Brother Rice needed to get its mojo back heading into the IHSA boys basketball playoffs, and Caden Workman helped make that happen.
Workman hit two free throws with 5.8 seconds left to give the Crusaders the lead against visiting Lincoln Park on Feb. 21. Then he swatted away a Lions’ inbounds pass with 3.1 seconds to play, sealing a 60-59 win.
It capped a 2-0 week for Rice (25-6), which beat Notre Dame 73-44 three days earlier to snap a three-game losing streak.
Workman, a 6-foot-4 senior, had a typically productive evening with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. KJ Morris led the Crusaders with 18 points and seven rebounds, Jack Weigus had 15 points — including the 1,500th of his career — and Marcos Gonzales finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
More significant than any numbers was Rice’s ability to close out a game against one of the Public League’s elite teams.
“We feel like we’re rolling again off a rough stretch we had,” Workman said. “It’s great to beat a good team like this at home before the playoffs.”
Workman’s heads-up play in the closing seconds helped make that happen.
As time wound down with Rice trailing 59-58, Workman expected the Lions to pay the most attention to Weigus.
“They probably know we’re getting him the last shot,” Workman said. “It was a look for him in the corner and I saw (a defender) go. So I knew the slip would be open and just pump-faked. We know they try to block shots at the rim, so pump-fake and then just go from there.”
But even after he hit the free throws, Workman had another play to make.
“We knew there (were) three seconds left, so … they’re gonna be throwing to the basket,” he said. “We were in a zone there and we saw a guy going to the corner, so we just switched that out and then I (took) the post.”
It all worked out, sending the Crusaders into the postseason feeling upbeat.
“First of all, we wanted to schedule … a real quality team before the playoffs to test us and get us ready,” coach Conte Stamas said. “Obviously, winning the game does a lot for us.
“We went into a little slump there where we lost three in a row and I think now we have our confidence back. So the timing couldn’t be better for us.”
Give credit to Workman, whose passing skills cause opponents plenty of headaches.
“That’s kind of why we have him on the perimeter,” Stamas said. “Plus, it pulls their big away. … It’s a two-fold thing. Yeah, he’s a good passer up there, but it also opens up the basket for us to make different cuts and drives.”
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