Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Michael O'Brien

Illinois high school basketball scores

2023-12-14T11:44:55.025-06:00

Huntley’s Bryce Walker (1) chases after a loose ball as the Red Raiders play Crystal Lake South.

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Please send scores and corrections to preps@suntimes.com.

Thursday, December 14, 2023

RED SOUTH/CENTRAL

Englewood 57, Brooks 44

Kenwood 79, Dyett 52

Perspectives-LA 66, Lindblom 61

Phillips 77, Hyde Park 71

WHITE CENTRAL

Catalyst-Maria at Longwood

Chicago Richards at Bogan

Hubbard at Solorio

Kennedy at Hancock

King at Dunbar

WHITE SOUTH

Carver 69, Ag. Science 67, OT

Morgan Park 70, UP-Bronzeville 55

Fenger at South Shore

Vocational at Harlan

Woodlawn at Corliss

BLUE CENTRAL

Horizon-Southwest 82, UP-Englewood 20

Kelly 47, Gage Park 44

Tilden 62, Soto 24

DuSable at Back of the Yards

Garcia at Instituto Health

BLUE SOUTH

Chicago Military 68, EPIC 31

Hirsch 2, Excel-Englewood 0, fft.

Julian 56, Bowen 53, OT

Amandla at Goode

Washington at Air Force

LAKE SHORE

Morgan Park Academy at Waldorf

NOBLE BLUE

Noble Street at Mansueto

Rauner at Speer

NOBLE GOLD

Bulls Prep 56, Comer 54

Noble Academy at Rowe-Clark

NORTH SUBURBAN

Lake Zurich 58, Libertyville 54

NORTHEASTERN

Christian Liberty 61, Westlake Christian 27

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Wauconda 60, Lakes 54

SOUTHLAND

Bloom 56, Thornwood 46

UPSTATE EIGHT

Glenbard South 60, Elgin 24

Larkin 60, East Aurora 52

South Elgin 64, West Chicago 35

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Hinsdale Central 62, Oak Park-River Forest 53

NONCONFERENCE

Bremen 67, Lombard Prep 57

Elgin Academy 67, IMSA 65

Families of Faith 60, Momence 46

Hope Academy 81, Parker 52

Reavis 66, Universal 40

Rochelle Zell 63, Beacon 52

Stagg 49, Oak Lawn 42

Westminster Christian at Chesterton

SCOTTSDALE SAGUARO, ARIZ.

New Trier 65, Gilbert Christian, Ariz. 49

WATSEKA

Hoopeston 50, Illinois Lutheran 15

La Salette 42, St. Anne 38

McNamara 94, Cissna Park 47

Illinois Lutheran vs. Watseka

Crystal Lake South has figured out a winning recipe with guard AJ Demirov and a lengthy 1-3-1 defense

2023-12-13T21:23:38.966-06:00

Crystal Lake South’s AJ Demirov (4) shoots a three against Huntley.

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Crystal Lake South junior AJ Demirov is a marked man in the Fox Valley Conference.

Opponents are face guarding him off the ball and doing everything possible to keep the ball out of the talented guard’s hands.

The Gators are busy developing another weapon that is taking the pressure off Demirov, who is 5-11. Coach Matt LePage has been utilizing a 1-3-1 zone defense to take advantage of his team’s impressive size.

The four starters after Demirov are 6-5 Tony Santarelli, 6-6 Colton Hess, 6-6 James Carlson and 6-8 Christian Rohde.

“Defense has become our way of winning,” Rohde said. “It creates turnovers and gets us some easy baskets. We’ve just been getting more and more aggressive in it.”

Demirov finished with 15 points and five assists in the Gators’ 49-25 win against visiting Huntley on Wednesday.

There were some stretches where Crystal Lake South struggled in the half-court offense when Demirov was denied the ball.

“I’m not going to try and force everything every time,” Demirov said. “I trust my teammates. They are capable of doing the job too.”

