St. Rita guard Scott Kingsley is the next in a long line of division one players to make their commitment in this senior class. On Sunday Kingsley committed to Fairleigh Dickinson less than a day after returning from his visit. Head Basketball Coach, Gary DeCesare knows the importance of fitting in at the collegiate level and he believes FDU is the right choice. “This is a great opportunity for him,” DeCesare stated. “I always believe it is a great situation to play for Coach who takes over a new program and Scott will help Coach Herenda build FDU into Northeast conference power.”

Kingsley played a significant role on a team that won the Chicago Catholic League and host a myriad of star athletes. While Kingsley had opportunities elsewhere he is excited and confident about this choice.

“I chose FDU because Coach Herenda has won on every level he has coached and I want to be a part of the rebuilding process to get them back to the NCAA Tourney.”

Kingsley will be a guy that should contribute as a freshman. “I will bring toughness, shooting ability, and hard work to turn the program around.”

The St. Rita sharpshooter had a very good senior campaign after transferring over for his final high school season. He is one of the top three point shooters in the state, but also developed other areas of his game. Kingsley became a better scorer off the bounce as well as distributor as the year went on.

“I am very excited for Scott,” DeCesare exclaimed. “It was great to have a chance to coach him this past year. He was one of the hardest working players and really competed every day. Scott has a reputation to be a shooter but this year he learned to do many other different things on the floor.”

DuSable guard Malik Williams made one of the signature plays of the state tournament with his game-winning jump shot in the Class 4A St. Rita Regional championship.

It made for riveting and great theater, unless of course, you were one of the St. Rita players.

Except for those lucky few on a state title run, every season inevitably ends on some kind of note of disappointment or regret. The way the Mustangs’ otherwise stellar year ended was heartbreaking. St. Rita missed its own game-winning shot and then watched Williams rip their collective hearts out.

“Any time your season ends like, I don’t care what sport it is, it’s going to motivate you to get better, improve and make sure it never happens again,” St. Rita forward Victor Law said.

The 6-foot-7 Law was a centerpiece of the Mustangs’ attack, averaging 14 points and 9 rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from the floor.

“You have to remember we had five players who averaged double-figures, so we didn’t have one big scorer,” St. Rita coach Gary
DeCesare said.

“He’s a very skilled and talented player who can score with either hand and dominate the game,” DeCesare added. “He is one of the top three or four players in the state and one of the top 25 in the country.”

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It only took 1.2 seconds for the St. Rita basketball season to come to an end. That was the time that was left on the clock when DuSuble guard, Malik Williams, took a jump shot in a tie game of the Regional Championship. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the shot went in and consequently ended their season with a 54-52 loss.

The season was a successful one for the Mustangs hosting one of the toughest schedules in the country. The team took on four state champions and defeated them all. They played almost flawlessly throughout their Catholic League schedule and came out on top with a CCL South Championship. To top it off, they saw three of their seniors have tremendous years. Each one impacted the program in different ways, and will be hard to replace in the future.

Speaking of the future, it is undoubtedly bright. A team, that at times started all underclassmen, will have most of their roster back, which includes many Division I recruits. These players, described at times this year as young and inexperienced, will be older and have the veteran savvy to make a run at the forever coveted state championship.

While the hopes were to see the Mustangs continue to move on in the state playoffs, it is very easy to look towards the future; a future that Head Coach Gary DeCesare has built full of multi-talented players, ones that can bring championships to the school. But nobody should forget the accomplishments of this team: 19-8 record and a Chicago Catholic League South Championship.

Dominique Matthews had to work the jitters out.

“This was our first playoff game, and I had to calm down,” the St. Rita senior guard said. “I had some good looks early but I rushed my shot.”

Matthews caught fire at the right time, scoring 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half that sparked the host Mustangs to a 65-52 victory over emerging Public League program Kenwood in a Class 4A regional semifinal Tuesday night.

No. 20 St. Rita advances to meet DuSable, a surprise winner over Brother Rice, for the regional championship Friday night.

Sophomore Charles Matthews added 16 points and five rebounds for the Mustangs (19-7). The Matthews brothers were necessary to upstage the Broncos’ upset chances.

“They were a very good team, with very good and quick guards and they gave us a lot of problems,” Dominique Matthews said.

For the complete story click here, Courtesy of Patrick Z. McGavin Chicago Sun-Times

It was just five days ago that the St. Rita basketball team clinched the Chicago Catholic League South with an impressive 66-58 win over Seton. While the team begins to look toward the future and the state playoffs they took time yesterday before their matchup with rival Mt. Carmel, to celebrate the past.

It was senior night at St. Rita and the Mustangs would honor three members of its basketball team and a member of the bowling team.

The three basketball players that were honored were Danny Vaulman, Tim Kinney, and Scott Kingsley. Vaulman came to St. Rita from the St. Cajetan parish. He was a member of the basketball program for four years and was a 2 year letter winner under Gary DeCesare at the varsity level. Kinney, a member of the St. Gerald parish has been a mainstay for the Mustangs helping solidify the guard position. Scott Kingsley is unique in the fact that he has only spent one year at St. Rita; he transferred in from Whitney Young this summer, but has proven to be a great player and difference maker for the Mustangs.

Anthony Sanders, a member of the bowling team was also honored on senior night. Anthony has been the captain of the bowling team for the past 3 years, was recognized locally this season when he bowled a 300, and most recently was honored with the Chicago Bulls Sprite MVP award.

With all the celebration of the past and present the Mustangs still had a job to do on the court and they did it well. While the game remained close throughout, the Mustangs defensive pressure was too much for the Caravan to handle and St. Rita would walk away with a 61-54 victory.

Click below to see a slideshow of the ceremony and the game!

St. Rita vs. Mt. Carmel Basketball/Senior Night

Before it captured the Catholic League North title last season, it had been a decade since St. Rita won a conference basketball crown.

That drought came before Charles Matthews was around, though, and the sophomore plans on making championships an annual occurrence for the Mustangs.

Matthews scored 18 points and hit big shot after big shot Friday as host St. Rita clinched the Catholic League South crown with a 66-58 win over Seton.

“Last year, we won the conference led by Tony Hicks,” Matthews said. “With him gone, all of us wanted to show we could do it again. Hopefully, we can take this momentum into the playoffs and win state.”

Matthews’ older brother Dominique led the No. 8 Mustangs (16-7, 9-2) with 21 points and five rebounds. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, going 10-of-10 from the line, to help seal the win. He finished the game 17-of-20 from the charity stripe.

For complete story click here, Courtesy of Steve Millar, Chicago Sun-Times