All Tom McCloskey heard about when he accepted the head coaching position at Riverside-Brookfield was what it would be like to be a basketball coach at a football school.
And being a new coach, introducing a new system and getting only one solid week of preseason practice under its belt because of the football team’s late-season run, he expected to take his early knocks.
Saturday night made it all worth it. All-State quarterback Tim Brasic had 34 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three blocks, and Shatone Powers had 21 points and five rebounds as the Bulldogs (10-2) beat Downers Grove South 84-75 for the York Holiday Classic title. The loss was the third for the Mustangs (8-3) in three finals appearances at York.
R-B, winners of nine straight, captured the championship in much the same way it advanced to the Class 5A quarterfinals in football–using an up-tempo, frenetic offense and getting the most out of its talented athletes.
“We like to push the ball. That’s the only way we know how to play,” said McCloskey. “I think that’s the way the game’s supposed to be played. It’s supposed to be fun.”
“This is all about our coach,” said Brasic, who was named the tournament’s MVP. “He just tells us to play and we do it. It’s like football. We just throw the ball around and win games. I never thought we’d be as good as we are. I’m loving it.”
Fans were treated to a high-flying contest. Behind Brasic’s 17-point, five-rebound and four-assist first half, the Bulldogs built a 37-18 lead with 2:52 remaining in the second quarter. Downers made the first of several runs at the Bulldogs on the night, closing the quarter on a 13-4 run to trail 41-31 at intermission.
Just as Downers continued to chip away at the lead, closing to within 61-59 with 11 seconds left in the third, Brasic delivered a dagger in the form of a long-range bomb at the buzzer to give R-B a 64-59 edge.
The Mustangs would get no closer than four the rest of the way as Powers had nine fourth-quarter points, Brandon Davis (20 points) six and Brasic five.
The Mustangs were led by Justin Stanger’s 21 points. Antonio Lewis chipped in 16 and Jeremiah Jefferson had 11.
In other games at York, the host Dukes got 12 points from Brad Heinz and 10 points each from Brian Belville and Mike Schuetz as York (9-5) edged Conant 49-47 for third place. . . . Joe Soroko had 24 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, as Gordon Tech upended No. 11 Brother Rice 76-71 for fifth place. Rick Harrigan had 27 points to lead the Crusaders, but was held to four points in the final quarter.
— Phil English.
At Lincoln-Way
No. 17 Curie, led by three players with double-digit scoring, beat Thornton Fractional North 76-64 for the title.
Seniors Paul Nowak, Rome Sanders and Omni Smith led the Condors by combining for 34 points in the first half. Curie (10-2), which led by three points after one quarter, took a 42-34 advantage into the second half.
“We played solid defense and good things happened,” said Curie coach Michael Oliver. “Our seniors stepped up for us.”
T.F. North (12-2), which had its 10-game winning streak snapped, played much of the game without 6-8 center Brad Hatfield, who was in foul trouble. That allowed Sanders, a 6-8 forward/center, to score easy buckets inside en route to 18 points.
The Condors led 65-50 after three quarters, which ended with Nowak hitting two three-pointers in the last 17 seconds. He finished with 23 points and Smith added 18 points.
Sanders, who had nine rebounds, was voted the tournament’s most valuable player and Smith was selected to the all-tournament team.
Coming off the bench, Tom Piotrowski and Janine Hudson tried to keep the Meteors in the game. Piotrowski scored 17 points and Hudson, with two three-pointers, had eight points. Gregg Charles also scored 12 points for T.F. North.
In the third-place game, Robeson (6-6) held off Morgan Park 67-63 after leading by 12 points early in the fourth quarter. George Jones and Courtney Williams scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, for Robeson. Dennis Hawkins led Morgan Park (6-7) with 15 points.
— Ken O’Brien.
At Bloomington/Normal
Despite squandering a 12-point second-quarter lead, No. 9 Thornwood regained its composure in the second half of the Class AA championship game against Rockford Boylan.
Behind seniors Melvin Buckley and David Moss, the Thunderbirds rallied for a 57-43 win. Buckley had 15 of his game-high 19 points in the first half to lead Thornwood.
“[Buckley] got us off to a great start,” said Thornwood coach Kevin Hayhurst. “We don’t have just one person we can depend on.”
Moss picked up the slack in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his 16 points and hitting two three-pointers, as the Thunderbirds outscored Boylan 32-17 in the second half.
“We shot the ball well but our defense was there as well,” said Hayhurst, whose team forced the Titans (11-1) into 2-of-12 three-point shooting. “Sometimes your shot is not going to be there but if you play good [defense], you’ll stay in the game.”
