With last year in mind, Lockport senior Mike Pruchnik understood one important fact Saturday.
Every pin counts.
Pruchnik, who entered in 14th place, used a huge afternoon to move up and finish ninth in the state bowling meet with a 12-game total of 2,788 at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon.
A year ago, Pruchnik missed winning a state medal by three pins, finishing 13th. The top 12 get medals. He got his redemption Saturday.
“I remember after that day last year, I knew it’d be my motivation for this year,” Pruchnik said. “I really wanted to make up for that.
“Being up there getting a state medal was pretty special. I just wish we could have been up there as a team.”
The Porters led the team race after Friday but fell to fourth with a total score of 13,110. Stevenson won the state title with a record score of 13,361, behind individual champion Zach Singer (2,899).
“The boys bowled (Saturday) pretty much like they have all season,” Lockport coach Ron Davis said. “(On Friday), they were phenomenal, and (on Saturday) they were average. You have to be phenomenal all weekend if you want to win a state title. Stevenson did that, but our boys did great.”
Pruchnik, who averaged 232 for the tournament, posted a three-game series of 735 in Saturday’s afternoon session to climb into the top 10. That included a 266 in the afternoon opener.
“My coach and I made a small adjustment with my hand,” he said. “I was putting more pressure on my index finger when I should be putting it on the center of my hand. I made that adjustment, and it worked pretty well.”
Andrew junior Ethan Gerald also earned a medal, finishing 12th with 2,742 pins. His 719 afternoon series included a 279 in the penultimate game.
“I really didn’t think I had a chance to medal until I shot that 279,” Gerald said. “I made the first five strikes, then left a 10-pin in the sixth but made sure I closed it out. Once I got locked in, I just had to make good shots and hit my mark.”
Evergreen Park’s Shaun Quinn (15th, 2,724) and Morgan Park’s Jabar Johnson (19th, 2,695) each had huge days as Quinn moved up from 51st entering the day and Johnson from 64th.
Sandburg (12,915) finished sixth, Andrew (12,816) was eighth and Morgan Park (12,476) placed 12th.
Tommy Hayes (30th, 2,652), Cameron Crowe (39th, 2,618) and Danny Griskell (43rd, 2,612) led Sandburg, which moved up from 10th place after day one.
“Sixth is the best finish in school history, and we put up a score that would have won state a lot of years,” Sandburg coach Jeff Kwilose said. “We just had a little hiccup Friday afternoon, and the way teams were shooting down here, you couldn’t afford that.”
Lockport’s Andy Sims (2,643) and Noah Zwit (2,630) finished 31st and 35th, respectively. Stagg’s Sean Murray (2,615) was 40th, and Andrew’s Trevor Dranter (2,587) came in 50th.
Boys basketball
Evergreen Park 47, Erie 46: Dan Smith (25 points) sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Evergreen Park (8-13) in the Eric Ottens Memorial Shootout at Fulton.
Mount Carmel 65, Lemont 57: Christian Peevy scored 24 points, and Nick Chambers added 19 for Mount Carmel (16-5) in the Lincoln-Way West Showdown.
Lincoln-Way West 56, T.F. South 43: Jon Marotta scored 29 points for West (10-7).
Girls basketball
Lemont 48, Glenbard South 42 (OT): Shannon O’Donnell (20 points) boosted Lemont (14-8).
Bremen 45, U-High 28: Royale Williams (11 points) aided Bremen (11-11).
Bradley-Bourbonnais 51, Lincoln-Way Central 43: Rebecca Gorman (21 points, 7 rebounds) starred for Lincoln-Way Central (12-14, 7-4 SWSC Red).
Shepard 49, Chicago Christian 45: Cassidy McCarthy poured in 16 points for Shepard (1-23).
Morgan Park 73, North Lawndale 71: Gabrielle Cooper (11 rebounds, 5 assists) and Deja Cage tossed in 22 points apiece for Morgan Park (22-2) in the Public League quarterfinal.
Seton 65, Chicago Notre Dame 13: Arrion Pamon scored 15 points for Seton (18-6) in the GCAC Blue Tournament.
Mother McAuley 55, Rosary 46: Caitlin Jandacek provided 11 points for McAuley (15-10) in the GCAC Tournament.
Providence 44, Fenwick 31: Claire Paciga (13 points) led Providence (4-20) in the GCAC Tournament.
Girls bowling
South Suburban Blue Tournament: T.F. South (5,736) won the crown behind individual champion Madalin Tilges (1,252).
South Suburban Red Tournament: Medalist Sarah Coffman (1,375) guided Richards (5,702) to the title.
Men’s basketball
St. Xavier 91, Holy Cross (Ind.) 81 (OT): Stanley Moore (22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) paced St. Xavier (15-8, 12-3 CCAC North), which also received 21 points each from Quinn Niego (6 rebounds) and Kyle Huppe.
