Junior guard Kaiden Space has been the steady, veteran leader for St. Rita.
But after fellow guard Jaiden Reyna stepped away from the team late in the regular season, Space knew he had to step up more offensively.
“It’s something I always knew I could do — score the ball,” Space said. “Toward the beginning of the season, I was more passive. With such a talented team that we have, it wasn’t really my role to score as much.
“Now, my role has advanced and I definitely have to do more, but I’m loving every single moment of it.”
Space came through with 17 points Wednesday night as third-seeded St. Rita knocked off second-seeded Homewood-Flossmoor 68-58 in a Class 4A Thornwood Sectional semifinal in South Holland.
Illinois recruit Morez Johnson had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Mustangs (23-11), who will take on top-seeded Kenwood at 7 p.m. Friday in the sectional championship game.
St. Rita has never won a sectional title in basketball.
More Top Picks Best Filing Cabinets On Wheels
Freshman guard Amari Edwards added 11 points off the bench for the Mustangs and Melvin Bell had eight.
Nashawn Holmes led H-F (21-8) with 15 points. Christian Meeks chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds, while Robert Brazelton and Chakaris London each scored 11 points.
Space, who’s averaging 8.2 points, had his second straight big game. He scored 23 points in the regional final win over Morgan Park.
“My confidence is skyrocketing,” Space said. “I’m not even going to lie. I’m feeling good right now. I’m ecstatic.
“A lot of people doubt me, but I know my ability. I know what I can do, and so do my teammates.”
Johnson said Space has been huge for the Mustangs in the playoffs.
“Kaiden has done amazing,” Johnson said. “Jaedin took a step down, Kaiden took a step up. It’s next man up.”
St. Rita built a 40-31 halftime lead behind the hot shooting of Space — who had 12 points in the first half — and Edwards, who scored all 11 of his points in the second quarter.
H-F cut the deficit to 51-45 by the end of the third quarter and was within 54-50 early in the fourth.
The Mustangs hung on, but not without some controversy.
With James Brown, one of St. Rita’s star sophomore forwards, already having fouled out, Johnson appeared to pick up his fifth foul with 4:18 remaining.
However, the official scorer ruled it was only Johnson’s fourth foul.
“I thought I was going to have to sit down,” he said. “I thought I let my team down. I’ve got to be way smarter. I can’t put myself in that situation again.”
H-F coach Marc Condotti also thought Johnson had fouled out.
“That game’s on film, so we’ll go back and take a look,” Condotti said. “I think he had five fouls. He knew he had five fouls because he was walking to the bench. I think that was a big turn in the game too.
“Regardless, though, we didn’t do what we needed to do to win the game. St. Rita played better. They beat us.”
Shortly after the controversial foul, Johnson scored back-to-back baskets, including a tip dunk to stretch the lead to 64-54 with just 1:30 to go.
While the Mustangs move on, H-F was left to reflect on the success the Vikings ended up having with an inexperienced group.
“When you look back on it, all we did was lose a basketball game,” Condotti said. “You’ve got to be happy with the body of work of the season.
“They did a lot of things that nobody expected other than the people in our locker room and that’s what they have to take away from this.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.