Nazareth Academy did its best to swarm sharpshooter Antwon Hall and used deadly free-throw shooting down the stretch Friday night to upset sixth-ranked Hillcrest 55-47 at the St. Rita Tournament.
”We put two good defenders on Hall and tried to have Vennie Sherrod dig in on the post,” said Nazareth coach Tom Richardson. ”We`re small, so we have to play aggressive.”
Hall still managed 18 points for Hillcrest (2-1) but fouled out with 1 minute 5 seconds to play. That foul started a string of six straight free throws for Nazareth (2-1) that turned a two-point lead into the final margin of victory.
Sherrod led the winners with 23 points and Mike Babinec had 11. Nazareth rebounded after Hillcrest ripped off a 6-0 run early in the fourth quarter to go up 41-40.
”We talked about this being an upset,” said Richardson. ”We told our kids this was a chance to prove we could beat a ranked team.”
St. Rita (3-0) stopped Catholic League rival St. Ignatius 82-55 with a tight second-half defense. Ken Harvey had 21 points, Byron Jackson 14 and Marques Buford 12 for St. Rita. Innis Glover had 22 and Floyd Glinsey 21 for St. Ignatius (1-2).
”I didn`t think we`d be the only 3-0 teams left,” said St. Rita coach Jim Prunty, whose Mustangs go against 2-1 Shepard Saturday for the title.
In other action, Eisenhower blasted Luther South 86-46 behind Chris Hale`s 24 points and 21 from Carrice High. Horace Page netted 21 in a losing cause. Tyrone Wilson and Craig Taczy tallied 17 points apiece as Shepard handled Chicago Latin 63-55 despite 29 points from Alex Giannolius.
Danville Schlarman Tournament-Top-ranked King rebounded from a tough opening game to roll past Collins 76-48. Thomas Hamilton led King (2-0) with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Jerod Billingsly added 18 points and Rashard Griffith had 14 points and nine rebounds. Jeremy Borders led Collins (0-1)
with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Glenbard West Tournament-No. 3 Proviso East (2-0) won its 59th straight game, 57-45 over Homewood-Flossmoor, to advance to the title game Saturday night. The Pirates, who got 15 points from Ray Gay, 14 from Kenny Davis and 13 from Leon Tubbs, outscored H-F 31-20 in the second and third quarters to put the game away. Proviso hit only 1 of 11 shots in the first quarter as H-F
(1-1) took the early lead. But Davis scored to break a 16-16 tie with 1:42 left in the first half and give his team the lead for good. Proviso then built its advantage to as much as 19 points in the fourth quarter.
”Traditionally, we struggle with this tournament mainly because we have a lot of teaching to do,” said Proviso coach Bill Hitt. ”We had three-day tryouts and then so few days to get ready that we`re still putting things in. That takes time. But a win`s a win. I`ll never apologize for a victory.”
Proviso East will play No. 4 Marshall (2-0), which jumped to a 28-11 first-quarter lead and ripped Romeoville 92-71 with four players in double figures. Marshall hit 12 of 17 field goals in the first quarter on a variety of fast-break baskets and layups. Courtney Hargrays led Marshall with 20 points, while Shawn Harrington (19), Ontario Brown (17) and Emanuel Owoeye
(14) also reached double figures.
Bob Gluting led Romeoville (1-1) with 17 points (five three-pointers).
Fenton Tournament-In the first winners` bracket game, Naperville Central decked Joliet Central 75-56 with Anthony Parker pouring in 26 points. Ty Calderwood had 23 for Joliet Central (1-1). In losers` bracket action, Lake Park (1-1) walloped Foreman 83-61 with Matt Hoder scoring 24, Mike Benhart 19 and Brent Murdock 13. John Wise had 20 for Foreman (0-2). . . . Glenbrook South (1-1) tipped Immaculate Conception 53-52 despite Bill Schmidt`s 18 points for I.C. (0-2). Bryan Scott sank two free throws with :46 seconds left and Tony Petrovich scored 23 points to lift Fenton (2-0) over Maine East 55-54. Nick Nanos had 18 for Maine East (1-1).