Rohde (10 points, six rebounds, four blocks) hit a few jumpers to supply points when Demirov was denied and freshman Carson Trivellini had a major impact off the bench with 16 points and five rebounds. He made four three-pointers.

“[Trivellini] came in and obviously wasn’t scared, which is awesome,” LePage said. “When AJ is doubled we need someone to step up. [Trivellini] had 16 in a conference game last week too. He’s been playing well.”

Rohde was the ninth man on last season’s team, which won a regional. He started receiving more playing time near the end of the year.

“Rhode’s development has been great,” LePage said. “He’s senior and he’s starting to take off. That was arguably his best game of the year. He just stepped up.”

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half and the Gators (10-1, 5-0 Fox Valley) led 18-7. Huntley (7-3, 3-2) handed Crystal Lake South its only loss of the season so far, a 55-48 win the first week of the season.

“This had more of a conference feel,” LePage said. “Two teams battling it out and every possession mattered. Our guys just played better. We rebounded well out of the 1-3-1 which is crucial.”

The Gators out-rebounded Huntley 38-21. Carlson had nine boards to lead the effort.

Senior guard Bryce Walker led the Red Raiders with nine points and Christian Wilson added eight points. Huntley was 0 for 13 from three-point range.

“The 1-3-1 is really bothering teams,” Demirov said. “We’ve held five teams to under 40 points.”

Crystal Lake South had some playoff success last season and has the tallest team in the conference and probably the best player in Demirov. The Gators are dreaming big.

“Honestly, I think our ceiling is limitless,” Demirov said. “We can go all the way if we keep improving. We have the pieces.”

Illinois high school basketball scores

2023-12-13T18:27:16.552-06:00

Mount Carmel’s Cameron Thomas, brown jersey, grabs a rebound before DeLaSalle’s Nick Quinn McCarihan (21) can.

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Please send scores and corrections to preps@suntimes.com.

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

RED NORTH/WEST

Farragut 81, North Lawndale 71

Lincoln Park 85, Orr 29

Payton 61, Lane 57

Westinghouse 62, Taft 61

Young 61, Clark 52

WHITE NORTH

Lake View 67, North Grand 59

Mather 65, Prosser 59

Northside 79, Chicago Academy 45

Senn 49, Schurz 25

Von Steuben 59, Amundsen 43

WHITE WEST

Crane 38, Jones 32

Marshall 58, Manley 54

Ogden 62, Raby 51

Perspectives-MSA 80, Collins 57

Austin at Wells, ppd.

BLUE NORTH

Alcott 91, Roosevelt 21

CMSA 62, Marine 28

Foreman 55, Disney 24

Rickover 41, ASPIRA 39

Steinmetz 55, Uplift 54

Sullivan d. Intrinsic-Belmont

BLUE WEST

Chicago Tech 65, Douglass 16

Clemente 95, Chicago Collegiate 17

Juarez 82, Spry 22

Kelvyn Park 63, Phoenix 52

Little Village 90, Legal Prep 77

CHICAGO PREP

Ida Crown 49, Holy Trinity 20

FOX VALLEY

Burlington Central 51, Prairie Ridge 43

Cary-Grove 57, Crystal Lake Central 45

Crystal Lake South 49, Huntley 25

Hampshire 53, Jacobs 49

McHenry 61, Dundee-Crown 38

KISHWAUKEE RIVER

Johnsburg 68, Woodstock North 57

Plano 61, Marengo 32

Sandwich 57, Harvard 39

Woodstock 58, Richmond-Burton 56

LAKE SHORE

British School 47, Horizon-McKinley 46

Intrinsic-Downtown 45, Beacon 28

Wolcott 81, Morgan Park Academy 50

NOBLE BLUE

DRW Prep 66, Golder 64

Muchin 53, Baker 9

UIC Prep 59, Pritzker 42

NOBLE GOLD

Hansberry at Butler, ppd.

