Cook boys basketball notes: Fremd sectional promises to be a battle
With state seeding and pairings taking place next week, it’s time for area teams to put the finishing touches on their resume. Here are the sectionals they are headed to along with key wins they hope will get them attention from voting coaches.
Class 4A
Fremd sectional
Barrington: The Broncos came up with a pair of huge wins last weekend with a triple OT win over Prospect and win over Prairie Ridge on a three-pointer by Darsh Poovanna at the buzzer. Barrington (9-12, 2-6) has played the second toughest schedule in the state. The Broncos also have wins over Rolling Meadows, Cary-Grove, Grayslake Central and Schaumburg. Oliver Gray has set a school record for three-pointers with 202. He is also coming off a career-high 33 against Prospect and is averaging 20 points per game. Evan Shechtman is averaging 9.6 points.
Buffalo Grove: The Bison (11-15, 5-3) have early season wins over Lakes and Grayslake Central as well as conference wins over Elk Grove and Conant. Alex Sirbu continues to pace the Bison with 19.8 ppg while Edwin Karnauchovas is scoring at a 13.2 clip.
Conant: The Cougars (7-17, 2-6) have played well at times and have solid wins over Notre Dame and Buffalo Grove. Conant is led by Jakub Glowacki, Bryce Harris and defensive specialist sophomore Joey Biedke.
Elk Grove: The Grenadiers have been the lowest seed in their sectional for the past three seasons. But hard work has paid off for Elk Grove and that will not be the case this season. Elk Grove (10-15, 2-6) has made tremendous strides with wins over Conant, Grayslake North and North Chicago. Cooper Casterton leads the team with his 13.5 scoring average followed by Khaleel Khan at 12 points while Matt Novak and Nolan Brand average 7 points each. Novak is also on pace to set the school’s single season rebounding mark.
Fremd: With a record of 10-1 against teams in the sectional, Fremd (20-2, 7-1) is eyeing a top seed. The Vikings have double digit wins over Evanston (20-4), York (22-3), Deerfield (16-6) and a 6-point win over Glenbrook North (17-7). Jordan Williams continues to pace Fremd with his 20-point average. He gets plenty of help from Raphael Pinto’s 15.5 ppg and Tommy Moffett’s 13.2. Should the Vikings get through the regionals, they will have an opportunity to play on their homecourt.
Hersey: The Huskies (16-6, 5-2) lost a pair of close ones last weekend, losing on the road by two to Rolling Meadows and by three to Neuqua Valley. Four of Hersey’s six losses have been by four points or less. Hersey has key wins over York, Hoffman Estates and Glenbrook North. The Huskies have relied heavily on Charlie Pomis, Logan Luxem and Jake Nawrot for most of their scoring.
Hoffman Estates: The season continues to get brighter for the Hawks. Hoffman has won 11 in a row since losing to Downers Grove North by 4 on Jan. 3. Included in that was a win over Schaumburg which gave the Hawks their first division title since 2009. Hoffman also has signature wins over Sandburg and Vernon Hills. Torey Baskin continues to be the key element for Hoffman with help from Cam James, Chris Mobley, Ramon Rosario and sophomore Bryce Smith. Hoffman will host a regional.
Maine West: Dayvion Tate has paced the Warriors during his career and just cracked the 1,000-point mark on Tuesday in Maine West’s win over Elk Grove. The Warriors (10-13) also have key wins over Buffalo Grove and Maine East. Adrian Kleszczewsi and Baker Blevins have also been key contributors this season.
Palatine: The Pirates have posted wins over Fremd, Hersey, Naperville North, Wheaton Warrenville South, Wauconda, Stevenson, Rolling Meadows (twice) and Libertyville. But just as important would be their its losses by a combined 13 points, with two of those losses in overtime. Tony Balanganayi leads the Pirates with a 17.9 scoring average. Brady May, who is averaging 9.6 points, Abram Williams, who is at 8.8 points and Robbie Wilcox with 8.3 points along with Darrin Dick at point guard give Palatine balance.
Prospect: The Knights (11-14) picked up a win over Maine East on Tuesday. They have also posted wins over Stevenson, Barrington and St. Viator. Quinn Zinzer, who is averaging 11 points, and Danny Simon at 8 points and 8 rebounds lead the Knights while Colin Tucker picked up an offer from Carthage. Prospect will be hosting a regional.
Rolling Meadows: The Mustangs had a huge moment in their quest to build their resume last Friday when they upended Hersey. Meadows also has key victories over Lyons, Riverside-Brookfield, Lake Zurich and Wheaton Warrenville South. Tyler Stankiewicz, Drew Krestel, and Marty Lesner are all averaging 10 points for the Mustangs, who have a key battle at home against Fremd on Thursday.
Schaumburg: The Saxons were in the midst of a 6-game winning streak until last Friday when they led Hoffman Estates early and then lost. That happened again Tuesday when they battled St. Ignatius before dropping that one. Schaumburg does have key wins over Plainfield East, Conant, Prospect and Buffalo Grove. Cam Anderson, Ray Black, Masyn Harrell and Tony Horton Jr. all have played well for the Saxons, who will host a regional.
Wheeling: The Wildcats (6-19) had a nice win over North Shore on Tuesday. They have also had key wins over Notre Dame and Elk Grove and have Hoffman Estates and Lakes looming before seeding. Zach Neukirch leads Wheeling with 13.3 ppg while Peter Kulig has 8.3 ppg and Jesus 'Chuy' Zavala 8 points.
Loyola sectional
Maine East: The Demons (17-7, 4-3) had their seven-game winning streak snapped by Prospect on Tuesday. Maine East beat district rival Maine South and Niles North during that span. They also have wins over Batavia and Glenbrook North. Brandon Schreiber continues to lead the way for the Demons, who also have seen the rise in the play of sophomore Jayden Dozie. The Demons will host a regional.
Maine South: The Hawks continue to surprise opponents along the way. Maine South just knocked off Glenbrook South on Tuesday to add to wins over New Trier, Lincoln-Way East and Downers Grove North. Panayiotis Sotos continues to lead the way for the Hawks with 18.7 points per game while Alex Matushevskiy is averaging 7.5 points.
Bartlett sectional
Leyden: The Eagles suffered a minor setback Tuesday with their loss to Downers Grove South. But that does not diminish the season Leyden (18-7, 7-2) has had. Ernesto Sanchez leads the team with a 19-point average while converting 52% of his shots. Mohamed El-Hindi is averaging 16 points while sophomores Kevin Sanchez and Robert Darling are each averaging 10 points per game during the Eagles’ last 5 games.
Class 3A
Deerfield sectional
St. Viator: The Lions will be one of the four regional hosts. St. Viator has key wins over Libertyville, Richards, 2A power Christ The King and Prospect. Dawson Charles leads the Lions by averaging 16.6 points while Jacob Only is averaging 13.2 points.
Class 1A
Amboy sectional
Schaumburg Christian: Tied for the lead in the Northeastern Conference, the Conquerors (15-9, 7-2) have wins over sectional foes St. Edward and Mooseheart, and wins over South Beloit and Hiawatha were also big. Nathan Peterson’s 13.5 ppg leads the team while Cooper Smith averages 11 and Tanish Dundi 9.