Angelo Ciaravino climbed up the ladder, cut the first piece of the net and heard the cheers.
“Yeah, Angelo,” came the screams from Mount Carmel’s fans Friday night.
Ciaravino turned to them and replied, “Let’s go!”
Ten minutes had elapsed since an exciting 73-57 win over De La Salle in the Class 3A Hinsdale South Sectional championship game in Darien, but Ciaravino was still crackling with energy.
“It’s awesome,” said Ciaravino, who missed six games this season with a strained left hip flexor. “I watched my seniors cut the net down for us last year, and it’s a thrill doing it this year.”
The Northwestern-bound Ciaravino was the main reason why the scissors got taken to the twine by the Caravan (30-5), who will play at 6 p.m. Monday in the UIC Supersectional against St. Patrick, a 56-38 winner over Payton.
Ciaravino, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, was electrifying in leading Mount Carmel to just the third sectional championship in program history and first since 2008. He poured in a game-high 34 points to go with nine rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocked shots.
Junior guard Cameron Thomas added 23 points, six rebounds and two assists as the Caravan ended De La Salle’s bid for its first sectional title since 1983.
Nobody was surprised by Ciavarino’s performance.
“No,” Thomas said. “It’s just his effort that he puts in every day. He puts all the work in, so it doesn’t surprise me at all.”
Ciavarino, whose father, Tony, played for De La Salle, humbly shared credit for the win.
“Everyone is looking to step up,” Ciavarino said. “It’s just I happened to be the guy to step up. It could have been anyone. At the end of the day, we’re all great players.
“They have my back and I have theirs.”
Second-seeded De La Salle (22-12) hung tough behind the play of sophomore guard Charles Barnes, who scored 19 of his team-high 27 points in the first half.
Top-seeded Mount Carmel led 24-14 following the first of Ciavarino’s four 3-pointers, but the Meteors rallied to go up 37-35 on a 3-pointer from Tavariyuan Williams at the 6:04 mark of the third quarter.
That’s when Ciavarino erupted. He scored the next 10 points and ended up with 17 in the third quarter to break the backs of the Meteors, who never recovered from there.
Ciavarino tied the game with a layup, then hit the go-ahead 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. He followed with a pair steals, which he converted into another 3-pointer and a coast-to-coast layup for a 45-37 lead.
“He decided he wanted to take over and he took over,” Mount Carmel coach Phil Segroves said. “It’s as simple as that. He took good shots in rhythm, great downhill moves to the basket.
“Nothing was out of the realm of what he can do. That’s why he’s a Big Ten player.”
What does it feel like to be in such a zone?
“There is no feeling like it,” said Ciavarino, who shot 10 of 16 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. “It’s a big rush, and it’s just indescribable.”
As good as his offense was, Ciavarino’s steals were just as vital.
“My motor was very high, and I had the energy to go and anticipate,” Ciavarino said. “I’m not doing that if I feel like I don’t have it. I had it (Friday night) and I anticipated it well.”
Thomas said there is one more ingredient to Ciavarino’s greatness — and the Caravan’s success.
“It’s just his will to win,” Thomas said. “He wants to win extremely hard. He pushes us in practice and he inspires us to go hard every day.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
