Lee, IC Catholic Prep too much for St. Francis

Chauncey Lee achieved a feat Friday he said he hadn't done since middle school.

Lee, IC Catholic Prep's junior point guard, scored a personal-high 30 points in a 57-49 conference victory over St. Francis.

"It was really just a team win," Lee said. "I want to thank my teammates for kicking it out and just letting me go to work sometimes."

Count St. Francis as impressed.

"He's skilled; he's patient ... we knew immediately that if we couldn't contain him, we were going to be in trouble," St. Francis coach Erin Dwyer said of Lee. "He puts a lot of pressure on the defense."

Suffice to say, Lee's been a matchup problem for most opposing programs this season.

"Chauncey's been very hard to guard for teams," Knights coach T.J. Tyrrell said. "With his quickness, his ballhandling ability and his strength, he's a tough matchup for a lot of teams that we play."

Lee played on varsity his freshman season when he was brought up for the postseason. Last season he served as the starting point guard.

"He's a true point guard," Tyrell said.

"Last year was really (an eye opener)," Lee said. "It was just, really, a learning experience year for me ... we didn't really have the best record last year, so learning and experiencing that was really what helped my confidence."

A matchup against York last season made him "turn on the switch."

"We just started off slow," Lee recalled of the game. "I'm really waiting for that opportunity to play them this year again."

St. Francis (4-7, 2-2) was able to limit the rest of the Knights (12-3, 2-1) to modest scoring totals but couldn't close the gap late. Spartans sophomore guard Sebastian Miller scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter to aid their rally, but Lee and the Knights converted at the free-throw line to close it out.

Spartans guard Danny Blank hit a layup to pull St. Francis within 48-45 with 1:57 remaining, but Lee responded with a pair of free throws. Knights forward Dominic Gaudio hit 3 of 4 free throws, and Michael Hilgart also converted both free throws to give the Knights a 10-point advantage with about 30 seconds left.

Gaudio followed with 12 points and 5 rebounds, while Hilgart had 7 points.

The Spartans had 17 turnovers on the night.

"To a point, sometimes, we're too unselfish," Dwyer said. "We've got guys that we'd like to get the ball to on certain spots on the floor, be aggressive, and we sometimes pass those opportunities up."

"We almost (overcompensate)," Dwyer added. "Just in general, keeping it simple and trusting it. When we do that, we've proven that we can beat anybody."

Blank had 9 points for the Spartans, while Brendan Yarusso had 7 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman forward T.J. McMillen impressed with 7 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.

The Spartans are without 6-foot-8 center Bryce Walker. Walker has been missing from the lineup the last two weeks as he competes in a national volleyball tournament. Walker is expected back next week.

"(McMillen) is physically strong; he's a Division I athlete when it comes to being competitive and strong; that's a big difference." Dwyer said.