When it comes to long-range shooting, there are no boundaries for University of St. Francis junior Jo Jo Ballestero.
“Some people think some of my shots are a little iffy, but those are shots that I practice and know I can make,” Ballestero said.
The 5-foot-11 guard showed he’s never quite out of range Saturday against Lewis. Ballestero connected on four deep 3-pointers en route to a season-high 22 points to spark the Saints’ upset bid in a 75-55 victory at the Sullivan Center in Joliet.
“It feels really good, especially after the last couple games because I haven’t been shooting the ball very well,” said Ballestero, who shot 8-for-12. “I came in (Friday) with my teammate (Jean Pietrzak) and got up 500 makes, so that really boosted my confidence to see the ball go in the basket.”
It’s been quite a week for St. Francis (13-1), which also downed Cornerstone, the reigning NAIA Division II champion. The Saints were ranked No. 2 in the latest NAIA Division II poll.
Ilya Ilyayev, St. Francis’ leading scorer, notched game-highs with 24 points and 17 rebounds. Landus Anderson and Brian Edwards played stout defense in limiting Lewis star Max Strus, the Stagg product.
“(Strus) is a marvelous player,” St. Francis coach Ryan Marks said. “With any great player, you can’t let them get off to a great start, because then they start to feel it. We were fortunate to have him miss a few early.”
Strus, a 6-6 guard, entered averaging more than 25 points and nine rebounds. He was held to to nine points on 2-for-14 shooting. Kyle Nelson led the Flyers (9-3) with 14 points and seven rebounds.
“I noticed he would shoot a lot if the defender wasn’t up on him,” Anderson said. “So I tried my best to stay as close to him as possible and play physical.”
With Strus failing to find the mark and Ballestero connecting on 3-for-4 shots from three-point range in the first half, St. Francis took a 16-point lead into halftime and later led by as much as 24.
“That’s why (Ballestero) gives you such great value,” Marks said. “We had to make some threes to have a chance, and obviously Jo Jo gave us a great lift.”
It was St. Francis’ first victory against Lewis in its last 14 games.
“We just looked out of sync and never got into any flow,” Lewis coach Scott Trost said. “That’s as bad as any game we’ve played, but give them credit for that. I thought Ballestero’s first half really got them off to a good start.”
Indianapolis 106, Governors State 81: Jalen Miller had 20 points and seven rebounds for Governors State (2-17).
Women’s Basketball
St. Xavier 79, Roosevelt 55: Kara Krolicki had 27 points and eight rebounds and Sarah Vozel grabbed 15 rebounds as top-ranked St. Xavier (17-0, 7-0 CCAC North) tied the 2009-10 team for the best start in school history.
Lewis 67, Wisconsin Parkside 63: Mariyah Brawner-Henley racked up 30 points and 16 rebounds and Jessica Kelliher added 19 points for Lewis (12-1, 3-0 GLVC East).
Joliet Junior College 55, Elgin 47: Treanna Perry (15 points) and Chavon Banks (11 points, 13 rebounds, 5 steals) led Joliet (9-5).
Trinity International 73, Governors State 61: Zaporia Smith contributed 22 points and 16 rebounds for Governors State.
Men’s Volleyball
Lewis 25-25-23-25, Cal Santa Barbara 23-23-25-22: Julian Moses (21 kills, 8 digs), Patrick Lilly (11 kills) and Scott Fifer (44 assists) starred for Lewis in its season opener.
Wrestling
Riverside-Brookfield quadrangular: Nick Mihajlovich (170 pounds) and Devin O’Rourke (220) won three times each in helping Lincoln-Way East (18-4) defeat Johnsburg 68-7, Hampshire 54-20 and Riverside-Brookfield 36-23.
The Clash XIV National Duals: Bryan Ditchman (285) registered three pins for Lincoln-Way Central, which was runner-up in the eighth-place bracket after winning two of three duals. Ditchman finished the two-day tournament 6-0 with five pins as the Knights went 2-4 in Rochester, Minn.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed to this story.