Lewis 87, McKendree 79: Max Strus (career-high 18 rebounds, 4 assists) recorded 21 points, and Delaney Blaylock (6 rebounds) added 20 for Lewis (15-6, 7-4 GLVC East).
St. Francis 92, Robert Morris 83: Jo Jo Ballestero (20 points) and Ilya Ilyayev (17 points, 14 rebounds) lifted St. Francis (21-2, 13-2 CCAC South).
South Suburban 109, Indiana Elite 75: Jovan Mooring had 45 points and seven rebounds for South Suburban (22-2).
Triton 85, Joliet 67: Kiwane Crowder’s 20 points led Joliet (16-7, 5-3 N4C).
Clarke (Iowa) 94, Governors State 86: Dalvin Echols racked up 26 points for Governors State (4-18).
Women’s basketball
Lewis 51, McKendree 46: Jessica Kelliher (19 points, 9 rebounds) and Mariyah Brawner-Henley (17 points, 8 rebounds) powered Lewis (20-1, 11-0 GLVC East) to its fourth consecutive 20-win season.
St. Francis 69, Robert Morris 62: Charnelle Reed (7 rebounds) and Jordan Giddings scored 15 points apiece for St. Francis (21-3, 11-2 CCAC South).
Clarke (Iowa) 99, Governors State 69: Zaporia Smith (23 points, 8 rebounds) led Governors State.
Friday’s gamesBoys basketball
Thornton 56, Lincoln-Way North 53: Sam Taylor III poured in 14 points for Thornton (16-1, 7-0 SWSC Red).
Morgan Park 64, Vocational 46: Charlie Moore (19 points, 11 assists) guided Morgan Park (17-2, 9-1 Public Red-South).
Mount Carmel 51, St. Francis de Sales 36: Nick Chambers and Christian Peevy netted 14 points each for Mount Carmel (15-5, 7-0 Catholic South).
Crete-Monee 53, Rich East 50: Dwayne Rose (17 points) propelled Crete-Monee (14-5, 5-1 Southland).
Eisenhower 74, Reavis 62: Demariae Collins totaled 34 points for Eisenhower (8-11, 3-6 SSC Red).
Rich South 51, Kankakee 23: Dominic Martin (14 points, 7 rebounds) boosted Rich South (11-7, 4-2 Southland).
Chicago Christian 64, Ridgewood 38: Malik Parker posted 17 points for Chicago Christian (15-6, 7-1 MSC East).
Joliet Catholic 53, Notre Dame 43: Jalen Jackson (26 points) paced JCA (16-3, 3-2 ESCC).
Lincoln-Way Central 56, Lincoln-Way West 53: Jarret Gmazel had 18 points for Central (13-5, 4-3 SWSC Red).
Oak Lawn 71, Tinley Park 52: Othman Othman (28 points, 5 assists) starred for Oak Lawn (8-12, 3-5 SSC Red).
Bradley-Bourbonnais 89, Thornwood 87 (2 OT): Drew Evans provided 33 points for Thornwood (8-10, 4-3 SWSC Red).
Lockport 58, Lincoln-Way East 46: Mikolaj Nowobilski contributed 14 points for Lockport (10-8, 3-4 SWSC Blue).
De La Salle 59, DePaul Prep 50: Marcus Brown and Andre Raiford registered 13 points apiece for De La Salle (15-5, 5-2 Catholic North).
Evergreen Park 60, Shepard 50: Kyree Hannah’s 21 points lifted Evergreen Park (7-13, 2-7 SSC Red).
Thornridge 57, Andrew 53: Terrell Whitehead scored 18 points for Thornridge (7-11, 4-3 SWSC Red).
Bishop McNamara 76, Seton 72: Franklin Felix (20 points, 12 rebounds) led Seton (16-6, 5-2 Catholic South).
Bloom 74, Rich Central 65: Jamal Parks racked up 23 points for Bloom (11-9, 3-3 Southland).
T.F. South 62, Bremen 47: Bron Hill (13 points) aided T.F. South (9-12, 5-5 SSC Blue).
St. Rita 57, Providence 56: Demauris Dixon finished with 16 points for St. Rita (8-13, 4-3 Catholic South).
Illinois Lutheran 63, Tri-Point 50: Trevor Henschel (22 points) paced Illinois Lutheran (11-7, 4-4 RVC).
Argo 50, Richards 48: Marc Fry tossed in 19 points for Argo (11-9, 6-3 SSC Red).
St. Laurence 67, Leo 58: Brett Risley (27 points) ignited St. Laurence (11-10, 4-3 Catholic South).
Timothy Christian 57, Illiana Christian 52 (OT): Chandler Kimmel had 14 points for Illiana (16-5, 6-2 MSC East).
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Freelancer Josh Krockey contributed.
