Mount Carmel senior Elijah Jointer had his head in his hands early Wednesday night.
The 6-foot-6 forward missed some shots close to the basket as the Caravan quickly fell behind 9-1 in the first quarter.
That unfortunate start could have caused Jointer to completely check out.
Instead, he instantly regrouped, knowing he would be needed for his team to pull off a win.
“I honestly have no time to be down,” Jointer said. “I knew I had to get out of that and score. I just wanted to make sure I gave everything I had.”
Jointer did just that, finishing with a team-high 13 points. But Mount Carmel came up just short of a comeback win, losing 51-48 to Hyde Park in the Class 3A Hinsdale South Sectional semifinals in Darien.
The close finish was surprising considering how things started for Mount Carmel (28-5). Down eight points almost immediately, the game had all the makings of a blowout.
But Jointer was quick to change that plot.
He bounced back from his early misses to score four straight points. He then added a blocked shot and a steal to ensure that he emphatically left his shaky start in the rearview mirror.
“A lot of kids this age, they’ll put their head in the sand and they’ll get nervous,” Mount Carmel coach Phil Segroves said. “They’ll stop playing. He didn’t.
“We just told him, ‘Hey, you’re getting great looks. Keep up the good work.’ I’m unbelievably proud of him. I was proud of him for coming back and not giving up.”
Jointer added four more points in the second quarter, continuously keeping Mount Carmel within an arm’s reach of Hyde Park (23-7) on the scoreboard.
The Thunderbirds, however, started running away with the game and built up a 41-29 edge late in the third quarter.
Jointer was still determined to keep the Caravan engaged, even while watching things unravel from the bench.
When junior guard DeAndre Craig drew a charging foul, Jointer yelled for his teammates to get up and applaud the effort. He wanted to make an impact no matter where he was on the floor.
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“I was just trying to give it my all,” Jointer said. “I honestly feel that, from our top guy to our bottom guy, we all need to be locked in to win a game.”
For Craig, it was another example of the leadership Jointer has displayed all season.
“Elijah is the engine,” Craig said. “He gets us going every day, even when we’re down. He’s the leader out there. His energy helps us keep going.”
That energy also helped the Caravan stage a late comeback.
Craig scored four of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a crucial jumper to bring Mount Carmel within three.
In the final seconds of the game, Craig hoisted up a 3-pointer that would have forced a tie, but his shot rimmed out at the buzzer.
Although their playoff run concluded prematurely, the Caravan’s effort wasn’t lost on Segroves.
“We fought all the way through,” he said. “Two times, it looked like the door was closed. What did our guys do? Mounted unbelievable comebacks.
“That’s Mount Carmel basketball. Mount Carmel guys are tough.”
Jointer’s performance was a prime example.
He had every opportunity to disengage early on, but instead left everything on the court.
As for how he hopes to be remembered?
“Just a team player,” Jointer said. “I know there are guys that look to me for leadership every day. Just being that for them, it means everything to me.”
Casey Drottar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.