This week on No Shot Clock we discussed the eight teams that currently have a case for the No. 1 spot in the Super 25. We break down our first impressions of the teams and then say if we think they can win the state title in March...bold early takes.
You can listen to No Shot Clock on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or right on the Sun-Times’ site. It was a busy Tuesday night in the area and I have a feeling I’ll remember the game I covered, Benet at St. Patrick, for quite awhile.
Super 25 scores
No. 2 Curie 74, Dyett 31: Derrick Dowdell, who has impressed off the bench this season, led the way with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
No. 3 Homewood-Flossmoor 81, Lockport 45
No. 4 Mount Carmel 76, IC Catholic 45
No. 5 Brother Rice 56, Montini 43: That’s 10-0 for the Crusaders. We expressed some doubts about them on No Shot Clock but it is impossible to argue with the results.
No. 8 Warren 85, Mundelein 47: Immanuel Brown led the Blue Devils with with 15 points.
No. 9 DePaul Prep 75, Providence-St. Mel 28
No. 10 Benet 61, St. Patrick 39
Prospect 40, No. 11 Glenbrook North 38: The upset of the night as the Spartans lose their first game of the season to fall to 8-1. Big win for the Mid-Suburban League. Jerry Drucker’s buzzer-beater provided the win.
No. 13 De La Salle 79, Marmion 60: Tavariyuan Williams led with 22 and sophomore Charles Barnes added 17 points.
No. 14 Lindblom 70, Englewood 64 OT: The Eagles survive an unexpectedly close game. This was their third game in four days. Je’Shawn Stevenson had 30 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. He was 15 of 16 from the free-throw line.
No. 15 Kenwoood 52, Phillips 48
No. 17 Bolingbrook 66, Lincoln-Way East 58: Huge game for freshman Davion Thompson with 32 points. DJ Strong contributed 10. I was pretty impressed with the Griffins over the weekend and would have called this game a pick-em, despite Bolingbrook’s ranking. Good win for the Raiders.
No. 19 Riverside-Brookfield 62, Crete-Monee 44: Big man Stefan Cicic had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Cameron Mercer added 17.
No. 21 Marist 57, Notre Dame 43: The RedHawks appear to post the most consistently balanced scoring results in the area. That’s probably a good thing. Adoni Vassilakis scored 14 and Darshan Thomas aded 12.
No. 25 Loyola 53, St. Francis de Sales 40: Miles Boland scored 29 and grabbed 9 rebounds for the Ramblers.
Other notable games
Christ the King 71, Hope Academy 51
Fenwick 55, St. Laurence 51: Really big win for the Friars. Dominick Ducree scored 28 points and made 7 three-pointers.
Glenbard North 52, St. Charles East 38: The Panthers are 8-0. Senior JJ Hernandez scored 18 points.
Glenbrook South 49, Glenbard West 35
Hyde Park 82, Brooks 43: Another big game for Jurrell Baldwin with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Marian Catholic 51, St. Viator 40: James Bullock had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Jonah Weathers added 13 points and 8 rebounds.
Niles North 67, Lake Forest 57
Perspectives-Leadership at Simeon
Plainfield North 60, Yorkville 54
Romeoville 60, Plainfield East 53
West Aurora 50, Minooka 29: The Blackhawks are knocking on the door of the Super 25 (but someone is going to have lose, only had room to add one team last week). CJ Savage had 11 points and 4 steals and Terrence Smith added 16 points and 5 rebounds.
Top performances
Addison Trail’s Luke Smith: 39 points in a 84-74 loss to Evergreen Park.
Andrew’s Athan Berchos: 23 points in a 67-65 win vs. Stagg.
Bulls Prep’s Aaron Watson: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists in a 63-62 win vs. Hansberry.
Evergreen Park’s Lonnie Mosley: 27 points in a 84-74 win vs. Addison Trail.
Fremd’s Sam Hirsch: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals in a 82-49 win vs. Lakes.
Hinsdale South’s Jack Weigus: 25 points in a 79-47 win vs. Richards.
Horizon-Southwest’s Marlon Williams: 22 points, 21 rebounds, 8 steals, 2 blocks in a 90-19 win vs. Kelly.
King’s Demarco King: 22 points, 5 assists, 4 steals in a 62-39 win vs. Hubbard.
Longwood’s Kalvin Leonard: 26 points, 5 rebounds in a 53-51 win vs. Kennedy.
Schaumburg’s Jordan Tunis: 22 points in a 53-25 win vs. Bremen.
York’s AJ Levine: 23 points in a 57-53 win vs. Libertyville.
Tuesday’s takes
- Gabe Sularski showed everything everyone told me about. The Benet sophomore isn’t just a great prospect, he’s already a great high school player. Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp has a deep and talented team that looks like it could mature into a preseason No. 1 one of these years.
- While there might not be a clear No. 1 team, there are a ton of teams in the area worthy of the Super 25. West Aurora, Romeoville, Glenbard North and more would be in at this point in most seasons. That’s a fun problem to have.
- Did you notice King’s Demarco King up in Top Performances? He’s just a freshman. And former Kenwood coach and longtime Simeon assistant Marlo Finner is now the Jaguars’ head coach.
Wednesday’s storylines
- I’m taking advantage of the clear December weather to make some longer trips this week. I’ll be up in Crystal Lake tonight. Huntley is at Crystal Lake South. The Red Raiders beat the Gators 55-48 the first week of the season. That’s Crystal Lake South’s only loss, they are 9-1 overall. Huntley is 7-2. They appear to be the top teams in the Fox Valley so far.
- There are two good games in the Red-North/West: Farragut at North Lawndale and Taft at Westinghouse.
- Marshall is at Manley, that’s a fun game in a tiny gym. Both White-West schools could be a factor in the state playoffs.