Hales Franciscan Tournament-Corliss (2-1) went on a 24-3 second-quarter binge then survived a 25-9 third-quarter run by Robeson to extract a 58-45 triumph with Michael O`Neal and Mitchell Murdock each scoring 14 points and LeRoy Watkins 13. Leo jumped out to an 18-10 lead after the first quarter en route to a 73-67 win over Hales. Kolbi Crittenden led Leo (3-0) with 18 points; Eugene Johnson added 16. Lonnie Brown led Hales with 16.
Oak Park Tournament-Fenwick (2-0) built a 50-28 halftime lead and cruised to an 86-65 victory over Prosser behind the balanced scoring of Adam Kotowski (17 points), Brian Zubor (15) and Ray Hill (12). Dwayne Appling scored 22 points for Prosser (0-2).
No. 7 Oak Park (2-0) dropped Providence-St. Mel 72-55 in Game 2 as Jabari Hearn and Derek Archer (nine rebounds) scored 16 points each. Ramone Jones added 15 points, John Lefevour 14. Arthur Browder had 27 for St. Mel (1-2).
St. Patrick Tournament-No. 2 Westinghouse (2-0), with Kiwane Garris scoring 22 points (with four steals), Mark Miller 17, Damion Dantzler 15 (and eight rebounds) and Michael Hermon 12, stretched a 46-27 halftime lead into a 66-32 third-quarter bulge en route to a 97-56 pasting of Lane. Reggie Blue had 22 for Lane (0-2).
In the second game St. Patrick (2-0) closed out the first quarter with a 13-1 run and went on to a 55-39 win over Steinmetz. Don Schlenbecker led St. Patrick with 17 points, including three three-pointers. Dave Domel added 10.
Lockport Tournament-No. 11 Thornridge lifted its record to 3-0 with a 62-39 victory over West Aurora (2-2). Mack Cleveland (21 points, seven rebounds, two steals) and Mike Steele (13 points, seven rebounds) led the winners, who outscored West Aurora 33-17 in the second half. Cleveland had 11 of his points in the third period, mostly on the inside. West Aurora got 10 points from Damon Burrell.
Lockport (1-2) hit 21 of 56 shots from the floor, including 10 of 22 from three-point range, during a 63-55 win over Rich Central. James Foster scored 26 points and was 6 for 10 from three-point range. Albert Barnett added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sean Mason had 25 points and Mikkel Nance 16 for Rich Central (2-1).
Lyons Tournament-No. 19 St. Joseph (1-1) won its first game of the season, 58-48 over Fenger. St. Joseph had a 10-0 run to go up 27-13 in the second quarter, and after Fenger cut the lead to eight in the third period, a 12-5 St. Joseph run iced it. St. Joe`s Derrick Mims had 17 points (14 in the first half), Stephen Walker added 15 and Rodney Horton 14, eight in the fourth quarter. Dustin Berrien had 15 for Fenger (0-2).
No. 13 Thornton (2-0) used a 10-0 run early in the third quarter to turn back Lyons 50-44 as Jasmine Bradford netted 18 points and Amad Field chipped in 13. Pat O`Brien led Lyons (1-1) with 17.
St. Viator Tournament-Mike Ansani (19 points) hit a layup with two seconds left in the second overtime to lift St. Viator past Gordon Tech 65-63 and to the title. Ryan Hayes (13 points) hit a six-foot jumper to precede Ansani`s heroics. Mike Brucks also netted 19 for St. Viator. Matt Walsh had 14 points and Ryan Johnson and Corey Brown added 13 apiece to lead Conant to a 73-33 win over Quigley.
Willowbrook Tournament-Walther Lutheran (2-0) fashioned a 34-30 halftime edge and held on to beat Downers Grove North (1-1) 69-62 with Ed Tines (22 points) leading four players in double figures. Waleep Burrell and Yolin Eddins each scored eight points as Glenbard East (1-1) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Willowbrook 49-45.
