Harrington ignites Ramblers’ regional-title win

Loyola Academy showed it was ready for a game Lincoln Park squad in Friday’s 49-41 regional final win at Glenbrook South. All the Ramblers needed was a spark.

Senior forward Hayden Harrington produced that flicker, lighting the match that helped burn the path to a Ramblers victory.

“Hayden’s really giving us a lot of positive play the last quarter of the year, been a huge spark off the bench,” Loyola Academy coach Tom Livatino said. “(He’s) given us some inside post scoring, given us some size. Him and Brody Munsey-Johnson have really had a great year.”

The result gave the Ramblers their third consecutive regional title and eighth consecutive victory in a hot final few weeks of the season.

Harrington (game-high 12 points) came up off the bench in the first quarter to score the Ramblers’ last bucket of the period in the waning second, then dropped the next two Loyola buckets early in the second to give his team an 11-9 advantage.

All six of Harrington’s baskets came when the score was within one possession, whether the Ramblers were leading, trailing or tied.

“Definitely trying to be a sparkplug. Sometimes the game isn’t (going) good enough at the start,” Harrington said. “I feel like it’s my job to get in there and give us a spark, give us some juice off the bench. Me and Charlie (Ellis), that’s what we try to do.”

Loyola Academy (27-6) established enough control in the third quarter to force Lincoln Park (21-9) into scramble mode the rest of the evening.

“Lincoln Park is just physically tough,” Livatino said. “They keep coming at you. They are relentless. We had to be tough and we were.”

Harrington scored 6 points on a trio of buckets in a clutch third quarter.

The Ramblers are set for a 4A sectional semifinal at home in Wilmette, where they will take on Evanston, winners in an 80-55 game against Niles North in another 4A regional final.

A slow start hindered the Ramblers early; though they never fell far behind.

The Ramblers missed their final six shot attempts of the first half and trailed 16-15 at the break.

The Ramblers had answer after answer for the Lions in the second half. One of the biggest moments came when Trey Williams delivered a snappy cross-court jump pass to Samuel Golden for a knockdown triple and a 40-33 Ramblers advantage with 4:13 remaining in the fourth.

Golden sank a pair of three-pointers and scored 11 for the Ramblers.

“Defensively we were up to the fight tonight,” Livatino said. “Historically we’ve had really good defensive teams, and (Lincoln Park) has been a really good offensive scoring team. Tonight we showed our March, state-playoff defense and made a positive step.”

Ashton Flowers cut the Lions’ deficit back down to three with a lay-in with 1:43 left in the fourth, but Lincoln Park got no closer.

Munsey-Johsnon (8 points) scored twice in three possessions amid a vital stretch in the third period, as the game turned maroon and gold via a 25-22 lead late in the quarter.

Trey Williams (9 points) assisted another and-1 bucket, this time by Harrington, for the Ramblers’ largest lead of the game at the time, 27-22.

Dickerson, who led Lincoln Park with 10 points, cut the Lions’ deficit back to two, 29-27, but Munsey-Johnson answered back in seconds, scoring in the paint again and added a pair of dead-clock (no time left in quarter) free throws for a 33-27 Loyola lead headed to the final quarter.

“These guys are my best friends,” Harrington said. “I love playing basketball with these guys. I just want to keep playing with them.”

Wednesday’s game with Evanston will be a rematch of a 63-61 loss at Evanston on Jan. 20, when the Wildkits Ben Ojala hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to claim victory.

“There’s not a better sectional in Illinois than the sectional we’re in,” Livatino said, adding, “It’s going to be an amazing environment. We’re just glad that we get to keep playing. Get to keep working and hanging out with each other. These are awesome kids.”

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