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch 52, Grayslake Central 48, OT

Grant 65, Grayslake North 48

North Chicago 73, Round Lake 31

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN CROSSOVER

Bradley-Bourbonnais 73, Sandburg 58

NONCONFERENCE

Andrew 64, Tinley Park 46

Christian Heritage 62, St. Martin 50

Downers Grove North 68, TF South 29

Eisenhower 92, Catalyst-Maria 35

Hinckley-Big Rock 60, Ashton-Franklin Center 34

North Shore 58, Northtown 44

Reavis 63, Elmwood Park 36

Rochelle 74, Genoa-Kingston 44

Sycamore 52, Mendota 43

Yeshiva 67, Walther Christian 65

Yorkville Christian 80, DePue 44

Michael O’Brien’s high school basketball notebook

2023-12-13T10:24:52.841-06:00

Benet’s bench celebrates during the game against St. Patrick.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

This week on No Shot Clock we discussed the eight teams that currently have a case for the No. 1 spot in the Super 25. We break down our first impressions of the teams and then say if we think they can win the state title in March...bold early takes.

You can listen to No Shot Clock on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or right on the Sun-Times’ site. It was a busy Tuesday night in the area and I have a feeling I’ll remember the game I covered, Benet at St. Patrick, for quite awhile.

Super 25 scores

No. 2 Curie 74, Dyett 31: Derrick Dowdell, who has impressed off the bench this season, led the way with 14 points and 6 rebounds.

No. 3 Homewood-Flossmoor 81, Lockport 45

No. 4 Mount Carmel 76, IC Catholic 45

No. 5 Brother Rice 56, Montini 43: That’s 10-0 for the Crusaders. We expressed some doubts about them on No Shot Clock but it is impossible to argue with the results.

No. 8 Warren 85, Mundelein 47: Immanuel Brown led the Blue Devils with with 15 points.

No. 9 DePaul Prep 75, Providence-St. Mel 28

No. 10 Benet 61, St. Patrick 39

Prospect 40, No. 11 Glenbrook North 38: The upset of the night as the Spartans lose their first game of the season to fall to 8-1. Big win for the Mid-Suburban League. Jerry Drucker’s buzzer-beater provided the win.

No. 13 De La Salle 79, Marmion 60: Tavariyuan Williams led with 22 and sophomore Charles Barnes added 17 points.

No. 14 Lindblom 70, Englewood 64 OT: The Eagles survive an unexpectedly close game. This was their third game in four days. Je’Shawn Stevenson had 30 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. He was 15 of 16 from the free-throw line.

No. 15 Kenwoood 52, Phillips 48

No. 17 Bolingbrook 66, Lincoln-Way East 58: Huge game for freshman Davion Thompson with 32 points. DJ Strong contributed 10. I was pretty impressed with the Griffins over the weekend and would have called this game a pick-em, despite Bolingbrook’s ranking. Good win for the Raiders.

No. 19 Riverside-Brookfield 62, Crete-Monee 44: Big man Stefan Cicic had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Cameron Mercer added 17.

No. 21 Marist 57, Notre Dame 43: The RedHawks appear to post the most consistently balanced scoring results in the area. That’s probably a good thing. Adoni Vassilakis scored 14 and Darshan Thomas aded 12.

No. 25 Loyola 53, St. Francis de Sales 40: Miles Boland scored 29 and grabbed 9 rebounds for the Ramblers.

Other notable games

Christ the King 71, Hope Academy 51

Fenwick 55, St. Laurence 51: Really big win for the Friars. Dominick Ducree scored 28 points and made 7 three-pointers.

Glenbard North 52, St. Charles East 38: The Panthers are 8-0. Senior JJ Hernandez scored 18 points.

