Simeon took care of business in Highland, knocking off nationally-ranked Imhotep (a team from Philadelphia) 53-51.
Senior Jalen Griffith found Miles Rubin for the game-winning dunk with 18 seconds left.
That put the finishing touch on a weekend that proved the Wolverines are one of the best teams in the country. Robert Smith’s squad beat Indianapolis Cathedral on ESPN2 on Friday night.
Simeon’s two big wins set up a massive showdown on Tuesday. The undefeated Wolverines will host Kenwood in what should be the best game of the Public League’s regular season.
It was a huge Saturday, with shootout action in Chicago and down in Highland.
Saturday’s top games
Brother Rice 73, Bolingbrook 61: The Crusaders jumped on Bolingbrook from the start and never looked back. Ahmad Henderson scored 21 and Khalil Ross added 16. I’m still a bit puzzled on what happened over the holidays in that loss to Mesa, AZ. Josh Aniceto led the Raiders with 15 points.
Lyons 73, Perspectives-Leadership 29: Wow, Lyons comes into Chicago and absolutely dominates a good Public League team at Hyde Park. Nik Polonowski had 25 points to lead the way.
Hinsdale Central 48, Downers Grove North 46 3 OT: According to my Twitter feed this one was a gritty, rough battle. The Red Devils continue to get it done. Rough weekend for Downers Grove North, which lost a close one to Lyons last night.
St. Louis Chaminade 60, St. Rita 57: The Mustangs lose in Highland. North Carolina recruit James Brown scored 17 and Illinois recruit Morez Johnson added 16. It wasn’t quite as close as the score indicates. Brown scored right before the final buzzer, Chaminade had it pretty well in hand for the last two minutes.
Joliet West 62, Rolling Meadows 60: Jeremy Fears Jr. wins it with a drive and jumper in the lane with 2 seconds left. He finished with 24 points and five rebounds. The Tigers didn’t score for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter and trailed by six points with 3:24 left. But they pulled it out at the end. Jeremiah Fears added 14 points for Joliet. Cam Christie led the Mustangs with 19 points and eight rebounds. Mark Nikolich-Wilson was terrific for Rolling Meadows. The big man played point guard on several possessions and finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Loyola 47, Oak Park 35: This is a quality win for the Ramblers. Oak Park hasn’t been consistent this season but it has some talent. Big week coming up for Loyola with St. Laurence and the Jesuit Cup against St. Ignatius. Ramblers are 14-5 now.
East Aurora 82, West Aurora 80: An upset in the big rivalry matchup. I believe this one was at West Aurora as well. The Tomcats have been far under the radar this season. They are just 7-10 after this win.
Kenwood 64, Bloom 52: The Broncos pick up the win in the final game at Hyde Park. I haven’t seen any highlights from this one yet but I know Bloom was without two key players, Jayden Watson and Jaden Clark.
Naperville North 58, Lindblom 34: Huskies pick up a win after dropping one last night. Luke Williams scored 19 and Charlie Farrell added 11.
Lemont 73, North Lawndale 48: The Castillo brothers dominate North Lawndale at Hyde Park. Rokas scored 27 and Matas had 20, so they nearly outscored the Phoenix on their own. Lemont fell out of the rankings after dropping a pair of games at York but are now 14-2.
Lockport 40, Naperville Central 27: The Porters continue their sneaky good season with a win against a very solid Naperville Central squad. Sounds like this one was played in The Pit, Lockport’s classic old gym. They play at lease one game there every season I believe. I need to get to one of those and relive some terrible high school memories. Jalen Falcon led Lockport with 16 points and four steals and Caden Schoolcraft added 10 points and eight boards.
Peoria Christian 54, Seneca 48: I was gearing up for a possible visit to check out undefeated Seneca and then this goes and happens. Simeon is now the only unbeaten left in the area (if they win tonight against Imohotep). Sophomore Paxton Giertz scored 24 for Seneca.
DePaul Prep 51, Lake Forest 45: The hosts win the opener behind 22 points from PJ Chambers. Asa Thomas led the Scouts with 24.
Thornton 61, U-High 39: Senior Vincent Rainey scored 20 points for the Wildcats, who improve to 7-5.
Glenbrook North 65, St. Ignatius 57: The Spartans jumped out to a double-digit lead early and never surrendered the advantage, picking up a huge bounce-back win after falling at Glenbrook South last night. Senior Ryan Cohen scored his 1,000th point in the first half. Junior Josh Fridman led Glenbrook North with 22 points. Richard Barron scored 25 for St. Ignatius.
Belleville East 65, Hillcrest 59: Point guard Bryce Tillery had a big game for the Hawks with 22 points but it wasn’t enough. Big man Darrion Baker added 17 points. The win improves Belleville East to 15-2 and it appears the Lancers will be a significant factor in the Class 4A state playoffs.
Brooks 72, Francis Parker 67: A nice solid win for the Eagles. Remember, Parker made some noise at the Big Dipper. Anthony Vaval led Brooks with 18 points. Caleb David scored 21 for the Colonels.
Beecher 64, Bismarck-Henning 48: The Bobcats improve to 17-1. Junior Adyn McGinley led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Zack Johnson added 21 pts and 10 rebounds.
Crystal Lake South 63, Woodstock North 42: The Gators’ quality season rolls on with a road win and sophomore AJ Demirov continues his break out campaign. He had 20 points, five steals and three assists in this one. Cooper LePage added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
