Marmion knocks off West Chicago
It's been a good week for Marmion's boys basketball team, which can savor its Thanksgiving dinner while thoughts of a 3-0 start and a season-opening tournament title in its collective head.
The Cadets completed a three-game sweep in their own Thanksgiving tournament with Wednesday's 62-40 victory over West Chicago.
"It's good," Marmion's Sean Fichtel said. "We all played well and we accomplished our goal."
Fichtel scored 17 points, the same as teammate Tyler Smith to lead all scorers. The pair combined for 27 points in a solid first-half performance.
"Last year we started out 2-0 and came into the third game and lost and started 2-1," Smith said. "It was kind of a letdown. Here, we stayed with it through the finish."
Marmion outscored West Chicago 38-18 through the second and third quarters to create the wide victory margin.
"Coach (Rashon Burno) has us doing a lot of read and react on offense," Smith said. "It was easier to find the holes in their defense."
In those same two quarters Marmion outrebounded West Chicago 17-7.
The Cadets take a nine-day break before returning to action. Burno said there is work to be done in that time.
"We have kids who can really complement each other," Burno said. "Now it's a matter, in the next nine days, of making sure that we have two or three kids getting off offensively instead of one or two like we had tonight."
But for openers Marmion has little to complain about.
"It's great to have three home games for the kids to get their confidence going," Burno said. "Now reality hits. We start conference play on (Nov.) 30."
West Chicago finished 0-3 in the tournament and was led by Clark Hudmon's 13-point night.
"There are some positives," West Chicago coach Kevin Gimre said. "I like some of the things the kids are doing. They're gaining some confidence. I wish more shots would fall down and I think we need a few more people to step up and be willing to take a shot."
West Chicago shot just 7 of 14 in the second and third quarters combined.
"The kids stayed with it and were aggressive," Gimre said. "I don't have any problem with their effort."
The game was close through the first quarter and Marmion's lead was 17-14 early in the second quarter when it went on a 9-0 run, keyed by 6 Fichtel points.
After a brief West Chicago rally, Marmion closed the half on a 7-1 burst. The Cadets opened the second half with a 9-2 run that gave them a 42-21 lead and put the game nearly out of reach.
"Certainly there are things to work on, and we will continue to work on," Gimre said. "But you have to pick out the good things and let the kids know those things too."
-- Darryl Mellema
Lake Park 37, Elk Grove 36: Lake Park squeezed out a victory with a last-second shot by Jason Sotira.
The Lancers were at it again against Elk Grove, but this time it was the defense that came to the rescue.
Elk Grove trailed by 1 with 20 seconds remaining, and the Grenadiers milked the clock down to four seconds before Chris Hayworth missed a potential game-winning shot with Lake Park's 5-foot-10 guard Patrick Powers securing the rebound to give the Lancers a 37-36 victory in Bensenville.
"We're going to win ugly sometimes this year," said first-year Lake Park coach Cray Allen of his young team. "We're going to have to live with it, but we'll take every win we can get."
Lake Park (2-1) used a 10-0 run to start the second quarter, taking a 14-4 advantage.
Senior center George Manos scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the opening half, leading Lake Park to a 21-10 halftime advantage.
"We tried to slow it down," said Manos, whose defense limited Elk Grove to 2-of-11 shooting in the second quarter. "Everything was just kind of flowing."
But Elk Grove (0-3) picked up the pace in the third quarter with junior Matt Martinski scoring 7 of his game-high 16 points as the Grenadiers narrowed the deficit to 33-27.
"We're an inside-out team and (Martinski) needs to get his touches," added first-year Elk Grove coach Anthony Furman. "It's going to make our guards better, it will give us better rebounding opportunities, and give us more confidence on defense."
Elk Grove used an 8-2 run capped by an inside basket by Martinski to open the final quarter and tie the score at 35-35 with 2:20 remaining.
But Manos tipped in a miss with 1:50 remaining to give the Lancers a 37-35 lead. They never again trailed despite committing 4 fourth-quarter turnovers.
"We knew they were going to come out hard after the half," Manos said. "We just wanted to make sure we got the rebounds."
Trent Patterson and Danny Baylis both contributed to the Lancers' attack.
Billy Hubly added 7 points for an Elk Grove team that seemed to find its rhythm in the second half.
"We need to put four quarters together," said Furman, who despite the outcome was pleased with his team's poise in the final moments. "I felt comfortable that the kids knew what they needed to do."
-- Michael Eaken
Hinsdale Central 68, Larkin 43:ŒLarkin has to get used to a couple things this season, but hopefully for the Royals Wednesday night's outcome against Hinsdale Central won't be one of them.
The Royals dropped their season opener against the Red Devils 68-43 to kick off the Downers Grove South Thanksgiving Tournament.
"I told the guys that this is going to be a transition this season," new Larkin coach Larry Hight said. "We are not used to each other. When there is a new coach there is going to be some growing pains. It might take some time but we won't give up."
It didn't help that Hinsdale Central came out and started its season on fire as the Red Devils made 8 of their first 10 shots to open up an early 17-7 lead.
The hot shooting continued in the second quarter as Hinsdale Central went into the half with a 32-21 lead while going 14 of 29 from the field in the first half.