York Tournament-Gonzalo Cruz had 13 points and Steve Gumm 12 to lift Elgin to a 51-46 win over De La Salle. Matt Winton scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and Albert Treccia contributed 16 as York bettered Hersey 79-64.
Hinsdale Central Tournament-Sean Jones scored 20 points and Larry Christian added 18 as Naperville North (2-1) dumped Oak Lawn 63-49. Ken Julian drained two free throws with 4 seconds remaining to give Hinsdale Central a 57-56 win over Hinsdale South. Both teams are 2-1. Jamie Blyth`s 15 points led the winners, while Chris Valducci tossed in 17 in a losing effort.
T.F. South Tournament-Thornwood (2-0) jumped out to a 14-5 lead after one quarter and never turned back in defeating T.F. North 54-44. Wally Widelski led Thornwood with 22 and Hameen Reynolds added 10.
Lisle Tournament-Driscoll (1-1) edged Geneva 51-48 with Scott Meyers scoring 15 points and Sean Smith 14. Tim Page had 16 for Geneva (1-1). . . . Lisle (2-0) belted Timothy Christian 42-30 with Todd Evans` 12 points leading the way. Jack Heerdt had a game-high 13 for Timothy (0-2).
Montini Tournament-Jim Sexton poured in 30 points and Shaun Jacob 17 as Brother Rice (2-0) shellacked Kennedy 83-55. . . . Montini (2-0) clobbered Joliet Catholic 50-41 with Jim Long netting 16 and Brian Harold and Matt McGivern 10 apiece.
Mundelein Tournament-Brian Eldridge collected 22 points and Joey Carlini 13 as Highland Park (2-0) ripped Sullivan 67-39.
Waukegan Tournament-Warren used a 16-4 run in the second half to slip past Carmel 61-53. Justin Hamlin led Warren with 25 points, five steals and five assists. Chris Kohn added 11 points for Warren (2-0). Jermaine Williams led Carmel with 20 points. In the second game, Fremd edged Waukegan 40-39. Mike Mangan`s layup with :35 left gave Fremd the lead. Mangan led all scorers with 19 points.
Mt. Carmel Tournament-Taking control from the initial tip-off, Mt. Carmel went on a 13-2 run and was never threatened while dismantling St. Gregory 89-54. Antoine Walker led the Caravan with 19 points, Troy Bowie added 14, Willis Jones 11 and Geoff Zikas 10. Ken Rostek had 23 and John Gibson 18 (4 three-pointers) for St. Gregory (0-2).
Providence (2-0) spilled Morgan Park 56-48 with Mike Rieves bagging 17 points, Scott Murdock 11 and Bob McGee 10.
Bolingbrook Tournament-No. 14 Downers Grove South (3-0) advanced behind a 52-45 win over Larkin with Brian Green bagging 17 points and Adam Shafer and Brian Meyers 12 apiece. Sherick Simpson had 23 for Larkin (2-1). . . . Reavis (2-1) measured Bolingbrook 54-36 with Tony Bombacino netting 18, Nick Giaoris 12 and Jason Bliyniak 11. Myron Hood had 13 for Bolingbrook (1-2). . . . Westmont (1-2) beat Argo 56-46 with Andy Sterba pouring in 24 points.
Andrew Tournament-Mike O`Neill hit 11 of 12 second-half free throws and finished with 28 points in Andrew`s 64-56 win over Tinley Park. Frank Nelson chipped in with 12 points.
Hoffman Estates Tournament-Streamwood (2-1) edged Glenbard North 52-49 and took the title with the win. Three teams finished with the same record, but Streamwood won on basis of least points allowed. Darick Loving (19 points) led three players in double figures in the win over Glenbard.
Batavia Tournament-Pete Hrejsa`s 22 points powered Batavia (2-0) to a 57-40 win over Glenbard South.
