If timing is everything, Grant Best got down to business Monday night for Mount Carmel.
Best, who made a big 3-pointer for the Caravan right before halftime against St. Patrick, actually came up short in a similar situation just a few days earlier in the sectional championship game.
“I had the same shot against De La Salle last Friday at the end of the first half where I got the ball,” Best said, looking back with a shrug. “I just pulled up too far away and missed it.
“I looked up at the clock (Monday night) and Dylan Fulbright tipped me the ball — and I just knew that I had to get my feet down.”
Best’s shot brought Mount Carmel back from the brink in the Class 3A UIC Supersectional at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago as the Caravan cut down a nine-point deficit in the first half.
In all, Best had 18 points and 14 rebounds for a dazzling double-double as Mount Carmel, which trailed 24-20 at halftime, ended up pulling out a 56-46 victory in overtime over the Shamrocks.
Northwestern-bound senior forward Angelo Ciaravino scored 15 points and Cameron Thomas added 12 for the Caravan (31-5), who play at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the state semifinals at the State Farm Center in Champaign against Mount Zion (35-1), a 47-46 winner over Centralia.
Sophomore guard Noah Mister also contributed with eight points and seven assists for Mount Carmel, which will be making its first appearance at state since winning the Class AA title in 1985.
That was 39 years ago. It wouldn’t have happened without Best, who had 11 points in the first half.
“We came out with a lot of low energy at the start of the game, got down by nine,” said Best, who shot 3 of 4 from 3-point range. “I just felt like I had to do something positive out there.
“We had a game (here) against Vashon from St. Louis, so I knew the floor and the backdrop. I didn’t have my best game that game. I haven’t had the best playoffs, but I knew I had to step up.”
Ciaravino also made just one basket in scoring three points during the first half.
“We have guys like Grant, all of them are great players,” Ciaravino said. “They are all capable of doing what he did by stepping up and making shots.
“Our mentality is always the next guy up, and I know if I’m not having a good game, we have other guys who are capable of making great plays.”
While the outside shooting of the 6-foot-2 Best helped Mount Carmel find its offensive groove, at the same time, his rebounding turned out to be a revelation for the Caravan.
He crashed the boards with authority, creating multiple second-chance opportunities.
“Everybody knows what a great shooter Grant is, especially the shots he has in his bag,” Mount Carmel coach Phil Segroves said. “But the thing about him is that he is just a warrior on the court.
“With the way he shoots the ball, he is going to continue to improve and grow. But what really stands out about Grant is his toughness, his grit and just how competitive he is.”
Best also put the “next man up” theory to the test in the wake of a key injury to senior guard/forward Lee Marks, a 6-7 shooter who has been out since early February.
In that regard, Best’s versatility has become even more crucial in Marks’ absence.
“He was our second-best player offensively,” Best said of Marks. “Because we’re losing so many rebounds, he does all the little things and scores. That just meant I had to do so much more.”
The Caravan will be looking for their third major state championship after the football team won the Class 7A state title and the wrestling program won the Class 3A dual team state title.
“We had a pep rally for the wrestling team after they won,” Best said. “The wrestling coach said every time someone wins a state championship, we get a day off from school.
”Everyone is counting on us.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.