St. Rita didn’t need to be perfect to compete with Mount Carmel on Friday. The Mustangs needed only to avoid a disaster.
The calamity that hit to start the second half was catastrophic.
St. Rita started the third quarter with seven missed shots and five turnovers while the Caravan scored 17 straight points, putting Mount Carmel well on its way to a 56-42 Catholic South home win that gave Mike Flaherty his 750th career win.
“Coach is a great coach,” said Mount Carmel guard Christian Peevy, who scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter. “He told us that we needed to step things up in the second half because things shouldn’t have been that close in the first.
“We know we’re going to get everybody’s best. But they’re going to get our best, too.”
St. Rita (7-12, 3-3) led 19-16 but did not score for the remaining five minutes of the second quarter. The Caravan (14-5, 6-0) closed the half on a 6-0 run for a 22-19 halftime lead.
The run continued, with Peevy scoring nine of Mount Carmel’s 17 straight points to start the third quarter. The lead ballooned to 39-19 before Paul Kingsley’s two free throws with 1:29 left in the period ended the Mustangs’ drought. Demarius Dixon’s 3-pointer 45 seconds later was the first St. Rita field goal in more than 12 minutes.
Flaherty, a St. Rita graduate who is in his 10th season at Mount Carmel after previous stops at Thornridge and now-defunct Mendel, became the ninth coach in Illinois history to reach 750 wins, according to the IHSA. He ranks second among active boys coaches behind St. Joseph’s Gene Pingatore’s 978.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know this was happening,” Flaherty said. “We talk to the kids about the team instead of the individual. I’m not comfortable with any kind of acknowledgment.
“Maybe when I’m done coaching, sitting in a rocking chair. Maybe. Now it’s more about the kids and the team.”
Phil English is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
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Player of the game: Christian Peevy, Mount Carmel, 20 points, 10 rebounds.
Key performers: Mount Carmel — Nick Chambers, 14 points. St. Rita — Jordan Matthews, 9 points, 4 rebounds.