O’Brien: Frankie Mack’s buzzer-beater downs Stevenson

Prospect senior Frankie Mack says that he isn’t the guy at practice heaving half-court shots just in case his moment of glory ever comes. So maybe he isn’t quite as prepared for the hero role as some players, but you never would have known it on Saturday in Lincolnshire. Mack grabbed a pass, took a dribble and a step and heaved the ball from half court right before the buzzer went off. The crowd waited a moment and then the ball swished through the net to secure the Knights’ 47-46 win against No. 19 Stevenson. “We drew it up where I was supposed to set a screen for [David Swedura] coming off me hard at half court,” Mack said. “We were hoping my guy would hedge off and he did. [Michael] Ritchie threw a great pass to me at half court. We got lucky that we had a couple extra seconds on the clock and I had enough time to take a dribble and throw it up there. As soon as I saw it go up I knew it was going in. I had a good feeling.”Mack is a three-year starter for the Knights and their leading scorer, but he’s never hit a shot like that before. “It’s easily the biggest shot of my career, it feels great,” Mack said. “It is such a big win for our team. Everyone played hard, played great defense. It feels good to reward them.”Swedura led Prospect (7-3) with 14 points and Mack scored 13. Ritchie had eight points and 10 rebounds and Matt Szuba grabbed eight boards. “[Mack] has had some great games the past three years,” Prospect coach John Camardella said. “I trust him every time he has the ball in his hands. He took some early threes that weren’t falling and saved the best for last.”Stevenson senior Willie Herenton was almost the hero. The game was tied at 44 with 1:10 to play on the second to last possession of the game. Herenton dribbled the ball in the corner until five seconds was left. He made a move, go to the corner of the lane and drained a jumper that seemed to be the game-winner with two seconds to play. “He made a great move, good crossover and took the pull up,” Mack said. “He had a great game. I give him a lot of credit.”The Knights really did lock down on defense in the fourth quarter. The only other basket that Stevenson (7-1) managed besides for Herenton’s jumper was an extremely athletic rebound and tip from star forward Justin Smith. “It wasn’t the prettiest game offensively,” Camardella said. “It was a struggle, I think there were some uncharacteristic turnovers by both teams.”Herenton led the Patriots with 19 points and Smith, an Indiana recruit, added 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Prospect has played a difficult schedule so far this season. The Knights have lost to Conant, Evanston and in overtime to Hersey. “This is big,” Camardella said. “This is why we play the schedule we do, to test ourselves. You really want to measure yourself and Stevenson has been the absolute powerhouse in our area.”