell chipped in eight points.

St. Rita avenged a 61-59 loss to H-F (21-8) on Dec. 23 at the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic.

The Mustangs had to hold on late after the Vikings cut a 40-31 halftime deficit to 54-50 early in the fourth.

“A team like H-F, with a lot of seniors, they don’t want to go out,” Space said. “Nobody does in the playoffs. It’s hard to close out these games, but I definitely trust my teammates to make plays and do what we need to do to finish the game down the stretch.”

St. Rita may have caught a big break, as well.

With one of St. Rita’s star sophomore forwards, James Brown, already having fouled out, Johnson appeared to pick up his fifth foul with 4:18 to play.

However, the official scorer ruled it was only Johnson’s fourth foul.

“I was definitely nervous, I’ll say that,” St. Rita coach Roshawn Russell said. “I’m glad they overturned it.”

Johnson, who contested that the foul was not on him, was walking to the bench when he got the reprieve.

“I thought I was going to have to sit down,” Johnson said. “I thought I let my team down. I’ve got to be way smarter. I can’t put myself in that situation again.”

Johnson took advantage of the second chance with back-to-back baskets. He again crashed the offensive glass, coming up with a tip dunk to stretch the lead to 64-54 with 1:30 to go.

Early on, St. Rita was sparked by its guards.

Space has stepped up huge since his fellow backcourt starter, Jaedin Reyna, left the team near the end of the regular season.

Space scored 23 points in a regional final win over Morgan Park.

He scored 12 points in the first half against H-F.

Edwards, meanwhile, came off the bench to score all 11 of his points in the second quarter. He knocked down three 3-pointers.

“The guy’s as tough as they come,” Russell said of Edwards. “I don’t care about his height (5-foot-7). He’s one of the best players in the freshmen class. That kid’s got it.”

Now, the Mustangs are in the Sweet 16.

“This is far as St. Rita basketball has ever gone in the playoffs,” Space said. “It’s been a good ride and I’m proud of every single one of these guys. It’s a great moment right now.”