CHICAGO | After hitting iron, Jake Victorson became a man of steal Tuesday night.
When the senior guard missed two free throws with 20 seconds left in overtime at St. Francis deSales, Illiana Christian's lead remained at just one point. That meant the Pioneers had ample time to win the game -- until Victorson intervened, that is.
He slapped the ball away from a St. Francis player with 5.6 seconds remaining, drew a foul and made good twice at the line. That sealed the deal for the Vikings, who rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 1:34 to claim a 79-76 triumph.
"I knew I had to make something (good) happen," Victorson said. "I guess I didn't take my time (with the first free throws), but the second time I went up there confident I was going to make them."
Victorson also had one of Illiana's three 3-pointers that fueled its late comeback. Jordan Brink and Matt DeJong connected from long range as well, the latter's basket putting the Vikings (13-9) ahead for good.
"Everyone contributed tonight," Brink said. "This was a big win going into sectional seeding."
"It always helps to have people that can knock down 3s," Vikings coach Lance Davids said. "We got a little quick in some of our offensive sets, and part of that was (the Pioneers') pressure. But I give our kids credit -- they never quit."
As expected, Brink did much of the heavy lifting for Illiana throughout the game. The senior sharpshooter, who went 10-of-14 from the floor, buried eight 3-pointers en route to scoring a game-high 30 points.
Ironically, it was one of his two-point buckets that threatened to leave the Pioneers (8-13) in the rear-view mirror. It came after Brink stole a St. Francis inbounds pass midway through the fourth quarter and extended the Vikings' lead to 56-49.
But the Pioneers roared back behind the threesome of Joseph Pearson, Christopher Coulter and Robert Jackson, who combined to net the hosts' last 14 points of regulation. Jackson tied the score at 63 via a three-point play with 12.2 seconds left.
"We made a lot of dumb plays at the end of the game," Brink said. "But we also made some huge plays (later)."
Jackson (16 points) continued to haunt Illiana in OT, even after Pearson and Coulter were lost to fifth fouls. Despite giving away several inches to the Vikings' big men, Jackson had consecutive putbacks to give St. Francis the lead it held until the final 35 seconds.
"Size don't mean nothing -- it's about heart," Jackson said. "They tell me to play big, and they kept giving it to me in the post."
Coulter and Pearson joined Jackson in double figures, finishing with 20 and 13 points, respectively, for the Pioneers. Zack VanBeek added 14 for Illiana, which shot 50 percent from the field.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Illiana Christian 79, St. Francis deSales 76, OT
Jordan Brink hit eight 3-pointers and scored 30 points for the Vikings.
