STORYLINES
LEO’S FIRST EVER SEMI STATE
Leo had not won a Regional game since a 1993 multiple overtime win, but it had never won a Regional title before last Saturday. That is a major accomplishment and something that shouldn’t go unnoticed. But it also means that this is not familiar territory for Leo’s players, coaches or fans. No matter how Saturday ends up, this has to be considered the high mark for Leo’s history. That is something that shines through big time this week.
SHOOTING WOES VS. SHOOTING SUCCESS
For several years, Leo’s success has been based on their ability to shoot the ball very well. This year, that isn’t the case as much. It is not that the Lions can’t shoot the ball with success, they can. But they haven’t relied on the three ball as heavily this season. Leo has been able to, most nights find that balance, and stray away from the deep ball when it isn’t falling.
END OF A COACHING CAREER FOR JOHNSON
South Bend St. Joe coach Mark Johnson will be coaching his final game this season. So clearly, there is a lot of emotion flowing through that program too. Johnson is just in his third season with South Bend St. Joe, but he has won 50 games during that time. His full career spans 36 seasons and 470 wins has made him a South Bend staple, at St. Joe and also at Riley and LaSalle. The brother of Homestead coach Chris Johnson has won three Regional titles now with the first two coming at South Bend Riley.
SOMEONE ELSE’S MOMENTUM
This is different than every other season in that the game one crowd will not get to spill into the second game. That can really be a game changer when two teams from the same area, such as Blackhawk Christian and Leo, can cheer for each other. It expands your crowd support exponentially. That won’t happen in 2021 as the gym will be cleared of everyone after the Braves face Blackford earlier in the day. But that doesn’t mean momentum can’t carry over. Leo can still pull some energy from a potential Blackhawk Christian triumph, even if it is not in the typical way it could be pulled during a normal semi state year.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLAKE DAVISON, LEO
For the last decade, the name Davison has been as synonymous with Leo as the nickname Lions. Like his older brothers, Blake has carved out a really exciting place for himself in the Lion history books and he has every bragging right to being one of the program’s best and most reliable players. As noted above about three point shooting, it has been Davison’s ability to adapt his game and score off drives and in transition more than he shoots that makes him lethal.
JR KONIECZNY, SOUTH BEND ST. JOE
One of the state’s best scorers at 28.6 points per game, this is going to be the focus of Leo’s defense and rightfully so. Konieczny is smooth and has been held under 20 points just twice including a season low 17 against NorthWood. He is going to work to stay off the perimeter where he is solid, but nowhere near as consistent as his 6-foot-7 frame is around the rim. He could be a matchup problem because he is a solid cutting guard who just happens to be really long. How Leo works to try and contain him will be interesting. He also averages 7.8. rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
AYDEN RUBLE, LEO
Ruble has been a high energy guy in this lineup that maybe doesn’t get as much attention as other starters because he is not a high volume scorer. Instead, he has stepped up as an even handed ball handler who can take some pressure off Davison and be relied on to get the offense going. Ruble’s biggest impact may be in his defensive intensity where he is a ball hawk, consumed with creating turnovers. That said, Mississinewa tested Ruble’s ability to shoot by not covering him well last Saturday morning and they paid for it so don’t just assume he can’t score because his numbers aren’t high.
CONNOR LITKA, SOUTH BEND ST. JOE
Anytime you have someone who can do just a little bit of everything, you can’t have blinders on when you are on this stage. A senior, Litka doesn’t overwhelm and in fact, he has scored double digits just once this season with 11 points against South Bend Riley. But he does factor into every single game, chipping in for a couple of buckets, always good for a handful of rebounds and/or assists and a pair of steals or so. While you are looking one way, Litka can get you quietly from the side. His intangible play is important Saturday.
KEYS TO VICTORY FOR LEO
ESTABLISH A LEAD AND KEEP IT
Leo had some times down the stretch of the season and even down the stretch of last weekend’s Regional title game where they weren’t consumed with closing the game out as much as they should have been. The Lions are a team that really gets going on runs offensively, but they have to be able to play the best defensive basketball of the season should they get up semi-comfortably against South Bend St. Joe. Playing with the lead and keeping distance is somewhat of an art; can Leo perfect it?
CONTROL THE INTERIOR
It is no secret that one of Leo’s biggest threats is their interior play. Teams don’t boast two kids listed at 6-foot-6, who are both probably closer to 6-foot-7 and as long as Zack Troyer and DJ Allen are. In last Saturday’s Regional final, they combined to score 21 points and have eight rebounds in the first half. On the flip of that, NorthWood only had 22 points at halftime. High school basketball teams that are successful often utilize second and third chance scoring opportunities and if Leo can limit South Bend St. Joe’s second, third or fourth chances, that is a big part of the game.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION
This is a tough game to call. Why? Because we need to see which Leo team that we are going to get. South Bend St. Joe (21-4) is a pretty consistent team if nothing else. Their last two losses were both razor close games and as a team, they’ve seemed level headed since a December 19 loss to Homestead at Grace College.
Leo was there that day too at Grace, closing out then highly touted Class 2A Shenandoah with a big second half. The Lions wouldn’t lose a game until January 25 but then lost three of their last four heading into Sectional play. They had to play an overtime game during the Sectional round and saw an 11 point lead last Saturday leak down to one against NorthWood.
So which Leo team are we going to see and can they be that team for 32 full minutes. At their best, the Lions are tenacious offensively and hounding defensively. At their worst, they fade away on the inside and can’t hit shots from range.
This game could go such a variety of ways. Another razor close one or a blowout for either team is not out of the question. So don’t be surprised by any outcome.
SOUTH BEND ST. JOE 52, LEO 46
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