Trip to the vet: EJ Mosley, only a sophomore, takes on leadership role as St. Laurence tops H-F. ‘I have to be that guy.’

On a St. Laurence team that starts five sophomores, EJ Mosley knows there is no veteran waiting to step up and take big shots with the game on the line.

The sophomore guard is ready to take on that responsibility.

“I think we’re all capable of being that guy, but as the point guard, I have to step up and take leadership in that role,” Mosley said. “I have to be that guy.”

Mosley was that and more Wednesday night, scoring 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as visiting St. Laurence pulled out a 64-61 win over Homewood-Flossmoor.

Zerrick Johnson had 16 points and six rebounds, while Khalil Jones finished with 14 points and six rebounds for St. Laurence (13-5), which won its fifth straight game.

Jayden Tyler scored 19 points and pulled down six rebounds, Carson Brownfield finished with 15 points and Vincent Davis had 14 points and 10 rebounds for H-F (8-7).

St. Laurence trailed 54-49 with four minutes left but rallied as Mosley hit a key 3-pointer and converted a huge 3-point play, the latter giving his team a 63-58 lead with just 34 seconds left.

“I work on this,” Mosley said. “I perfect my craft. What I do in the gym, I can translate that into the game, so I’m comfortable with it.

“When you’re always in the gym, it just comes naturally because you put the work in and it’s going to show.”

St. Laurence needed all of Mosley’s heroics to hang on. H-F had a couple chances at a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds but came up empty.

St. Laurence coach Byron Burt has seen Mosley embrace that closer’s role.

“EJ’s been doing a good job with that,” Burt said. “He’s been stepping up and making big plays toward the end of games. We give him that confidence, and he’s stepped up and did it.

“I’m really happy for him and I hope he continues to do it.”

Johnson and Jones also had big fourth quarters.

“It was just staying to what we do all the time,” Johnson said. “We practice these types of situations. We were well-prepared and finished the game out the right way.”

Johnson knows he can turn to Mosley when things get tight late.

“That’s EJ’s game,” Johnson said. “That’s the player we go to when we’re in those types of situations.

“At York, he hit a big shot to win us the game. That’s just our guy right there. We’ll go to him every time.”

After ending a nip-and-tuck first half down 30-29, H-F put together a big third quarter to take a 48-42 lead.

Tyler, a sophomore guard, showed that St. Laurence isn’t the only team with young talent. He got hot for 10 points in the third quarter.

But H-F continued a trend of falling just short, suffering its fourth loss by four points or less.

“Jayden’s been playing big-time basketball as a sophomore,” H-F coach Jamere Dismukes said. “He’s been stepping up.

“We’re getting better and we’re getting that experience. We just have to learn how to finish games off.”

That’s something St. Laurence has started to figure out. It certainly helps having someone like Mosley to deliver the knockout punches.

“With senior Brandon McCoy leaving after last season, I knew I had to step up,” Mosley said. “I have to score more, get others involved and be that point guard that we need along with Khalil.

“Even when things get tough, if we stay together, we can overcome tough situations. I want to make sure that I help keep us together and stay the course.”

Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.