You had to feel bad for Ravenswood’s point guard, Hayden Mandrake. He was just trying to dribble the ball across the halfcourt line, as he had done thousands of time before.
But on this trip, he got a face full of Notre Dame’s Jarrod West a few feet in front of him, and he was in trouble. In a sleight of hand, West poked the ball behind Mandrake, scooped it up and scored a routine layup.
Mandrake looked up, seemingly asking for a foul call, or perhaps just a little mercy. That second-half play Saturday helped the Irish hold off the Red Devils 63-55 in the Class A state championship.