The season is off and rolling and it sure is a fun one. I’m enjoying the overall level playing field. There’s an opportunity for a lot of teams to get better over the course of the season and really make a run in the playoffs.
The holiday tournament pairings are starting to be released. I’m collecting them here. I was hoping to get the Big Dipper yesterday but that didn’t happen. Please email your bracket to me at mobrien@suntimes.com and I will add it to the list.
Super 25 scores
No. 4 Bloom 47, No. 9 Brother Rice: 45 3 OT: The biggest game of the day, No. 4 Bloom vs. No. 9 Brother Rice, was a battle of wills. Neither team shot well or played well overall. The Crusaders won 47-45 in triple overtime. The score was tied at 14 at halftime.
“I wasn’t hitting shots; no one was hitting shots,” Brother Rice guard Cale Cosme said. “But we found our way defensively down the stretch and made some huge free throws.”
Cosme made it 45-45 with 3:26 left in the third OT. Marcos Gonzales made two free throws 3:10 later for the winning margin.
“We just had to grind it out,” Brother Rice senior Zavier Fitch said. “I tried to rebound and keep playing defense. Winning a game like that shows a lot about us.”
Fitch had nine points and 17 rebounds and Cosme scored 14 for the Crusaders (9-0).
Payton Edwards led Bloom (5-2) with 13 points, and Elijah Allen, a transfer from Nicaragua, added 13 points and 13 rebounds.
A Brother Rice player shoved a Bloom player in the third overtime. Blazing Trojans coach Dante Maddox was upset that it was called a double technical. He was never told what his player did.
“It was a tough game, but we will just take the experience from it,” Maddox said. “I’m happy with our heart. Both teams played through and showed a tremendous amount of heart.”
No. 5 Mount Carmel 64, Hillcrest 55: Angelo Ciaravino scored 15 for the Caravan.
No. 10 DePaul Prep 57, Taft 34
Jackson-Reed, D.C. 70, No. 11 Young 58: The Dolphins fall on the road. Anthony Munoz had 14 points, 6 reobunds and 5 blocks.
No. 14 Warren 65, Stevenson 44: Just how good are the Blue Devils? They young team continues to post really impressive results. Javerion Banks scored 19.
No. 16 New Trier 54, Hampshire 32
Oak Park 58, No. 17 Glenbrook South 55: The Huskies are starting to make some noise and look like they will be a factor at Pontiac. Justin Bowen hit the game-winner with two seconds left. He finished with 14 points and Alex Gossett had 23 points and 8 rebounds.
No. 18 Bolingbrook 67, Neuqua Valley 55: JT Pettigrew scored 26 points.
No. 19 Riverside Brookfield 57, TF North 48: Sophomore Cameron Mercer led with 21 points and Danny Loftus added 12 as the Bulldogs won the morning game at the Team Rose Shootout.
No. 20 Lincoln Park vs. Oakland Tech
No. 21 Lindblom 76, Lincoln-Way East 65
Other notable games
Lemont 60, Lane 57: Ryan Runaas led the way with 15. It’s been a really nice start to the season for Lemont, which is 7-2.
Evanston 52, Marian Catholic 47: Perhaps the Wildkits aren’t so down after all. Mike Ellis’ crew knocks off the team that beat Marist.
Oak Lawn 57, Bartlett 51
South Elgin 44, Schaumburg 41
Westinghouse 57, Oakland Fremont, Ca. 49: DJ Bolden scored 30.
York 66, Proviso West 40: AJ Levine scored 16 points.
Top performances
Antioch’s Carter Webb: 21 points in a 57-43 win vs. North Chicago.
Crystal Lake South’s AJ Demirov: 21 points, 6 assists, 5 steals in a 77-34 win vs. Woodstock North.
Lake Park’s Cam Cerese: 28 points in a 62-34 win vs. St. Charles East.
Leyden’s Drelyn Jones: 32 points in a 69-63 win vs. Hinsdale South.
Mundelein’s Derek Bishop: 24 points in a 61-53 loss vs. Waukegan.
Perspectives-MSA’s Tomajae Wells: 22 points, 3 rebounds in a 73-52 loss vs. Ygnacio Valley, Ca.
Providence’s Seth Cheney: 23 points in a 58-54 win vs. Joliet Catholic.
Saturday’s takes
- Brother Rice vs. Bloom was a really rough game to watch. Neither team played well. That was my first look at both this season and I don’t feel like I learned much about either group. Well other than Xavier Fitch and Elijah Allen can rebound. So many misses.
- Lincoln-Way East has a very exciting group of young players. The sophomores are fairly well known but junior Brent Taylor, playing his first game of the season, proved he is definitely a name to watch.
- Lindblom’s Je’Shawn Stevenson looked the part of Player of the Year contender at the Chicago Elite Classic but he cemented it for me against the Griffins. Last year a lot of his points seemed to come when the game was decided and his team was going to lose. That same criticism can’t be leveled this season. He’s dominating against good teams when it matters and leading his team to wins in plenty of those games.
Sunday’s storylines
- It should be a fun evening at Mount Carmel: Homewood-Flossmoor vs. St. Ignatius and then one of the biggest games of the young season: Downers Grove North vs. Curie.
- The worst part about Sunday games is the rankings. Expect the Super 25 to be finished around 9 p.m.
