BOYS
No. 16 Englewood 66, Patrick Henry 55
MLK Dream Classic
Records: Englewood 14-2; Patrick Henry 5-6.
Halftime: Englewood 24-22.
Summary: Trailing 19-12 in the second quarter, Englewood went on a 9-0 run behind three close-in baskets from senior C Nicholas Waddell. The Eagles led 54-51 with less than four minutes left when they scored six straight points — including a put-back by Waddell — to pull ahead 60-51 with 2:02 left. Minneapolis’ Patrick Henry has won four Minnesota state titles in the last eight years.
Top performers: Englewood — Waddell, 21 points, 10 rebounds; F Demarkus Isom-Jones, 16 points. Patrick Henry — G Mandela Jackson, 19 points.
The bonus: “I just love when I’m down there in the post, and my guards give me the ball,” Waddell said.
No. 17 Curie 63, Wheaton North 54
North Park Shootout
Records: Curie 13-5; Wheaton North 13-5.
Halftime: Curie 30-19.
Summary: Two free throws from Wheaton North F John Bagge with 3:45 left cut Curie’s lead to 51-50, but that was as close as the Falcons would get. Curie finished on a 12-4 run to put the game out of reach. The Condors never trailed.
Top performers: Curie — G Donovan Foster, 17 points; freshman F Wayne Blackshear, 10 points. Wheaton North — G Dave Pilalis, 17 points, 5 three-pointers; Bagge, 16 points.
The bonus: “You can see the way we’ve developed as a team,” Foster said. “We’ve gotten a lot better as the season has gone on. At the beginning of the season we probably would have lost that game.”
No. 10 Morton 66, Downers South 50
West Suburban Gold
Records: Morton 14-3, 6-0; Downers Grove South 10-8, 3-3.
Halftime: Morton 31-23.
Summary: C Luke Scarlata scored eight points during a 10-2 run that opened the game, and Morton never looked back. Host Downers South never came closer than five points after Morton’s opening run.
Top performers: Morton — C Scarlata, 13 points, 10 rebounds. Downers South — G Malcolm Herron, 24 points.
The bonus: “I always get started real well,” Scarlata said. “Then I get pressured, and I just let my teammates get all of the shots.”.
West Aurora 41, Lockport 33
Non-conference
Records: West Aurora 13-2; Lockport 12-4.
Halftime: West Aurora 22-14.
Summary: C Derrick Johnson scored his only two baskets of the game during a 6-0 run that gave West Aurora the lead for good at 36-31 with 1:10 to play. The Blackhawks finished the first half on an 8-0 run — punctuated by G Markus Cocroft’s running, one-handed three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. Lockport opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run of its own that gave the Porters a 31-30 lead before West Aurora stormed back.
Top performers: West Aurora — G Corbin Spearman, 8 points; G Marquis Stewart, 8 points. Lockport — F Derrell Williams, 9 points, 8 rebounds; G Brian Bradley, 8 points.
The bonus: “We had to play aggressive,” Spearman said. “Last night [a win against Glenbard East] was our worst game of the season. We had a lot of turnovers (tonight), but we knew we had to keep the lead.”
Lincoln Park 59, Loyola 50
North Park Shootout
Records: Lincoln Park 13-5; Loyola 14-6.
Halftime: Lincoln Park 26-18.
Summary: Tied 34-34 midway through the third quarter, Lincoln Park took control with an 8-0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter. The Lions held off Loyola by connecting on 8-of-11 free throws in the final 2 minutes.
Top performers: Lincoln Park — G Jeremy Montgomery, 25 points; F Charles Outlaw, 11 points. Loyola — G Rob Belcore, 17 points (all in second half).
The bonus: “We talked about just getting stops and making shots,” Montgomery said. “That’s what we’ve talked about all year, and that’s what we did in the second half. It was a very good test; some games we’ve been falling off on the physical side, but you just have to keep fighting through.”
Highland Park 50, Lake Forest Acad. 39
Non-conference
Records: Highland Park 15-1; Lake Forest Academy 13-6.
Halftime: Highland Park 23-21
Summary: The host Giants made a living from behind the arc with nine three-pointers. After Lake Forest Academy scored the fourth quarter’s first basket, G Josh Bartelstein scored all eight points of an 8-4 run that gave Highland Park a double-digit lead. Highland Park sent Lake Forest Academy to the free-throw line only three times despite a severe height disadvantage.
Top performers: Highland Park — Bartelstein, 16 points; G Chris Wroblewski, 12 points, 5 rebounds. Lake Forest Academy — 7-foot C Kyle Rowley, 14 points.
The bonus: “This is a great team win,” Bartelstein said. “I think we did a great job of doubling down.”
No. 7 Evanston 78, Thornwood 59
Non-conference
Records: Evanston 17-2; Thornwood 7-10.
Halftime: Evanston 34-31.
Summary: After holding a slim lead much of the game, Evanston closed it out on a 16-4 run to put away Thornwood. G Zach Morton contributed eight points during the run, including two three-pointers.
Top performers: Evanston — Morton, 15 points; G Garrett Jones, 11 points; G Stephen Rudnicki, 11 points. Thornwood — John Payne, 18 points.
The bonus: “We came out kind of lazy,” Morton said. “We were a little too confident. In the second half we came out more aggressive because we knew we had to pick it up.”
GIRLS
No. 8 Marshall 70, East St. Louis 56
MLK Dream Classic
Records: Marshall 15-6; East St. Louis 14-3.
Halftime: Marshall 42-30.
Summary: Marshall forced 15 turnovers to build a 17-point first-half lead but had to hold off two East St. Louis rallies in the second half. The Lady Commandos responded with an 8-0 run after East St. Louis closed within six in the third quarter, then had a 15-6 run after the Flyers came within five in the fourth quarter.
Top performers: Marshall — G Terranika Reynolds, 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals; C Adrienne GodBold, 16 points, 4 steals, 2 blocks. East St. Louis — C Teandrea Smith, 20 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals; G Raven Ward, 13 points.
The bonus: “We came out ready to play. We heard East St. Louis was a good team,” said Reynolds, who scored 12 points in the second half. “We got kind of shaken by their play, so we had to get ourselves back together.”
