Shamrocks Winning Streak Hits Seven Games
February 11, 2008

The Saint Patrick Shamrocks ran their record to 17-5 with victories over Carmel and Saint Viator. Bradley Bruno and Joshua Whitaker came off the bench to provide a spark on Friday night as Saint Patrick blew open a close game with a huge third quarter, defeating Carmel by a score of 62-41.
The next night, Jerome Robinson and Tim Traversa led the way to victory as the Shamrocks beat Saint Viator by a score of 69-46. The Shamrocks have now won seven straight games and nine of their last ten since the start of the New Year. The Shamrocks remain alone in first place in the East Suburban Catholic Conference, with a record of 10-1, one-half game ahead of the Chargers of Saint Joseph.

On Friday the Shamrocks hosted the Corsairs of Carmel, a team that, despite their 1-10 record in conference play, took Saint Patrick to overtime before falling 51-49 earlier this year. The Corsairs hung with the Shamrocks for the first half of the game, with St. Pat’s taking a 26-25 lead into the locker room at the half. Bruno and Whitaker came off the bench to hit a pair of three-pointers apiece to key a second-half Shamrock rally. Bruno went four for four from the field for 10 points, and Whitaker hit three of three from the floor for eight second-half points. Traversa finished with a game-high 14 points and five rebounds, while Robinson added nine points, six rebounds and three blocks.

The next night the Shamrocks beat the Lions of Saint Viator. After a sloppy first half, in which they turned the ball over nine times, the Shamrocks shot 71% from the floor in the second half as they cruised to a 69-46 victory. With a 38-20 rebounding advantage, the Shamrocks dominated the backboards. Robinson was 10 of 12 from the floor as he scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Traversa narrowly missed posting a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Bryant Smith scored 11 points and snagged six boards, while Matt Geraty chipped in with seven points and Bruno contributed seven rebounds and a pair of steals.

The Shamrocks were seeded tenth in the Maywood (Proviso East) Sectional of the Illinois High School Association’s Class 4A Boy’s Basketball Tournament. Saint Patrick will host the Chicago(Saint Patrick) Regional. The Shamrocks open the playoffs by taking on the Silver Streaks of Steinmetz on Monday February 25. The winner of that game will face the tenth-ranked Meteors of DeLasalle the following night. The schedule for the entire Chicago (Saint Patrick) Regional is as follows:

Mon., Feb. 25
Game 1 at 6:00 p.m.: (10) Chicago (St. Patrick) vs. (14) Chicago (Steinmetz)
Game 2 at 8:00 p.m.: (9) Chicago (Foreman) vs. (18) Chicago (Schurz)
Tue., Feb. 26
Game 3 at 7:30 p.m.: (3) Chicago (De La Salle) vs. Winner Game 1
Wed., Feb. 27
Game 4 at 7:30 p.m.: (6) Chicago (Lincoln Park) vs. Winner Game 2
Fri., Feb. 29
Game 5 at 7:30 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4