Glenbrook South 49, Glenbard West 35

Hyde Park 82, Brooks 43: Another big game for Jurrell Baldwin with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Marian Catholic 51, St. Viator 40: James Bullock had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Jonah Weathers added 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Niles North 67, Lake Forest 57

Perspectives-Leadership at Simeon

Plainfield North 60, Yorkville 54

Romeoville 60, Plainfield East 53

West Aurora 50, Minooka 29: The Blackhawks are knocking on the door of the Super 25 (but someone is going to have lose, only had room to add one team last week). CJ Savage had 11 points and 4 steals and Terrence Smith added 16 points and 5 rebounds.

Tuesday’s high school basketball scores

Top performances

Addison Trail’s Luke Smith: 39 points in a 84-74 loss to Evergreen Park.

Andrew’s Athan Berchos: 23 points in a 67-65 win vs. Stagg.

Bulls Prep’s Aaron Watson: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists in a 63-62 win vs. Hansberry.

Evergreen Park’s Lonnie Mosley: 27 points in a 84-74 win vs. Addison Trail.

Fremd’s Sam Hirsch: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals in a 82-49 win vs. Lakes.

Hinsdale South’s Jack Weigus: 25 points in a 79-47 win vs. Richards.

Horizon-Southwest’s Marlon Williams: 22 points, 21 rebounds, 8 steals, 2 blocks in a 90-19 win vs. Kelly.

King’s Demarco King: 22 points, 5 assists, 4 steals in a 62-39 win vs. Hubbard.

Longwood’s Kalvin Leonard: 26 points, 5 rebounds in a 53-51 win vs. Kennedy.

Schaumburg’s Jordan Tunis: 22 points in a 53-25 win vs. Bremen.

York’s AJ Levine: 23 points in a 57-53 win vs. Libertyville.

Tuesday’s takes

Gabe Sularski showed everything everyone told me about. The Benet sophomore isn’t just a great prospect, he’s already a great high school player. Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp has a deep and talented team that looks like it could mature into a preseason No. 1 one of these years.
While there might not be a clear No. 1 team, there are a ton of teams in the area worthy of the Super 25. West Aurora, Romeoville, Glenbard North and more would be in at this point in most seasons. That’s a fun problem to have.
Did you notice King’s Demarco King up in Top Performances? He’s just a freshman. And former Kenwood coach and longtime Simeon assistant Marlo Finner is now the Jaguars’ head coach.

Wednesday’s storylines

I’m taking advantage of the clear December weather to make some longer trips this week. I’ll be up in Crystal Lake tonight. Huntley is at Crystal Lake South. The Red Raiders beat the Gators 55-48 the first week of the season. That’s Crystal Lake South’s only loss, they are 9-1 overall. Huntley is 7-2. They appear to be the top teams in the Fox Valley so far.
There are two good games in the Red-North/West: Farragut at North Lawndale and Taft at Westinghouse.
Marshall is at Manley, that’s a fun game in a tiny gym. Both White-West schools could be a factor in the state playoffs.

Benet sophomore Gabe Sularski dazzles in his first Chicago appearance as the Redwings beat St. Patrick

2023-12-12T21:31:21.399-06:00

Benet’s Gabe Sularski (25) passes the ball against St. Patrick.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Benet’s Gabe Sularski is well-known in recruiting circles. The sophomore had an excellent summer and an even better fall. He’s considered one of the top players in the state regardless of class.

Local high school basketball fans have read his name, but few have had a chance to see what all the fuss is about. Tuesday at St. Patrick, Chicago fans got their first look at Sularski and he lived up to all the offseason praise.

The 6-7 guard had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. He missed just two shots and displayed a court awareness and basketball acumen uncommon in any high school player and astounding for a sophomore playing his ninth varsity game.

The No. 10 Redwings beat St. Patrick 61-39. Mike Bailey has coached the Shamrocks for 30 years. He’s seen several decades’ worth of great players pass through his gym.

“[Sularski] is going to be a tremendous player,” Bailey said. “He’s just going to get better and better too. That’s the scary thing. It’s good for our league but it’s bad for St. Pat’s.”

