Milestones don’t fall easily at Hillcrest. So when Thornton Fractional North ended the Hawks’ 41-game SICA Central winning streak in mid-January, Hillcrest decided enough was enough.
Chris Dryer scored 16 points and Armon Gates added 13 as No. 12 Hillcrest proved once again that the battle for the league title comes through Country Club Hills with a 61-47 victory Tuesday night. The Hawks (21-4, 10-1) must beat T.F. South on Friday night to share the SICA Central title–their 13th in a row–with No. 17 T.F. North.
Hillcrest did it with little first-half help from Gates and without 6-foot-7-inch senior Tyre Robinson. Gates was saddled with first-half three fouls, and Robinson was forced to miss the game after being ejected Friday against Tinley Park. Sophomore center David Townsend, playing his first varsity game, finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
“Considering that Robinson was out and we had to get along without our best player, our Division I player, we did all right,” Hillcrest coach Tom Cappel said. “Someone needed to step up. Our saying on this team is that the strength in the wolf is the pack and the strength of the pack is the wolf. We had a lot of guys step up for us tonight.”
Without Gates, Hillcrest played just well enough to keep the game tight. Dryer’s 12 first-half points, including four in a 10-5 run to start the second quarter, helped the Hawks build as much as a five-point lead. T.F. North battled back to within 29-28 at the half before Hillcrest used a 12-4 run to start the third and build a 41-32 lead. Townsend had four points and a key assist during the run.
Gates took control in the fourth quarter, scoring nine points, including six of his team’s first eight points in the fourth, as the Meteors closed within 53-46 with 3 minutes 41 seconds remaining. However, Hillcrest held T.F. North to just one point the rest of the way in turning the game into a blowout.
Brad Hatfield led the Meteors with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Phil English.
Cary-Grove 65, Lake Zurich 61: Cary-Grove won its third consecutive Fox Valley title, hitting 13-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter and getting superb balance in its 65-61 decision over Lake Zurich. The Trojans (21-4, 16-1) were led by Chris Frosaker and Dan Evans with 15 points each, while Andy Hill added 13 and Kevin Cooper 12.
“It’s my senior year, so this one’s definitely the best of the three,” said Frosaker, who has been on all three squads. “To win three conference championships in a row in high school basketball is tough because the lineups keep changing. It’s impressive our program has held up this well for three years.”
Frosaker scored 11 of his points after halftime, including 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter.
After Lake Zurich’s Ryan Zarr (10 points) tied the game 53-53 on a three-pointer with five minutes left, Cary went on a 6-0 run and never led by fewer than four the rest of the way. Lake Zurich falls to 19-5, 14-3.
Marshall 61, DuSable 57: Marshall coach Al Williams benched every member of his entire starting lineup after they all missed a Monday shootaround.
It almost cost the No. 2 Commandos (25-3) in a non-conference game against DuSable.
Ronald Davis and Kelly Whitney, who were among the starters benched for the first quarter, combined for 21 second-half points to lead Marshall back from nine points down. Davis finished with 15 points and five rebounds, while Whitney added 14 points, six rebounds and five blocks.
Whitney finally gave Marshall the lead for good at 59-57 on a short jumper with 3:26 to go.
DuSable (10-15) had a chance to tie, but Richard Moody missed a short jumper in traffic. Then Davis was fouled, and he converted both free throws to ice the game.
Benyamin Robinson, who had a game-high 22 points, gave DuSable a 41-32 lead on a putback basket early in the third quarter.
Thornwood 70, Rich South 57: Melvin Buckley scored 21 points and made five three-pointers as the top-ranked Thunderbirds (24-1) won the SICA crossover. Eddy Curry contributed 18 points and six blocks and David Moss added 17 points for Thornwood. Brandon Cole’s 17 points led Rich South (14-10).
Nazareth 57, Brother Rice 54: Larson Reed scored 22 points and Matt Wilkinson added 16 as the Roadrunners (16-10) overcame a 16-point deficit and defeated No. 14 Brother Rice. Ryan O’Reilly scored 18 points and Greg Noha added 14 points for Brother Rice (20-5). Nazareth was 16-of-19 from the free throw line and made seven three-pointers en route to the upset.
Lockport 50, Bradley-Bourbonnais 37: Alando Tucker poured in 27 points for the Porters (13-11). Wade Greenlee led Bradley with 12.
St. Laurence 81, Elmwood Park 50: Mike Halac’s 13 points led the Vikings (11-15) to the rout.
