Union Catholic Boys Basketball Beats Summit, 71-61

Union Catholic coach Jim Regan said his team never panicked when it let a 19-point lead completely slip away in the second half against Summit on Tuesday night.

He merely told them to get back to what got them the big lead in the first place — pressure defense and transition basketball.

Things ended up working out just fine, despite a tense fourth period, and the Vikings won 71-61 behind 27 points by Brian Flores. Twenty-one of those came in the second half and many of those helped turn things around after the Hilltoppers had surged back from a 31-12 deficit early in the first half to tie the game at 48-48 with 5:18 left in the game.

"The game was like a microcosm of our season," said Regan, whose Vikings began the season 2-0, briefly dipped below .500, and have now won four in a row to improve to 11-8. "We've had great wins and we've looked bad at times. We've lost five games by three points or less. It's been up and down."

Summit, which made only four first-half field goals, rained in six three-pointers over an eight-minute span of the second half, and Clayton Johnson's free throws with 5:18 left tied the game. The Hilltoppers even got the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but a good defensive effort by 6-11 Mike Marciano, back on the court for the first time since an injury against this same Summit team three weeks ago, altered the shot, and Zach Dlabik gave UC back the lead for good with one of two free throws with 5:10 left. His 12-footer along the baseline made it 51-48, and Flores hit a tough runner with 4:00 left to push the lead to 53-48.

Summit narrowed it to two points again one minute later, but Dave Herren provided the dagger with a big three-pointer from the corner, and Flores followed with a fast-break bucket with 2:30 left to extend the lead to 60-53.

Summit's final gasp came on a driving lay-up by Dwaine Dabney that narrowed the gap to 64-58 with 1:23 left. But Flores knocked down six consecutive free throws to finally put it away.

Ironically, Marciano's return to the line-up coincided with the absence of Summit big man Matt Wholey, who was out with illness. Summit was missing two other starters as well, and the Vikings took full advantage by hounding the Hilltopper reserves into 15 first-half turnovers and 4-of-17 shooting.

Summit hung close and trailed only 15-12 midway through the second period when the Vikings staged a 14-0 run to close out the half, many of those points coming on transition buckets. Flores' steal and pass ahead to Dlabik sent UC into the locker room up 29-12.

It was 31-12 when Dlabik opened the second half with a bucket, and the lead was still 16 after a Flores lay-up with 3:17 left in the third. But Summit began to apply its own defensive pressure and got to the line, where it made 7 of 8 over the final three minutes of the period.

Back-to-back three-pointers by reserve guard Matt Rea to open the third period, suddenly had Summit within eight. UC's Brandon Vargo helped briefly stop the bleeding with two offensive rebounds that eventually led to two Flores free throws. Flores knocked down an eight-foot pull-up to give UC a 48-39 lead before Summit reeled off nine straight to tie it.

"Vargo's done a great job filling in for Marciano," Regan said. "He does a lot of good things that don't necessarily show up on the sheet. He did a really nice job negating their big man tonight."

In addition to his 27 points, Flores grabbed seven rebounds and three steals, and also dished out four assists. Jamaad Nash had 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals. 

"We have some athletes with Nash and Flores," Regan said. "Nash has really been our glue. And Brian has been great for us all season. He's been able to score for us. And with Marciano, we really present some matchup problems for teams."

Dlabik added 14 points, while Herren chipped in 12 points and two steals. Marciano scored four points, and had six rebounds and two assists.

The Vikings made 26 of 54 shots and 16 of 27 from the line. They forced 20 Summit turnovers, while committing only 11.

"We felt like if we kept the pace up, we'd be okay," Regan said. "And that's how it worked out. Hopefully, we can close out games a little better in the future."