Basketball fans are already looking forward to some intriguing potential matchups in the early rounds of the Class AA tournament that tips off Feb. 25.
If the playoffs follow form, watch out for the fully loaded Bloom sectional where the lineup of regional finals could feature No. 13 Hillcrest at Homewood-Flossmoor, Bloom at No. 17 Thornridge and Rich South at No. 12 Thornton Fractional North. These six are among the best teams in the south suburbs.
Riverside-Brookfield, led by the multi-talented Tim Brasic and running mate Shatone Powers, could collide with Lyons, one of the area’shottest teams, in a highly anticipated regional final at the Argo sectional.
“That would be great,” Brasic said. “Since we’re the higher seed, the game would be at our gym, and the place would be packed.”
Cross-town rivals East and West Aurora could meet in one of the regional finals at the East Aurora sectional. No. 2 West Aurora was on the verge of a blowout 10 days ago when East Aurora clawed back into the game before losing 77-64. West Aurora coach Gordon Kerkman admonished his players for easing up after leading 18-2, thereby buoying the Tomcats’ hopes of an upset in a rematch.
In the same sectional, No. 19 Neuqua Valley and Naperville Central could meet in the regional finals while Downers Grove South could pull off a regional-final upset of No. 20 Waubonsie Valley.
It would be a wild scene if Catholic League North rivals Loyola and Gordon Tech square off in a regional final at Gordon’s cramped gym in the York sectional.
As for sectional matchups, the best one could be at Oak Lawn. If the favorites win their respective regionals, No. 1 Joliet would face SICA West rival Lockport while No. 16 Brother Rice would draw No. 18 Shepard.
Heating up: Anticipating their head-to-head battle Saturday in the City-Suburban Showdown at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Proviso East’s Dee Brown and Julian’s Sean Dockery went on a tear last week. Brown scored 42 points, including 12 three-pointers, in a rout of Addison Trail while Dockery had 33 points and seven steals in a win over Simeon. The first game of the doubleheader, at 6:15 p.m., pits No. 11 Schaumburg against Brother Rice.
Conference challenge: On the verge of watching his team squander a 17-point lead, Waubonsie Valley guard Derrick Clanton took matters into his own hands, scoring 11 of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the No. 20 Warriors (21-1) repel Barrington 47-37 in Sunday’s marquee game of the Conference Challenge at Loyola University. Scott Sch-mitz had 13 points and eight rebounds for Barrington (17-6).
In other games, Hoffman Estates beat Warren 50-49, Northridge Prep beat St. Viator 60-59 and De La Salle beat Latin 60-48.