Hayhurst was upset at the foul calls in the first half–10 for his squad to only three for Rockford Boylan.
“We stress keeping composure,” said Hayhurst. “Our team had great discipline. They understand that could take them out of the game and our kids made the adjustments in the second half.”
Eric Gillam and Jason Winkler scored nine points apiece to lead Rockford Boylan.
In the boys grand championship, pitting Thornwood against Class A champion Quincy Notre Dame, Moss had 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Buckley had 14 points as the Thunderbirds won 62-57. Geremine Allison added 16 points for Thornwood (13-1).
In other tournaments:
Centralia: Sean Dockery scored 24 points as No. 6 Julian fell to Quincy in the third-place game 76-67. . . . Earlier in the day, Matt Shaw had 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the host Orphans to a 81-54 rout of Julian (5-3). Dockery led the Jaguars with 15 points.
Collins: Kenneth Johnson led a 21-0 Corliss run in the fourth quarter to stun the host Cobras 66-56 for the tournament title. Johnson had 12 points in the run, which started with Collins (11-1) leading 54-45.
“I personally felt I had something to prove,” said Johnson, who added that West Side Collins had little respect for the South Side Trojans. “I respect all. I fear no one.”
Lenix Gladney added 17 points for Corliss (7-4), while Antione Edward had 14 points, six steals and eight rebounds.
Marlon Brumfeld had 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks to lead Collins, and James Scott added 15 points.
In the third-place game, Joe Lewis had 14 points for Tilden (8-4) in a 46-43 win over DuSable.
Jacobs: Elk Grove came on strong in the fourth quarter to beat Crystal Lake South 67-61 in the title game. The Grenadiers (13-2) pulled away from a 43-43 tie at the end of the third on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 9-of-13 from the line in the final period. Elk Grove’s Terry Evans led all scorers with 27 points, including 13 in the fourth. Scott Scholten added 14 points for the Grenadiers. Phil Wallace led Crystal Lake South (10-6) with 18 points. . . . Anthony Maestranzi scored 19 points and Chris Griffin added 18 points as Bartlett (11-4) defeated Lake Forest 66-51 for third place. Bartlett went on a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter.Blake Lyman had 13 points for Lake Forest (8-5).
Lemont: Terence Parker had 28 points and Joe Cortez added 11 points and five assists as Lisle (10-1) held off a late charge by Sandburg to win the title 47-44. Chris Rega had 12 points and five rebounds to lead Sandburg (7-6). . . . Keelan Amelianovich had 20 points and five assists and Bobby Catchings added 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 20 Neuqua Valley (10-2) to a 76-62 win over Montini to capture third place. With the game tied 6-6, the Wildcats went on a 17-1 run to take charge.
Luther North: Joel Burnett had 21 points and Jawond Gage added 20 as Holy Cross (13-1) knocked off Taft 61-55 in overtime for the title. Chris Cobbs had 21 points to lead the Eagles (13-2).
Rockford: Luke Berry scored 28 points and DeMonte Smith added 26 to lead Rockford Christian Life to the title with a 74-67 win over Rockford Jefferson. Christian Life (14-2) trailed after the first quarter but rallied to take a seven-point lead entering the fourth. Dameon Lewis scored 20 points to lead Jefferson (10-4).
St. Louis Normandy: Aaron Spears had 11 points and Pierre Glover added 10 points for Dunbar, but it wasn’t enough as the Mighty Men (6-2) fell to St. Louis Cardinal Ritter 56-43 for the title.
Waubonsie Valley: Derrick Clanton scored 26 points as No. 10 Waubonsie Valley (12-0) defeated Glenbard North 74-63 for the championship. Marc Daniels and Jeff Sassano had 16 points each for the Warriors. Daniels scored six points in a key 14-2 Waubonsie run in the third quarter.
Joel Pelland scored 21 points for Glenbard North (10-2).
In the third-place game, Marmion (7-4) edged West Chicago 48-46 behind Matt Mayer’s 10 points.
Wheeling: Colin Falls had 27 points and five rebounds to lead Loyola (10-3) over Notre Dame 64-49 for the title. John Bowler had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Notre Dame. . . . Brian Hare had 18 points and Rob Costello had 15 points and hit the game-winning shot with 2.4 seconds left to lift St. Viator (5-7) to a third-place finish with a 52-50 win over Lake Park. Matt Petraliacq had 11 points for Lake Park.
