The stomach flu kept Kezo Brown out of the regional finals.
An ankle injury kept Talen Horton-Tucker on the bench when sectionals commenced.
The juniors are two of Simeon’s three or four most important players. The No. 2 Wolverines dominated without — and with — them Tuesday against No. 17 Marist.
Without Brown, Simeon defeated Marian Catholic by 13. The Wolverines had a 12-point lead by the time Horton-Tucker checked in to start the second quarter on Tuesday, and they cruised to a 56-36 victory in a Class 4A Thornwood Sectional semifinal in South Holland.
Evan Gilyard scored a game-high 13 points and Brown and Horton-Tucker added 10 apiece as Simeon advanced within a victory of its seventh sectional title in eight years. The Wolverines (27-3) will play Wednesday’s Thornton-Brother Rice winner Friday night.
“I was thinking about (resting) in the first quarter, but I didn’t say anything to the coaches,” Horton-Tucker said. “I told Coach Rob (Smith) I could go and I let it be their decision. I always want to play, just being a basketball player. Marist is a Top 25 team. It was really good to come out and beat them how we did.”
Its 89-66 regional final victory over T.F. North notwithstanding, Marist (27-4) is a methodical team, so the game was essentially over when Simeon jumped to a 19-7 lead after one quarter.
That didn’t stop Smith from summoning Horton-Tucker, and the 6-foot-5 junior was the same high-energy force on both ends of the floor that he’s been all season. He had five rebounds, three assists and a block and spent much of the fourth quarter manning the point.
“For a minute I thought about (not playing him),” Smith said. “I didn’t want him sitting over there the whole game. He had to be in some sort of rhythm for Friday.”
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Player of the game: Evan Gilyard, Simeon, 13 points, 3 3-pointers.
Key performers: Simeon — Talen Horton-Tucker, 10 points, 5 rebounds; Kezo Brown, 10 points. Marist — Chase Robinson, 9 points, 3 3-pointers.