Benet (9-0, 5-0 East Suburban Catholic) led by seven at halftime. The Redwings shot 6 of 9 from three-point range in the third quarter to put the game away.

Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said it was Sularski’s best game of the season.

“I would agree,” Sularski said. “I really stayed poised and was a factor on offense and defense.”

Illinois coach Brad Underwood was at the game. Sularski already has scholarship offers from Illinois, Michigan State, Missouri, Purdue, Wisconsin and Iowa State.

“[Sularski] did a good job of letting the game come to him,” Heidkamp said. “He made some shots and got a good number of assists. Did a nice job on the glass. He played a really complete overall game.”

St. Patrick’s EJ Breland (13) controls the ball against Benet.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Seniors Patrick Walsh (seven points) and Parker Sulaver are back from last season’s squad which finished second in Class 4A. The rest of the large rotation is young.

Sularski, sophomore point guard Jayden Wright (15 points), 6-8 junior Daniel Pauliukonis (13 points) and 7-0 sophomore Colin Stack (five points, four rebounds) make up what is likely the most talented group of players in Benet history.

“Our younger kids played like they are capable of playing,” Heidkamp said. “The guys did a good job of moving the ball and creating good shots. In past games, we haven’t always had good shot selection.”

It’s a big week for the Redwings, who host No. 21 Marist on Friday.

“They young guys are incredibly talented,” Sulaver said. “They are still figuring out some of the little things but overall they are doing an amazing job.”

Senior guard AJ Thomas and junior EJ Breland each scored 13 for St. Patrick (6-3, 2-2).

“We have to put better pressure on the ball at the point of attack,” Bailey said. “At one point they just had us running. We couldn’t settle in and close out and get to shooters. We can’t hope that they miss. We have to make them miss.”

Tuesday’s high school basketball scores

2023-12-12T15:38:53.858-06:00

Lindblom’s Quentin McCoy (11) shoots against Lincoln Way East’s Brent Taylor (1).

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Please send scores and corrections to preps@suntimes.com.

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

RED SOUTH/CENTRAL

Curie 74, Dyett 31

Hyde Park 82, Brooks 43

Kenwood 52, Phillips 48

Lindblom 70, Englewood 64, OT

Perspectives-LA at Simeon

WHITE CENTRAL

King 62, Hubbard 39

Longwood 53, Kennedy 51

Bogan at Solorio

Catalyst-Maria at Chicago Richards

Hancock at Dunbar

WHITE SOUTH

Ag. Science 67, Fenger 43

Carver 48, Morgan Park 42

Vocational 69, Corliss 34

UP-Bronzeville 55, Woodlawn 52

Harlan at South Shore

BLUE CENTRAL

DuSable 59, Soto 11

Horizon-Southwest 90, Kelly 19

Tilden 51, Garcia 31

Back of the Yards at Gage Park

Instituto Health at UP-Englewood

BLUE SOUTH

Bowen 71, Washington 52

Chicago Military 60, Air Force 54

Julian 2, Amandla 0, fft.

