Vest’s strong fourth quarter leads CJ past Alter,

Senior guard scores 10 fourth-quarter points for Eagles.

CHAMINADE JULIENNE 62, ALTER 61

— Alan Vest DAYTON wasn’t having his best game against archrival Alter. Then came crunch time.

“If you want to be a captain as a senior and you want to be one of the best players in the city and the area, you have to be confident,” the Chaminade Julienne senior said. “You have to be the person who says I’m the best player on the floor all the time.”

Vest did just that, unloading 10 fourth-quarter points in sparking host CJ to a 62-61 victory. The Eagles, ranked No. 3 in this week’s debut of the Division III state poll, improved to 9-1 overall and padded their Greater Catholic League North Division lead to 4-0.

Vest scored 19 points and super sophomore guard Christian Montague 18 to lead the Eagles. But it was Vest who took over when needed most.

He hit a pair of 3-pointers in the closing minutes after CJ had seemingly stalled and added what proved to be the winning free throws with four seconds left. In all, the Wright State verbal commit tallied nine of CJ’s final 11 points.

“A player who’s a shooter like him who has confidence — and he’s in his home gym — he wanted the ball,” Alter coach Eric Coulter said. “That’s what it’s all about. Guys that make key plays at the end of the game.”

Jacob Harrison added 11 points for CJ and Myo Baxter-Bell was limited to 10 after sitting out much of the contest with foul trouble. It was the fifth straight win for CJ, which has lost only at Moeller.

Alter (5-3, 2-1) had its three-game win streak snapped. Senior Dean Lemon led a balanced attack with 14 points. Keegan Saben added 13 points and Dominic Laravie and Michael Schwieterman 12 each.

Alter led 43-38 but CJ rallied to knot it 43-all heading into the fourth quarter. Then came Vest.

Harrison and Vest each hit a trio of 3-pointers. Alter’s Schwieterman hit an uncontested 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final margin.

“(Vest) has played a lot of minutes for us,” CJ coach Joe Staley said. “And he stepped up in the fourth quarter.”

The teams will have a rematch at Fairmont’s Trent Arena on Feb. 6.

MARC PENDLETON / STAFF CJ’s Jacob Harrison (center) gets cornered by Alter’s Keegan Saben (left) and Dominic Laravie. Harrison had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in Chaminade Julienne’s 62-61 win over Alter on Tuesday.