Justin Oliver’s game-winning turnaround jumper in the final seconds beats St. Ignatius, keeps Curie unbeaten

For almost 32 minutes there was nothing at all pretty about No. 2 Curie’s 42-40 win against No. 6 St. Ignatius in the Merry Madness Holiday Shootout at Young on Monday.

It was a defensive slugfest. Curie junior Kendall Holiday was hit in the face early and played the rest of the game with blood-stained bandage over his left eye. The Condors shot 1-for 21 from the three-point line and 11 of 21 from the free throw line. St. Ignatius committed 20 turnovers.

But none of the fans in attendance are going to remember any of that. Curie senior Justin Oliver’s beautiful, clutch game-winning shot will be the image that lasts.

With the score tied in the final seconds, Oliver waited for his moment and then struck with deadly precision, draining a perfect turnaround jumper to win the game with two St. Ignatius defenders in his face.

“They said if help came to make the right play,” Oliver said. “I think I made the right play. I was a little bit selfish, but it went in at least. [That’s my] first ever game winner. It felt a little bit better [than I expected].”

Oliver scored 14 points. Curie (8-0) trailed 35-28 with 5:02 left. Oliver is always aggressive, but he notched it up to another level at that point.

“I had to start taking over,” Oliver said. “After the lob I hit [Holliday] with we started going a little more.”

Holliday, a 6-4 senior, blocked a shot with 1:14 left the helped the Condors stay within two points. Senior Saquan Commings’ rebound and basket tied it at 40 with 50 seconds left.

“[St. Ignatius] has one of the best players in the state in [Chris Bolte] and those young guards are growing up overnight,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “We just played defense the last three or four possessions. It was a good block by Holliday that probably saved the game. If they score that one, it is probably over.”

Holliday finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and wasn’t worried about his bandaged face after the game.

“When you are working hard and you are a dog you are going to get war scars,” Holliday said. “I’m living with it. [Bolte] is very physical. He hit me with a little elbow early, and I just went beast mode. I saw red. I just went to get every rebound.”

Bolte, a 6-6 Yale recruit, earned rave reviews from Curie players and coaches after the game. He was 6 of 8 shooting and finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

“[Bolte] is a tremendous leader and a big-time competitor,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Monroe said. “He’s always going to give his best effort on both ends of the floor. He really played with a chip on his shoulder to make sure he did everything he could to help us win.”

Junior Chris Chittaro added 10 points for the Wolfpack, which was plagued by turnovers in a 19-point loss to top-ranked DePaul Prep on Friday. St. Ignatius (9-2) won its first nine games of the season.

“We didn’t take care of the basketball,” Monroe said. “The last two games we have really put ourselves in a tough spot. We’ve been a little bit sped up and rushed. That’s something we will continue to work on.”

St. Ignatius is the favorite at York’s Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament next week and Curie is the No. 2 seed at Pontiac, behind DePaul Prep.