BOYS
Homewood-Flossmoor 77, Joliet 49
SW Suburban
Records: H-F 13-1, 4-0; Joliet 8-9, 2-3.
Halftime: H-F 44-28.
Summary: Southern Illinois-bound G Kevin Dillard scored a career-high 31 points and headed a defense that forced 23 turnovers. Joliet kept the game close early, trailing 36-26 with 1:49 left in the first half, but the Vikings turned three straight turnovers into six points in a 20-second span to close out the half.
Top performers: H-F — Dillard, 31 points; G Supo Sanni, 15 points. Joliet — F Anthony Shoemaker, 15 points.
The bonus: “We play with a lot of confidence and toughness, and tonight we wanted to be physical and force a lot of turnovers,” Dillard said. “Turnovers are instant offense for us.”
No. 7 Evanston 62, Maine South 57
Central Suburban South
Records: Evanston 16-2, 6-0; Maine South 5-12, 2-4.
Halftime: Evanston 39-22.
Summary: With 27 seconds left, Maine South F Joe Kozak scored to cut the lead to 60-57. On Maine South’s final possession, Evanston G Zachary Morton’s steal and layup sealed the win.
Top performers: Evanston — Freshman G Garrett Jones, 12 points; C Travis Clark, 10 points. Maine South — F Kevin Schlitter, 15 points, Kozak, 14 points.
The bonus: ” “We knew they would come back in the second half,” Clark said. We beat them by 30 last time we played, so it just shows you have to respect every opponent, every game.”
No. 18 Thornton 75, Thornridge 51
SICA East
Records: Thornton 14-4, 4-0; Thornridge 6-12, 0-4.
Halftime: Thornton 36-18.
Summary: Thornton scored 18 unanswered points for a 26-5 advantage with 5:41 left in the first half. The Wildcats went ahead 41-18 at the 5:38 mark of the third quarter and never let the margin dip below 21 points thereafter. Eleven Thornton players cracked the scoring column.
Top performers: Thornton — F Trevell Rivers, 11 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks; F Michael Buckner, 12 points; F Richie Thompson, 8 points, 16 rebounds. Thornridge — G Anthony Grant, 9 points.
The bonus: “We attacked, took the ball to the basket and got some offensive rebounds and putbacks,” Rivers said. “We weren’t good at the free-throw line, but we’ll get better.”
Highland Park 68, Maine East 47
Central Suburban North
Records: Highland Park 14-1, 6-0; Maine East 11-5, 3-3.
Halftime score: Highland Park 21-20.
Summary: Undersized Highland Park shut down Maine East’s offensive weapons, Danhi Wilson and Avery Roche, in the second half. The Giants held the hosts without a field goal for a 9:53 span over the third and fourth quarters. Over the final 16 minutes, the smaller Giants limited Maine East to 4-for-25 shooting to pull away.
Top performers: Highland Park — G Chris Wroblewski, 24 points, 9 rebounds. Maine East — F Wilson, 20 points.
The bonus: “Our coach (Paul Harris) wanted us to win every four-minute war. We won six of the eight,” Wroblewski said.
West Aurora 46, Glenbard East 43
DuPage Valley
Records: West Aurora 12-2, 5-0; Glenbard East 9-8, 3-2.
Halftime: Glenbard East 26-24.
Summary: West Aurora ended the third quarter with three three-point baskets to take the lead. Glenbard East had a chance to send the game into overtime, but G Jack Merrithey missed two three-pointers.
Top performers: West Aurora — G Markus Cocroft, 12 points. Glenbard East — F Paul Sanders, 10 points.
The bonus: “In the first half we didn’t play with the intensity that we usually do,” Cocroft said. “Coach (Gordon Kerkman) told us to play hard and don’t give up.”
Schaumburg 62, Hoffman Estates 56
Mid-Suburban West
Records: Schaumburg 11-6, 3-3; Hoffman Estates 11-5, 4-2.
Halftime: Schaumburg 30-27.
Summary: After taking a three-point lead into the locker room, Schaumburg opened the second half with 15-5 run. Hoffman Estates, which as a result of this defeat dropped out of a first-place tie with Conant, closed to within three thanks to G Luke Mead’s 14 fourth-quarter points. But Schaumburg junior G Cully Payne responded with six points in the fourth quarter, after sitting out for most of the period due to cramps.
Top performers: Schaumburg — G Cully Payne, 25 points, 6 rebounds; F Blake Mueller, 8 points. Hoffman Estates — G Luke Mead, 28 points.
The bonus: “Coach [Bob] Williams did a great job with the rotation to get me in offensively,” Payne said.
Jacobs 59, Cary-Grove 54
Fox Valley (Valley)
Records: Jacobs 15-1, 1-0; Cary-Grove 9-9, 0-1.
Halftime: Jacobs 33-28.
Summary: Jacobs was put to the test in the conference opener, leading only 55-54 with 34 seconds remaining. But senior PG John Moran made a crucial steal and hit two clutch free throws to help the Golden Eagles seal the win.
Top performers: Jacobs — Moran, 20 points; C Conrad Krutwig, 17 points. Cary-Grove — G Paul Tometich, 19 points, 11 rebounds.
The bonus: “We almost lost one tonight. It was a battle all night,” Moran said. “It’s huge for us to win our conference opener. Cary-Grove is a good team.”
Naperville Central 53, Wheaton North 52
DuPage Valley
Records: Naperville Central, 12-6, 5-2; Wheaton North 13-4, 5-2.
Halftime: Wheaton North 26-25.
Summary: Naperville Central junior G Drew Crawford hit a game-winning 17-foot shot with no time remaining to give Central the win.
Top performers: Naperville Central — Crawford 18 points, 11 rebounds; Matt Neufeld, 13 points; Matt Schmitz, 10 points. Wheaton North — Dave Pilalis, 22 points, five threes.
The bonus: “It’s a play we run all the time,” Crawford said of the game-winning shot. “It’s an inbounds play that we practice every day. They didn’t switch like most teams usually do. Harrison (Daniels) set a great screen, Matt (Schmitz) made a great pass and I was able to knock the shot down.”
