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Yes, Austin Villarreal and Bennett Basich did the heavy lifting for Arrowhead in the Warhawks' Classic Eight Conference game with visiting Catholic Memorial.

But it was reserve junior guard Sam Leoni who made the shot of the game, a baseline triple with under a minute left that broke a 68-68 deadlock and paved the way for Arrowhead's 77-72 victory over a game and very strong Catholic Memorial squad. 

Leoni's shot came Saturday morning, a little over 14 hours after the game was delayed due to a student collapsing in the Arrowhead student section. 

After about a half-hour stoppage of play on Friday, the decision was made to resume the game Saturday morning at 11 a.m. with Arrowhead leading 56-54 with 6:28 left. 

The student who collapsed in a warm and extremely crowded Arrowhead gymnasium was alert and responsive after the delay Friday night, and was reported to be in good shape Saturday. 

The triumph wrapped up the undisputed Classic Eight title for Arrowhead, which improved to 20-2 overall and 14-1 in league play under long-time coach Craig Haase. Second-place Catholic Memorial slipped to 16-7 overall and 11-4 in the conference.

One of Arrowhead's top scorers, senior Mac Wrecke, was saddled with foul trouble for much of the game and scored just six points for the Warhawks before fouling out with six minutes to go. The Green Bay recruit was held 11 points below his season average.

But Villarreal, a track and field recruit for Milwaukee, and Basich, a 6-foot-3 junior wing guard with scholarship potential, picked up the slack.

Villarreal finished with 27 points and repeatedly got the foul line while Basich added 28 points and drilled some huge three-point baskets. 

"Everybody knows Mac and focuses on Mac, and that allows a lot of opportunities for Austin and Bennett," Haase said. "They have been very efficient and very good at scoring the entire season. Austin and Bennett are both aggressive offensively and, on most nights, they get the second or third defender, and that gives them the leeway to score. Give those two kids a ton of credit for stepping up when Mac got into foul trouble."

Leoni is averaging a pedestrian 3.0 points per game, but he has connected on 43 percent of his three-point tries.

He took his big baseline three-point shot with no hesitation and it swished through, giving the Warhawks the lead for good. 

"If you look at Sam's points per game, it won't impressive you," Haase said. "But if you look at his three-point shooting percentage, it impresses you much more. He makes shots every day in practice. He had 41 points in a varsity reserve game last weekend. We see this all the time from Sam in practice."

Arrowhead won its eighth Classic Eight Conference title, which is the most in league history, thanks to a strong showing at the foul line. The Warhawks connected on 25 of 33 attempts with Villarreal making 14 of 16. 

"We've been challenged down the stretch," Haase said. "The ability to overcome some adversity and win close games will help us once the tournament starts. We are proud of the way we have finished games. If need to stay healthy and then get after it in the playoffs and see what happens."

Catholic Memorial rallied from a six-point halftime deficit (36-30), to take a five-point lead at one point in the second half.

The Crusaders were moving the ball, cutting to the basket and breaking down Arrowhead's man-to-man defense. 

But Haase called a timeout and switched to a 1-3-1 zone, which slowed down Catholic Memorial and allowed the Warhawks to chip away at their deficit.

"We couldn't manufacture stops today, and we missed some open shots," Catholic Memorial coach Jeremy McGlothlin said. "Missing shots happens, even with some of the great looks we had. We play the schedule we play and in the conference we play to make us battle tested and I think we are just that heading into the playoffs."

Catholic Memorial went toe-to-toe with one of the top Division 1 teams in the state and as a Division 3 school, that bodes well for the Crusaders' chances in the playoffs.

Seniors Jack Riley (12 points), Braden McGlothlin (14 points), Kyle Kober (19 points) and Bennett McCormick (17 points) all played well for CMH.

Riley used his length, athleticism and improved confidence to be a force around the basket, despite encountering some foul trouble.

McGlothlin, a NCAA Division II recruit for Indianapolis, is Mr. Steady on the court for CMH. The son of the head shot does a bit of everything and makes sound decisions with the ball in his hands.

Kober, a NCAA Division III recruit for Loras, slashed well to the basket and did an outstanding job of drawing fouls and getting the foul line.

And McCormick, a football recruit for Valparaiso, used excellent footwork, good quickness and solid athleticism to score off drives to the hoop.

Missed free throws hindered the Crusaders throughout the contest as they missed 12 on 24 of 36.

Those missed opportunities from the foul line were magnified once Leoni hit the back-breaking triple.

"A game changer," McGlothlin said of Leoni's shot. "You have to credit Sam. If he misses and we get a weakside rebound, maybe we come down and score and then they have to play from behind. But he knocked shot down with confidence.

"We have to understand that little things are huge in a game like this. We missed some layups. We also missed some free throws. We just have to get up there and knock those foul shots down. We have to be better, especially in close games.

"I think our schedule has made us better. That's not to take away from other conferences, but we have one of the best leagues in the state. And then you add on playing against Belleville and Pewaukee and Nicolet and West Salem in some of our non-league games. Our guys know they can compete against the top teams in the state in any division."

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