Ringing in new year: Melvin Bell jells with teammates in return from injury but St. Rita takes 4th at Proviso West. ‘It felt great.’

In a week of tough losses, St. Rita also got a huge win with the return of sophomore guard Melvin Bell.

Bell, ranked as the No. 1 recruit in Illinois in the sophomore class by 247Sports.com, was back on the court for the Proviso West Holiday Tournament, playing for the first time since suffering a shattered tibia in April.

“It felt great to touch the court, get back out here with the guys and have fun contributing to wins,” Bell said. “I’m just bringing energy. I’m not really looking at points. Just passing the ball and being a facilitator, mainly.

“I know I’ll get my points here and there.”

Bell scored nine points in his first game back, a first-round win over Bowman of Indiana.

The Mustangs, however, left Proviso West disappointed due to a fourth-place finish that wrapped up with a 66-61 overtime loss to Proviso East in Thursday’s third-place game.

Nojus Indrusaitis, who committed to Iowa State on Dec. 22, led the Mustangs (8-5) with 21 points and six rebounds. Illinois recruit Morez Johnson had 18 points and 16 rebounds and James Brown contributed 16 points and eight rebounds.

Jaloni Johnson scored 17 points and Juaquin Dixon had 14 points for Proviso East (10-2).

“We just have to be better,” St. Rita coach Roshawn Russell said. “I thought, mentally, we were just not ready to go.”

Russell hopes Bell can make the Mustangs — who also dropped a 68-66 heartbreaker to Whitney Young in the semifinals — that much better.

“Melvin’s a special player,” Russell said. “He’s one of the best players in the country in his class. Any time you get a player of his caliber back and with the kind of person he is in the locker room, it definitely changes the dynamic and the level you can play at.”

Bell said the recovery process was difficult, and not only from a physical standpoint.

“At first, it was very hard,” Bell said. “I dealt with depression at times. It went slow. It was just hard taking your time to get back and staying up with your mental state.

“It was about motivation, though. At the end of the day, you can always come back to the court. You just have to be patient. I’ve got people around me that keep me sane and keep me in the right mindset.”

Bell did not score against Proviso East but had four rebounds in 15 minutes. He knows it will take some time to get back in sync with his shot, but the key is to not get frustrated.

“It’s just believing in myself and having confidence,” Bell said. “It’s knowing I have people around me who believe in me and knowing my teammates and coaches believe me.”

Morez Johnson feels Bell can provide a big boost to an already talented roster.

“He brings a lot on offense and defense,” Johnson said. “He’s another long guy out there to help us out. He brings us a lot of energy.”

Brown scored 10 points in the fourth quarter against the Pirates as St. Rita turned a 49-45 deficit after three quarters into a 59-55 lead with a minute to go, but Dixon tied it for Proviso East with 19 seconds to go.

The Mustangs, though, scored just two points in OT on Johnson’s basket with 10 seconds to go.

That was the bad news for St. Rita. Russell hopes the good news of having Bell back will be much more important in the long run.

“We’re just trying to take baby steps with him getting back, getting him back comfortable and into a rhythm,” Russell said of Bell. “But he’s a huge part of what we do.

“I couldn’t be happier to see him playing basketball again.”

Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.