MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / Febuary 1, 1999

RESERVE – Credere Joseph’s free throw with 36 seconds left lifted St. Charles Catholic to a 67-64 District 9-2A victory at Riverside Tuesday night.

The Comets improved to 2-1 in district play and 9-13 overall. Riversidefell to 8-11 overall and 1-1 in district.

St. Charles Catholic called a timeout after Joseph grabbed QuintonTerrio’s miss with 38.18 seconds left. Taking the ball in at midcourt,Joseph took a pass from Bonura in the backcourt and was fouled by Terrio.

Joseph made the front end but missed the second.

Riverside’s Scottey Manson saved the ball in with St. Charles Catholic’sJohn Mitchell grabbing the loose ball along the left baseline. Mitchelldrove in and was fouled, making both shots to give the Comets a 65-63 lead with 32.69 seconds left.Keith Leblanc drove the left baseline on the Rebels ensuing possession to make it a one-point game. Joseph then took the inbounds, broke the Rebels’press along the left sideline and passed to Courtney Baloney downcourt.

Baloney missed his shot but Joseph was there to put it back in. Riversidehustled the ball downcourt but Leblanc’s 3-pointer from the left corner bounced off the rim.

Joseph led the Comets with 21 points. Bonura tossed in 16 points whileMitchell added 13.

Terrio led all scorers with 25 points. Paul Labiche added 11 points whileDamien Melancon chipped in with 10.

Riverside bounced back from a 12-point first quarter deficit to take a 62- 58 lead on a jumper by Labiche with 2:47 remaining. Mitchell made it atwo-point game two possessions later, grabbing a rebound and tossing it back in. After a timeout by St. Charles Catholic, Bonura stepped in front ofa pass at midcourt and took it in, tying the game at 62 with 1:25 left.

Riverside took a 37-32 lead into halftime before Joseph opened the scoring in the second half by driving the left baseline. Brandon Broussardfollowed by taking a pass from Bonura underneath and then hit a jumper from the left side, giving the Comets a 38-37 lead with 6:02 left in the quarter.

Riverside regained the lead as Terrio passed cross court to Leblanc driving in from the left side. The lead continued to seesaw until Labiche made it48-45 with a fadeaway jumper. Leblanc and Mike Mustian traded 3-pointers before Labiche answered free throws by Mitchell with two of his own, giving Riverside a 55-54 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

George Murla hit a 3-pointer from the left side with Bonura answering for the Comets with one from the right, tying the game at 58. A pass fromLabiche to Terrio underneath gave the Rebels the lead with 4:45 left.

A 3-pointer by Bonura from the left corner gave the Comets an early 7-4 lead. A 3-pointer by Broussard and a three-point play by Bonura extendedthe lead to 18-6 with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter. Ricky Maderefollowed his own miss to make it 20-9 heading into the second quarter.

Terrio brought the Rebels back with a jump shot and two free throws, making it 21-15 with 5:33 remaining.

Melancon made it a three-point game with a 3-pointer from the left corner and was fouled on the play. Melancon missed the free throw but Terrio wasthere to put it back, cutting the deficit to 26-25 with 3:02 left.

Craig Tearney gave the Rebels their first lead of the game at 29-28 with 2:07 left by knocking down a jumper. The Comets regained the lead on athree-point play by Joseph but Terrio came back with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to help the Rebels take a five-point halftime lead.

“Late in the first half, we kind of lost our composure and let the lead get away,” St. Charles Catholic coach Phillip Cavell said. “In the second half,we kept our composure and got a couple of baskets.”Riverside coach John White said his team was able to take the lead despite having both starting guards out thanks to the play of Melancon and Murla and Terrio, Tearney and Labiche stepping up. White said thedifference in the game was the St. Charles Catholic defense picking it upin the last minute.

“That was a great high school basketball atmosphere in there tonight,” White said. “This is one the kids will remember for a while. We playedhard. We did not have too many turnovers and played good defense. Theyjust hit some good shots.”

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