When IC Catholic’s football team steamrolled to the Class 3A state championship undefeated this past fall, it was quite common to see quarterback Luke Ricobene connect with wide receiver Matt Sutton for a pass completion.
On Friday the connection was reversed when the Knights were trailing Timothy Christian late in the fourth quarter of a Class 2A boys basketball regional final.
Sutton drove toward the basket and found Ricobene on the right side of the lane for a layup that allowed IC Catholic to take a 53-52 lead with 9.7 seconds left in the game.
After a missed Trojans shot attempt and errant rebound, the Knights (21-7) hung on to capture the regional crown on their own floor in Elmhurst.
“It is a little bit of a role reversal, but we have been playing together in basketball and football since sixth grade,” said Ricobene, a junior. “So we have a nice little bond, a little connection there. We knew where each other are on the court.”
IC Catholic advanced to face Orr in the Class 2A Guerin Sectional semifinals Tuesday.
When Sutton unleashed the short pass, he knew that Ricobene was on the receiving end.
“It is awesome, we had a great run in football,” said Sutton, senior. “He always got me the ball when I was open, so I was like, ‘I will give it to him this time.'”
Sutton was involved on the play after receiving a pass from Alex Meurer, who rebounded a missed jump shot attempt by Kevin Cheng.
“I was just going to go to the rim and try to find someone, or see if there was a lane for me,” Sutton said. “I saw Luke out of the corner of my eye, and I just gave him the ball. I was just thinking get to the rim and see what happens when I get there.
“Once the rebound happened, there was a scrum inside. Everyone scrambled to find their man. They missed Luke, so it opened up for him.”
IC Catholic coach T.J. Tyrrell was not surprised that Sutton and Ricobene were involved in the play that determined the outcome of the game.
“They do have good chemistry; they have been close all year,” Tyrrell said. “It is great having those guys that had the success they had during football bring it over to the basketball program.”
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The final bucket might not have been possible if Meurer, who led all scorers with 19 points, did not pull down the offensive rebound.
“Alex has been a glue guy for us all year; he had an outstanding game for us,” Tyrell said. “To go up against that size and pull down that rebound and just make the extra pass — it is a proud moment as a coach when you have guys give the ball up in the play to get the best shot that they can.”
Junior center Brandon Orange led Timothy Christian (16-11) with 15 points. After scoring just five points in a Jan. 20 loss to IC Catholic in the regular season, Orange had a big game for the Trojans, scoring six points in the fourth quarter when the teams traded leads. Senior Jonny Strube knocked down two 3-pointers and added 11 points.
Patrick Kelly is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press