Goode at Excel-Englewood

Hirsch at EPIC

CHICAGO CATHOLIC CROSSOVER

Brother Rice 56, Montini 43

De La Salle 79, Marmion 60

DePaul Prep 75, Providence-St. Mel 28

Fenwick 55, St. Laurence 51

Loyola 53, St. Francis de Sales 40

Mount Carmel 76, IC Catholic 45

Providence 60, St. Rita 41

St. Francis 53, Leo 46, OT

St. Ignatius 60, Aurora Central 15

CHICAGOLAND CHRISTIAN

Christ the King 71, Hope Academy 51

Marian Central 63, St. Edward 38

Timothy Christian 63, Chicago Christian 39

DUKANE

Glenbard North 52, St. Charles East 38

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC

Benet 61, St. Patrick 39

Joliet Catholic 61, Nazareth 55

Marian Catholic 51, St. Viator 40

Marist 57, Notre Dame 43

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Manteno 55, Lisle 38

Reed-Custer 49, Herscher 44

Streator 55, Peotone 20

Wilmington d. Coal City

INDEPENDENT

Parker at Elgin Academy

INTERSTATE EIGHT

Kaneland 58, LaSalle-Peru 52, OT

LAKE SHORE

Lycee 41, Roycemore 32

LITTLE TEN

Earlville 53, IMSA 32

METRO PREP

Morton Grove Academy 72, Islamic Foundation 21

NOBLE BLUE

Pritzker at Speer

UIC Prep at Golder

NOBLE GOLD

Bulls Prep 63, Hansberry 62

Johnson 54, Comer 48

Butler at Noble Academy

NORTH SUBURBAN

Warren 85, Mundelein 47

NORTHEASTERN

Harvest Christian 61, Westlake Christian 51

South Beloit 88, Schaumburg Christian 43

RIVER VALLEY

Beecher 71, St. Anne 36

Clifton Central 45, Illinois Lutheran 35

Donovan 64, Grace Christian 52

Gardner-South Wilmington 77, Tri-Point 42

Momence 56, Grant Park 52

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EAST

Joliet Central 59, Plainfield South 40

Joliet West 49, Plainfield Central 43

Romeoville 60, Plainfield East 53

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE WEST

Oswego East 60, Oswego 38

Plainfield North 60, Yorkville 54

West Aurora 50, Minooka 29

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN BLUE

Bolingbrook 66, Lincoln-Way East 58

Homewood-Flossmoor 81, Lockport 45

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN RED

Andrew 67, Stagg 65

Lincoln-Way West 57, Lincoln-Way Central 49

UPSTATE EIGHT

Bartlett 58, Elgin 44

Fenton 67, Larkin 47

Glenbard East 75, West Chicago 55

Glenbard South 53, East Aurora 34

South Elgin 76, Streamwood 34

NONCONFERENCE

Carmel 42, Evanston 39

Deerfield 35, Vernon Hills 24

DeKalb 60, Dixon 34

Evergreen Park 84, Addison Trail 74

Glenbrook South 49, Glenbard West 35

Hinsdale South 79, Richards 47

Hoffman Estates 77, Marengo 48

Indian Creek 57, Marquette 53

Lombard Prep 57, Westminster Christian 50

Maine West 42, Buffalo Grove 35

Neuqua Valley 74, Yorkville Christian 46

Niles North 67, Lake Forest 57

Northridge 73, Rowe-Clark 47

Plano 48, Ottawa 45, OT

Prospect 40, Glenbrook North 38

Putnam County 63, Somonauk 57

Riverside-Brookfield 62, Crete-Monee 44

Schaumburg 53, Bremen 25

Taft 61, Niles West 53

Unity Christian 57, Mooseheart 56

Westmont 65, Chesterton 41

York 57, Libertyville 53

CMSA at North Grand

Juarez at Thornridge

Southland at Ridgewood

LAKES

Fremd 82, Lakes 49

No Shot Clock, Ep. 159: The case for No. 1, breaking down the top teams

2023-12-12T11:20:43.757-06:00

Curie’s Christian Brockett (5) reacts against Phillips.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Michael O’Brien and Joe Henricksen’s weekly look at Illinois high school basketball.

In this week’s episode, we each give our two takes and then we break down the eight teams that have a case to make to be ranked No. 1 so far this season. It’s been an interesting three weeks and things are wide open right now.

The podcast is on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please subscribe.

Illinois high school basketball scores

2023-12-11T17:38:39.87-06:00

Brother Rice’s bench celebrates after Cale Cosme (10) scores against Bloom.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Please send scores and corrections to preps@suntimes.com.

