Michael O’Brien’s high school basketball notebook
DeKalb’s Sean Reynolds (2), Jackson Kees (1) and Davon Grant (23) react during the game against Lake Park.
Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
Thanksgiving week basketball can be rough, but that wasn’t the case last night. DeKalb and Lake Park went at it with some solid intensity at Wheaton Academy.
The Lancers won and Cam Cerese scored 28. Read all about that here. My big takeaway from the game is about the rest of Lake Park. Cerese’s teammates have improved quite a bit since last season. There is a confidence and smoothness evident already, which maybe shouldn’t be surprising since they are experienced seniors. The Lancers’ ceiling for this season is definitely higher than I originally anticipated.
Some big news hit on my drive out to West Chicago last night. Kenwood coach Mike Irvin has been suspended for the first two games of the season by the IHSA. He’ll be back in time for the No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown at the Chicago Elite Classic against Thornton.
Super 25 results
No. 2 Thornton 75, Freeport 54: Morez Johnson opens with a big one, posting 22 points and 18 rebounds Isaiah Green, who I have a feeling is in for a nice year, added 21 points.
No. 4 Homewood-Flossmoor 91, Chicago Military 28: Bryce Heard and Gianni Cobb each scored 16 points and Jayden Tyler had 8 points, 5 steals and 4 assists.
No. 5 Mount Carmel 72, Grant 35: A nice balanced effort from the Caravan. Angelo Ciaravino scored 14 and Lee Marks and Cam Thomas each added 13.
No. 7 Curie 63, Gary Bowman, Ind. 37: Riverside-Brookfield transfer Will Gonzalez scored 40 in his debut and Christian Brockett had 8 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals.
No. 8 Marist 83, Shepard 24: Another nice game from Darshan Thomas, who appears to be more of an impact transfer than many expected. He scored 20. Stephen Brown added 15 points.
No. 10 St. Ignatius 88, Yorkville Christian 35: Phoenix Gill scored 18 and sophomore Chris Bolte added 17.
No. 11 Bloom 66, TF South 49: Elijah Lovemore threw down a triple-double with 11 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Santana Flowers added 13 points and 12 boards.
No. 13 DePaul Prep 81, Parker 15
No. 14 Benet 84, East Aurora 55
No. 15 Bolingbrook 75, Peoria 37: Freshman Davion Thompson scored 14 in his debut but it was JT Pettigrew that led the way with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
No. 16 De La Salle 58, Latin 32: Richard Lindsey scored 13 and sophomore Charles Barnes added 12 points.
No. 17 Lake Park 50, DeKalb 42
No. 18 New Trier 59, Lake Zurich 57
No. 20 Lane 61, Prosser 23: Big junior Dalton Scantlebury had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Shaheed Solebo and Trevor Goodhart each scored 12.
No. 21 Glenbrook South 79, Western Heights, Australia 54
No. 23 St. Patrick 74, Niles West 58
No. 24 Glenbrook North 49, Conant 42
Mansfield Legacy, Tex. 73, No. 6 Young 64
Rock Creek, Md. 60, No. 9 Simeon 43
West Aurora 65, No. 19 Naperville North 40
Upsets
Nothing that stood out other than the three ranked teams losing.
Other notable games
Englewood 59, Notre Dame 56 OT: Nice win for a team that is hoping to surprise this season in the Red-South/Central Marcus Owens scored 17.
Hillcrest 85, Hammond Central, Ind. 81: Johvan Ratliff scored 30 for the Hawks.
Hyde Park 57, TF North 26: Jurrell Baldwin led the way with 20 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks. Germaine Benson scored 10. I’m interested to see what the Thunderbirds have surrounding Baldwin this season. He’s one of the state’s best players.
Lincoln-Way East 80, Fenger 32: This score isn’t so notable but BJ Powell apparently isn’t the only talented Griffin in the sophomore class. Karson Thomas had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
North Lawndale 86, Crane 65: The Phoenix are an unknown this season but there will be plenty of chances to make some noise in the Red-North/West. Tyshun Moore scored 23 and Corleone McKinney had 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Oswego East 50, Hinsdale Central 47
Warren 92, Comer 33
Washington, Ill. 69, St. Laurence 59: Josh Pickett scored 22 and Zerrick Johnson added 14 in an opening-game loss for the Vikings.
Top performances
Aurora Christian’s Cam Morel: 22 points in a 74-37 win vs. Harvest Christian.
Beecher’s Adyn McGinley: 22 points, 7 assists in a 60-39 win vs. Peotone.
Evergreen Park’s Nolan Sexton: 23 points in a 76-60 win vs. Westmont.
Julian’s Cyrus Jones: 20 points, 5 steals in a 58-54 win vs. Collins.
Manley’s Johnathan Calmese: 26 points 11 assists 7 rebounds in a 70-63 win vs. 21st Century.
Morris’ Jack Wheeler: 35 points in 61-50 win vs. Gardner.
Niles North’s Reid Olson: 22 points in a 79-29 win vs. Jones.
Perspectives-Leadership’s Tim Handy: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists in a 63-50 win vs. Lincoln-Way Central.
St. Edward’s Kaden Dawson: 25 points, 15 rebounds in a 54-43 win vs. Elgin Academy.
Wells’ Maurice Carswell: 26 points, 9 assists in a 92-23 win vs. Wolcott.
Westinghouse’s DJ Bolden: 24 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds in a 75-64 win vs. Hope.
Tuesday’s takes
- Simeon is 0-2 to start the season. I wonder when that last happened, but not sure it says anything about how good the Wolverines will be this season. It will be interesting to get a look at them at the Chicago Elite Classic.
- Teams better beat DeKalb this year because the Barbs are going to be excellent next year. Sophomore Davon Grant and junior Sean Reynolds are a load.
- Who is Jack Wheeler and do I need to get out and see Morris? A quick google reveals that the junior plays basketball, baseball and football. He scored 35 last night (see above).
Wednesday’s storylines
- I’m a little concerned about this 3 p.m. start time for Homewood-Flossmoor at Marian Catholic. Hopefully a big crowd still turns out now that the game is in the afternoon. Depending on how quickly that wraps up and how traffic goes I may take in a night game back in the city: Curie vs. Hansberry at Crane or Niles North at Lane.
- There are quite a two good games around noon: Kankakee at Christ the King and Mount Carmel vs. Warren at Grant. I’d be over at CTK for that one if there wasn’t football stuff to focus on.
- It’s a loaded night around the area. The other top games include Hillcrest at Bloom, Westinghouse at St. Ignatius, Loyola at New Trier, Naperville North vs. Oswego East at Oswego, York vs. Glenbrook South and Oak Park vs. DeKalb.