There was a long list of obstacles to overcome Saturday night for Brother Rice’s Caden Workman.
The senior forward suffered a broken finger a week before the season and had been in an offensive slump ever since. Senior guard Marcos Gonzales, his longtime teammate and the Crusaders’ star, also was out with an injury.
Oh, and the 6-foot-4 Workman would spend most of the game against Lane Tech matched up with 6-10 Dalton Scantlebury, an Ivy League-bound senior forward who has committed to Penn.
Challenges accepted.
“I definitely look forward to games like this,” Workman said. “I look forward to the opportunity to just battle. Without Marcos, everyone else has to step up and we were ready for that.
“With (Scantlebury), we just tried to make it as hard as we could on him.”
Workman held his own in the lane and found his offensive form, scoring 14 points and pulling down five rebounds to lead Brother Rice to a gritty 49-46 win over Lane Tech in a Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic semifinal.
KJ Morris also scored 14 points for Brother Rice (13-0), while Jack Weigus added 12 points and 12 rebounds. Joe Niego finished with four points and made big defensive plays off the bench.
The Crusaders advanced to the championship game at 8:30 p.m. Monday against Hinsdale Central (11-2), which edged Niles North 78-77 in overtime.
Scantlebury finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead Lane Tech (8-7). Juka Pinto scored nine points and Zach Mazanowski finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Brother Rice coach Conte Stamas said Gonzales, who’s committed to the Citadel, “tweaked his ankle” in Friday night’s 75-59 quarterfinal win over Maine South. The Crusaders hope he can return Monday.
Workman and Gonzales have had a longtime connection on the court, having played together since third grade.
“It’s awesome,” Workman said. “I feel like we kind of have telekinesis on the court. We know where each other’s going to be. That helps a ton.”
Seeing his buddy on the bench, Workman knew the rest of the team had to pick up the slack.
“He’s a great leader, so we had to step into that role,” Workman said of Gonzales. “We knew the team had his back. If anyone goes down, we have their back.”
Workman scored five straight points midway through the third quarter, knocking down a 3-pointer and converting inside to help the Crusaders stretch the lead to 36-27.
That was a welcome sight for Stamas.
“Caden’s been playing with a broken finger and he was having a hard time catching the ball,” Stamas said. “Then I think he was losing confidence because of it. It was more of a mental thing.
“Now, I think the finger is better and he’s getting that confidence back.”
Workman said he had a hard time finding his touch in the first couple weeks of the season.
“It definitely affected my shooting the first two weeks of the season because I had to tape my fingers together,” Workman said. “Now, it’s healing up and it feels 100%.”
Morris scored 10 points in the second half, converting multiple layups off passes from Workman.
“Caden’s always been a good post player,” Morris said. “We always have that connection. He’ll post and draw a double team and I’ll cut to the basket and he’ll get me the ball.
“We always work off one another. It’s just great.”
Lane Tech cut its deficit to 40-38 early in the fourth quarter before Niego scored four straight points. Workman and Morris had key steals down the stretch to seal the win.
Stamas knows that having Workman back in an offensive groove is huge for the Crusaders.
“I told him it’s just going to take one breakout game and hopefully it’s this one,” Stamas said. “When you add that into the mix with the other guys, that really gives us a big boost.”