Monday, December 11, 2023

LAKE SHORE

British School 67, Beacon 29

Wolcott 47, Horizon-McKinley 38

Christian Heritage at Cruz

Intrinsic-Downtown at Waldorf

LITTLE TEN

IMSA 66, Leland 49

METRO PREP

Morton Grove Academy 75, Lombard Prep 37

NOBLE BLUE

DRW Prep 68, Mansueto 16

Noble Street 48, Baker 21

Rauner 39, Muchin 35

NONCONFERENCE

Austin 73, Little Village 64

Bowen 68, Raby 56

Bradley-Bourbonnais 73, Chicago Richards 51

Buffalo Grove 67, Round Lake 29

Chicago Academy 60, Northtown 56

Clifton Central 62, Reed-Custer 52

Collins 60, Foreman 36

Eisenhower 95, Woodlawn 36

Elgin Academy 71, Christian Liberty 49

Ellison 68, Julian 60

Fieldcrest 83, Dwight 27

Harvest Christian 68, Marian Central 66

Holy Trinity 48, Southland 45

Ida Crown 71, HRK 35

Lindblom 74, Farragut 56

Northside 57, Alcott 42

Orr 69, North Grand 57

Pecatonica 65, Hinckley-Big Rock 49

Rochelle Zell 52, North Shore 46

Rockford Lutheran 71, Genoa-Kingston 51

Senn 55, Roosevelt 18

Serena 51, Sandwich 46

West Aurora 44, Naperville Central 29

Westlake Christian 54, Trinity Oaks 27

Woodstock 69, North Boone 44

Cristo Rey at Back of the Yards

Kelvyn Park at Intrinsic-Belmont

Legal Prep at Prosser

New Trier at Zion-Benton

U-High at Washington

Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school basketball rankings for Dec. 10, 2023

2023-12-10T21:13:43.549-06:00

Kenwood’s Jaden Smith (1) and Thornton’s Morez Johnson (12) catch their breath during a game at the Chicago Elite Classic.

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Anyone who watched Curie take down Downers Grove North at Mount Carmel on Sunday was probably impressed with the Condors. They were unselfish, physical and able to beat the Trojans in a slow, grind-it-out game.

I also saw Curie beat Phillips on the road this past week. That was a full-court, up-and-down game and the Condors looked even better.

So there was a decision to be made on the top spot again this week. Curie hasn’t lost to a local team and played nationally-ranked Sidwell Friends from D.C. to the wire at the Chicago Elite Classic last weekend.

But Thornton stays at No. 1 again this week. The Wildcats needed overtime to defeat Rich. But the Raptors knocked off Simeon on Sunday night so that one doesn’t look so wild anymore.

Glenbrook South, which lost to Oak Park this week, is the only team that drops out. The Huskies are an interesting team. I’m looking forward to seeing them at Pontiac. They’ve beaten Lake Park, Bartlett, Wheaton Academy and Glenbrook South. All good teams. They’ve lost to De Kalb, Fenwick and Lyons. All good teams.

Rich joins this week after beating Simeon and taking Thornton to overtime. That was an easy call.

