PONTIAC, Ill.—Curie found itself in a new situation at halftime of its quarterfinal game against West Aurora on Friday at the 92nd Pontiac Holiday Tournament.
The Blackhawks had matched the Condors athletically and were swatting away fastbreak layups and other takes to the rim.
“We allowed West Aurora to be athletes early,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “And that’s one of the most athletic teams we’ve faced all year.”
Terrence Smith, a highly-regarded football and basketball prospect, and Kewon Marshall both played above the rim for the Blackhawks and guards CJ Savage and Jordan Brooks were more than able to keep pace with Curie’s back court.
West Aurora led by two at halftime and by six early in the third quarter. But once again, the Condors rose to the challenge.
Senior Will Gonzalez drained three key three-pointers in the second half and Curie’s defense clamped down as the Condors earned a 57-48 win against West Aurora.
“We haven’t seen many teams that are like us and want to run,” Gonzalez said. “They jumped really high. We just had to play through it and be mentally strong.”
Gonzalez led the Condors (12-1) with 20 points and UIC recruit Carlos Harris added 16 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Brooks scored 16 for West Aurora (10-4) and Smith added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Curie held the Blackhawks to just one field goal for a five-minute stretch of the fourth quarter.
Curie will face the Joliet West vs. New Trier winner in the semifinalsl tomorrow. Either Simeon or Curie has won the last 12 Pontiac titles. The Wolverines were eliminated earlier on Friday.
“We definitely want to win the championship for the Public League,” Oliver said. “It’s always good to come down here and get away from some of the nonsense in Chicago. This is like a second home to us, just like it is for Simeon.”
