Saturday, December 9, 2000

By Mark Znidar
Dispatch Sports Reporter

DeSales basketball coach Dan Garrick can live with being called a rip-off artist, as long as it means a few more victories over St. Charles.

For years, the Cardinals frustrated the Stallions with a slick transition game and shooting clinics from three-point range.

Last season, Garrick had had enough. He copied coach Wally Teeters' style down to the dribble and came away with a split in their Central Catholic League home-and-home series.

The topper came last night when DeSales ran baseline to baseline and spread the floor for some easy baskets in defeating St. Charles 69-62 before a standing-room-only crowd in the Cardinals' hot house of a gym.

The Stallions, who proved once and for all that they are no longer a plodding, beat-'em-up team, hadn't won at St. Charles since 1992.

"St. Charles does as good a job as anyone in the league of controlling the tempo, getting you to play the way they want you to play," Garrick said. "We converted to their style of play last year. The kids have really embraced this style."

It was far from pretty. Both teams tried to force the action, and the result was 46 fouls or almost 1 1/2 fouls per minute.

DeSales (2-0) came close to blowing a 15-point lead, partly because two of Garrick's starters, forward Richie McNally and guard Nathan Garrick, were sitting next to him on the bench with four fouls midway through the third quarter.

St. Charles (2-1) crept to 41-36 with 4:15 left in the quarter on a short jumper from the baseline by guard David Cook.

That's when the new Stallions came up big. Jim Schmall, a 6-foot-9 backup center, and guards Greg Pharion and Ronnie Smith hung tough until the starters were brought back. Schmall had eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

"We were just thinking that there would be no letdown when we were in there," Schmall said "We wanted to have the same intensity as the starters."

Dan Garrick had praise for Schmall in particular.

"Jim was just huge, and it wasn't just the points," he said. "It was his presence."

The Cardinals wouldn't go away, though. A layup off the fast break by Allen Ayers cut the gap to 56-50.

DeSales showed its poise when Mike Love buried a trey from the top of the key and hit a layup off the fast break to make it 61-50 with 2:38 left.

The Stallions put it away by hitting six straight free throws in the final 27 seconds.

"We had to control ourselves and be on the same page," Love said. "We talked about showing poise even before the game because this is one of the toughest environments in the CCL."

DeSales was so team-oriented that guard Tony Borghese with 14 points was the only player in double figures. Forward Scott Hunter led St. Charles with 18 points.

Teeters blamed the loss on himself.

"At least we have some things to work on in practice," he said. "The disciplined team won. That's what it came down to. They executed the way they were supposed to and we didn't execute. It was poor coaching on my part."