The Saint Patrick Shamrocks wrapped up their regular season with a 72-56 win over the Lions of Saint Viator. The Shamrocks ran out to a huge early lead, and they never let the Lions back into the game. Saint Patrick played a solid team game, finding the open man and getting him the ball. The Shamrocks shot 58% from the floor for the game, and recorded 23 assists on their 26 field goals. Saint Patrick finished the regular season with a record of 20-5. They were 10-3 in East Suburban Catholic Conference play, tied with Marian Catholic and Marist for second place in the league.

The Shamrocks scored the first seven points of the game on a pair of Sam Maniscalco lay-ups and a three-pointer from the corner by Mike Mockler. Saint Patrick then built their lead to 16 points at 19-3 with a 10-0 run late in the first quarter. Mike Giller’s three-pointer at the buzzer made it 22-5 Shamrocks after one period of play. The Shamrock lead stayed between 14 and 19 points throughout the second quarter, and they went to the half with Saint Patrick leading 32-16. The teams played back and forth throughout the second half as the Shamrocks maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half, cruising to a 72-56 win.

Several Shamrocks had outstanding games against Saint Viator. Maniscalco scored a game-high 27 points to go along with five assists. Giller narrowly missed a rare triple-double, finishing the game with 12 assists, 10 rebounds and eight points. Ed O’Callaghan scored 18 points, including four dunks that brought the senior-night crowd to their feet.

Both Maniscalco and Giller were both named to the All-Conference Team following the regular season. Maniscalco finished second in the conference’s “Player of the Year” balloting, losing out to Jonathan Peoples of Saint Joseph. Maniscalco was the conference’s leading scorer, averaging 19.7 points per game in league play.

Next weekend the Shamrocks head into the IHSA playoffs, where they are seeded third in the Skokie (Niles West) Sectional. Saint Patrick will begin the playoffs by hosting the Chicago (Saint Patrick) Regional. The Shamrocks will take on the winner of the Schurz versus Roosevelt game on February 28. The regional championship game will then pit the winner of that game against the winner of the Steinmetz/Evanston Township game on Friday March 3. The Shamrocks are looking to capture their fourth consecutive IHSA Regional Championship and sixth in the last seven years under Head Coach Mike Bailey.