"We always look to shoot the ball well," Hinsdale Central coach Ed Lynch said. "I tell my guys to shoot the ball with some confidence. If a shot comes out of the flow of the offense and in a good rhythm, I give them all the green light."
Messiah Lewis gave the Royals some life on their first possession of the second half as he scored and was fouled and made the foul shot, cutting the Hinsdale Central lead back to single digits.
What little life that gave Larkin didn't last long as it proceeded to go on a 5:49 scoring drought, allowing the Red Devils to open the game up big.
Hinsdale Central (1-0) shot 8 of 11 in the fourth quarter, finishing the game 25 of 49 from the field, reminding the Royals (0-1) they need to do the small things this season to be successful.
"All we have to do is put a hand in their face when they shoot," Lewis said. "We are not the biggest team out there, I'm not even sure if we will be bigger than anyone this year at all, but we need to really contest shots. They had too many open looks tonight."
Lewis finished with a team-high 11 points for Larkin while Cam Kinley had 6 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.
Chris Chana had a game-high 18 points while Clay Foster had 12 points and a game-high 8 rebounds for the Red Devils.
-- Jason Watt
Hersey 50, York 41:ŒHersey had a rough first quarter against host York at the Dukes' 35th annual tournament.
Two words helped the Huskies turn it around in the final three quarters.
"Team defense," said Hersey coach Steve Messer. "We started to follow the plan and people started believing in each other."
After falling behind early, the Huskies came alive and outscored York 11-1 down the stretch to win.
"In the first quarter," added Messer, "they pounded us on the offensive glass. We were able to get that toned up."
"It was all about defense, rebounding and boxing out - that set the tone," added Hersey junior guard Demitriy Velikov, who nailed 2 clutch 3-pointers in the 4th quarter.
Velikov scored 11 points and grabbed 6 rebounds for the Huskies while junior Kyle Mengarelli had a game high 13 points.
Griffin Dwyer pitched in with 7 points including a 3-pointer for Hersey, who's defensive effort limited York to a 1-for-25 shooting night from behind the 3-point line.
"Some nights you're able to make those shots," said York senior forward Roger Coffin (6 points). "Unfortunately, tonight was one of those nights when we missed most of them."
Steve Ganser finished with a team-high 10 points for York, including 8 in the first period.
-- Bill Esbrook
Willowbrook 58, Tinley Park 53: At Stagg, Willowbrook's 23-point fourth quarter and 20-of-28 foul shooting improved the Warriors' record to 2-0. Chris Smith led Willowbrook with 13 points, ahead of Kyler Market's 11.
Montini 72, Lisle 49: Alex Blashewski made 11 of 17 field goals and 8 of 11 free throws for a game-high 31 points against tourney host Lisle. Younger brother Anthony Blashewski added 11 points and 5 assists for Montini (1-2). Lisle (0-3) got 11 points from Matt Bryjak.
Glenbard East 51, Glenbard South 48: Handing Glenbard South its first loss, at the District 87 Tournament Glenbard East (2-1) was led by Ben Trefilek's 16 points and Derak Stanback's 12. Louis Erkins scored 12 and Andy Manson 10 for Glenbard South (2-1).
Glenbard West 51, Glenbard North 44: Also at District 87, Kevin Smith's career-high 22 points and 13 by Brian Emmanuel led Glenbard West (2-1). Glenbard North (0-3) was led by Jake Barry's 12 points and 10 from Marko Govedarica.
Wheaton Warrenville South 55, Streamwood 54: At Wheaton Academy, Streamwood's 18-point fourth quarter applied pressure, but WW South (3-0) made 4 free throws for the win. Dane Olson led the Tigers with 13 points, while Sam Carlson scored 12 and Byron Given 11 with three 3-pointers apiece.
Girls basketball
Glenbard South 60, Downers Grove North 52:ŒNikki Simpson led all scorers with 14 points and Maja Despot pulled down 12 rebounds as the Raiders (4-1) won at the Glenbard East tournament. Kristi Koszewski and Missy Blazej scored 10 points apiece for the Trojans.
Glenbard West 54, Addison Trail 34:ŒSophomore guard Abbey White hit three 3-pointers and scored 16 points for the Hilltoppers at the Glenbard East tournament. Nicole Hazemi added 12 points. Jen Schulmeister led the Blazers with 9 points.
Driscoll 56, East Aurora 45:ŒFreshman Allie Divito hit four 3-pointers and totaled 20 points for the Highlanders (4-0) at the Willowbrook tournament. Courtney Lindfors, a sophomore, scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Willowbrook 54, Maine East 40: Tournament host Willowbrook (3-1) made 20 of 28 free throws to 3 of 6 for Maine East (2-2). Collette Williams scored 17 points for the Warriors and was joined in double figures by Angela Domin with 11 and Ashley Kanelos with 10. Maine East's Antoinette Collman scored a game-high 21.
Woodstock 56, St. Francis 52: In the championship game of the Burlington Central tournament, Woodstock's Millie Whiting scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Blue Streaks. St. Francis (4-1) let slip a 21-14 lead after the first quarter. Shannon Phillips scored 13 points with 9 rebounds and Maggie O'Toole scored 11 points.