CHICAGO - Due to a prior commitment, we were only able to catch Saturday's action at the Chicago Elite Classic. It was a pretty good afternoon of high school hoop!
Lincoln Park point guard Ismail Habib in his bag
Lincoln Park 49 Kenwood 48
It was a competitive first half even though Kenwood turned the ball over 6 times in the 1st quarter. Lincoln Park took a 22-20 lead into the half. Kenwood outscored LP 18-12 in the 3rd and went up as much as 10 in the 4th but 3 turnovers on their last 4 possessions of the game led to the Broncos demise. 2 free throws by Chikere Nwosu with 11.8 secs left gave LP a 49-48 lead. "We pissed it away," said Broncos first year head coach Justin Bowen. Ismail Habib (17 pts) & Romel Howard (17 pts/10 rebs) led Lincoln Park. Darnell King (23 pts/9 rebs) led Kenwood. Kenwood got a nice spark off the bench from junior Ramik Spencer.
Dante Maddox Jr. & Christian Shumate addressing the media
Bloom 85 Pace (Atlanta) 54
This one was over before it started. With starting point guard Donovan Newby in a walking boot, Bloom didn't miss a beat. Pace had a couple of athletes but they were no match for the Trojans. They took a 45-28 lead into the half and a 69-42 lead after 3. They went up as much as 33 in the 4th before head coach Dante Maddox emptied his bench. Dante Maddox Jr scored a game high 30 pts shooting 6-7 from 3. Keshawn Williams (12) Christian Shumate (12) & Justin Moore (10) all chipped in. "Everyone's been hurt so we've barely practiced. We lost to H-F last year in the playoffs so my guys are ready this year," said Maddox.
St. Francis after their comeback win over Simeon
St. Francis (Baltimore) 61 Simeon 57
The nationally ranked team from Baltimore came in and took advantage of a Simeon squad who had only played one game this season. It looked promising for the Wolverines as they took a 29-21 lead into the half as their pace of play and ball movement got them a nice lead but the Panthers regained their composure and came back with some big buckets down the stretch to move their record to 6-0. (The scorers table was having issues with the system so there was no official box score given to media for this game)
Duncanville guard Juan Reyna charged up
Duncanville (Texas) 57 Whitney Young 55
Whitney Young gave the well known nationally ranked Duncanville Panthers all they could handle. The Dolphins committed 6 offensive fouls in the first half but managed to stay in the game tied at 28 going into the half. The score was tied at 38 after 3 quarters and again tied at 52 with 1:32 to play. A missed fastbreak layup by Dolphins guard Tyler Beard on the break led to a wide open dunk by Damon Nicholas to give Duncanville a 54-52 lead with 52 seconds left. The Panthers had a 2 pt lead with 7.9 seconds. Duke commit DJ Steward went for the win but missed a 3 at the buzzer.
Morgan Park point guard Marcus Watson Jr. running the show
Morgan Park 73 v Christian Brothers (Missouri) 72 OT
Christian Brothers had a 19-9 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Morgan Park senior forward Isaiah Burrell & CB forward Mike West were tossed for throwing punches in the 2nd quarter. The stoppage took the momentum away from CB and the Mustangs managed to go into the half with the game tied at 29. MP went on a run in the 4th taking a 56-45 lead with 4:55 left to play. They were feeling themselves during the timeout dancing on the bench. Head coach Nick Irvin was livid screaming "what the hell are y'all doing?" 3 turnovers, a technical foul & a 3 point basket later, CB had a 59-58 lead. Clutch free throws by Wake Forest commit Marcus Watson Jr. tied the game at 62 to send the game to overtime. The Mustangs had a 1 point lead with 2 seconds left. Watson missed 2 free throws but got the offensive rebound as time expired to give MP the win.
Senior forward Brandon Weston led MP with 25 pts/10 rebs. Illinois commit Adam Miller had 21 pts/6 rebs & Watson Jr finished with 15 pts/7 rebs/6 ast. University of North Carolina commit Caleb Love scored a game high 26 points & Larry Hughes Jr. (son of former NBA player Larry Hughes) had 16.
*ALL PHOTOS SHOT BY @LANEZPHOTO