Super 25 high school basketball rankings for Dec. 10, 2023

With record and last week’s ranking

1. Thornton (6-1) 1
Survived vs. Rich

2. Curie (7-1) 6
Physical and unselfish

3. Homewood-Flossmoor (7-1) 3
Starting to jell

4. Mount Carmel (9-1) 5
Huge win at De La Salle

5. Brother Rice (9-0) 9
Zavier Fitch boards

6. Bloom (5-2) 4
Rough one vs. Crusaders

7. Downers Grove North (5-1) 2
Jack Stanton is a force

8. Warren (8-1) 14
Took down Stevenson

9. DePaul Prep (8-0) 10
Hosts Loyola Friday

10. Benet (8-0) 13
Major week ahead

11. Glenbrook North (8-0) 15
Won at Evanston

12. Young (4-4) 11
Antonio Munoz earning raves

13. De La Salle (6-1) 12
Young team with potential

14. Lindblom (4-2) 21
Beat Kenwood, lost to Hyde Park

15. Kenwood (4-2) 7
Hosts Phillips Tuesday

16. New Trier (7-1) 16
Heading to Arizona

17. Bolingbrook (6-1) 18
Pettigrew and Thompson rolling

18. Waubonsie Valley (8-0) 22
Impressing with defense

19. Riverside-Brookfield (7-1) 19
Hosts Crete-Monee Tuesday

20. Lincoln Park (5-2) 20
Hosts Young Friday

21. Marist (7-1) 8
Lost to Marian Catholic

22. Rich (6-1) NR
Beat Simeon

23. Lake Park (7-1) 23
Cam Cerese hits 1,000

24. Kankakee (7-0) 24
Won in Missouri

25. Loyola (7-2) 25
Dominating the Jesuit Cup

Unselfish Curie handles Downers Grove North

2023-12-10T20:26:04.313-06:00

Curie’s Taevion Collier (21) shoots a short jumper against Downers Grove North.

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

A nice crowd turned out at Mount Carmel on Sunday for the Team Rose Shootout, and it’s a safe bet that a lot of the neutral fans were there for the same reason: to see if that magic Downers Grove North captured in the state playoffs last season was still intact.

Star guard Jack Stanton is now a senior and has committed to Princeton. Owen Thulin and Jake Riemer are also back for the Trojans.

Downers Grove North faced its first test of the season against a red-hot Curie. The Condors prevailed 45-36 and never trailed in the second half. But Stanton is a force, and it appears that Trojans coach Jim Thomas has the pieces necessary to assemble another playoff juggernaut.

“In the last couple of years, we’ve rarely been stuck under 40 points,” Thomas said. “We just have to find some scoring from other areas, and now that we have this teaching tool to show them, we will be able to do that.”

Stanton led Downers Grove North (5-1) with 21 points, and senior Alex Miller scored nine.

Curie (7-1) led by six at halftime. The third quarter was a slog with only three baskets. The Condors sucked up nearly two minutes of the fourth quarter on one possession. And they weren’t holding the ball. Six Curie players scored in the fourth quarter.

“This group is just way better than last year,” Condors senior Christian Brockett said. “Everyone is unselfish and plays defense.”

Will Gonzalez led Curie with 12 points and five rebounds. Carlos Harris and Taevion Collier each scored eight.

“We believe in each other, and we have four guards out there that can all handle the ball,” Gonzalez said.

The Condors haven’t been defeated by a local team and picked up the top seed at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament on Sunday. They lost to Sidwell Friends, a nationally ranked school from D.C., by two points at the Chicago Elite Classic last weekend.

Downers Grove North’s Owen Thulin (5) gets fouled by Curie’s Derrick Dowdell (23).

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

“We didn’t play our best because of how physical, solid and well-coached Curie was,” Thomas said. “And they gave that to us for four quarters. They were very physical to the point where we couldn’t get in and out of our stuff. They were bullying us off the ball. Fair enough.”

Last season, Downers Grove North knocked off Kenwood and Young to advance to the state finals in Champaign. The Trojans lost to Moline, the eventual Class 4A state champion, in the semifinals.

“That’s definitely why we wanted to play them,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “Everyone saw how well they played against some top teams late last year, and we knew it would be a good test to prove ourselves early in the season.”

Junior showdown

Two of the state’s best juniors matched up in an earlier game at the Team Rose Shootout. Bryce Heard and Homewood-Flossmoor knocked off St. Ignatius and Phoenix Gill 49-37.

Heard led the Vikings with 13 points, and Gill, who didn’t play much in the fourth quarter after possibly twisting his ankle, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for St. Ignatius (5-4).

Homewood-Flossmoor (8-1) entered the season with a pile of transfers and a load of hype. The project appears to be starting to jell together. Jayden Tyler had 12 points and five rebounds, and Carson Brownfield added 12 points.