Michael Lewis's buzzer-beater leads Leo past Yorkville Christian

Leo senior Michael Lewis had never hit a game-winning shot before his 40-foot buzzer-beater on Saturday at St. Laurence in Burbank. So he doesn’t know how to play it cool.

“When it went up I thought I air balled it,” Lewis said. “I was shocked when it went in. I wasn’t even happy I was just shocked it happened. That was amazing. All my teammates ran across the court to me with wide open eyes. It felt so good.”

Lewis’s heroics gave the Lions a 60-57 win against Yorkville Christian at the Barry Shaw Memorial Shootout.

Leo trailed by 12 after three quarters. The Mustangs (10-6) are led by Jayden Riley (21 points), one of the best senior guards in the state. The Lions held Riley to just two free throws during the fourth-quarter comeback and outscored Yorkville Christian 24-9.

“[Ridley] gave us some freedom and let us play our own way and not like robots,” Lewis said. “That helped us get back in the game.”

Junior guard Asa Harris led Leo (12-4) with 23 points. He converted a traditional three-point play with 13 seconds left to tie the game at 57.

“In that situation I have to go get one for my team,” Harris said. “I’ve had to be more of a point guard this year but right then was the time to score.”

Harris has led the Lions all season.

“Asa took his lumps as a sophomore and now it is his show,” Ridley said. “He’s the lead guard and the engine. He’s not afraid of me anymore and he has his confidence. That’s my guy.”

Lewis finished with nine points and junior Brian Kizer added 11 points. Leo freshman Elon Henderson, a 6-8 forward, drained a key three-pointer with 35 seconds left in the game.

“[Henderson] is going to be the best freshman in the state when it is all said and done,” Ridley said. “And he’s going to be a top 25 player in the country. The biggest thing with him isn’t just his confidence. It is his character. He loves the game and he loves his teammates.”

Mount Carmel beats Lincoln Park

Two freshmen sparkled in an earlier game in the shootout. Mount Carmel’s highly-regarded young duo of Da’Kylen Heard and Ronald Johnson led the Caravan to a 54-46 win against Lincoln Park.

Heard had 15 points and 9 rebounds and Johnson added 13 points and 7 rebounds. Sophomore Marshaun Thornton added eight points.

Both teams shot poorly and combined to miss the first 20 three-pointers of the game. Three starters and one bench player fouled out for Lincoln Park (11-5). The game was a foul-filled, rock-throwing contest. But it was the second big win in two days for Mount Carmel (13-5), which won at Loyola on Friday.

“It was winning ugly like the 1983 Sox, but we will take it,” Caravan coach Phil Segroves. “It’s better to be 2-0 and play ugly than 0-2 and play great.”

Jaylen Dickerson led Lincoln Park (11-5) with 18 points and Ahmad Lee scored 12. Both fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Jalil Amous, a 6-4 senior who starred for the Lions at the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament, is no longer with the team. He transferred to Chicago Prep and reclassified to the Class of 2027.