Khalil Jones of St. Laurence lines up a shot against St. Rita in a CCL battle on Jan. 30. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Boys Hoops Wrap | Riverside-Brookfield’s Stefan Cicic hits 1,000 career points
By Xavier Sanchez
Correspondent
Riverside-Brookfield senior Stefan Cicic had a memorable week, scoring 28 points — surpassing 1,000 career points in the process — while leading the Bulldogs to a 55-47 conference win over Westmont on Feb. 2.
Cicic also grabbed 15 rebounds and had five blocks in the win, one of R-B’s (22-4, 5-0 Metro Suburban) two victories against one loss last week.
The 6-foot-11 center was coming off another impressive outing in which he had 20 points, 14 boards and five blocks in a 62-54 win over Leo on Jan. 31. Steven Brown led the Bulldogs with 22 points.
R-B’s seven-game winning streak ended with a 75-66 loss to De La Salle on Feb. 4 at the Sunday Showcase at Evergreen Park. The Bulldogs were without starting guard Cameron Mercer.
Argo (7-20, 1-10 SSC Red)
Argo suffered losses to conference opponents Oak Lawn (61-49) and Oak Forest (73-62) before ending the week with a 65-60 non-conference win over Addison Trail. Darron Greer scored in double-digits in all three games and averaged 16.7 points for the week. Argonauts Jayvon Greer had a team-high 24 points in a win over Addison Trail on Feb 2.
Bogan (16-12, 9-0 Chicago Public White)
Bogan started the week with a 66-62 win in overtime over Farragut in the first round of the Chicago Public League tournament. Damari Robinson had 16 points and nine rebounds and Kermique Wellington adding 12 points and three blocks in the win. Jameel McLaurin scored 16 points to go with four steals, and sealed the win with free throws. The Bengals ended the week with a 76-31 loss at Kenwood.
Brother Rice (23-3, 8-0 Chicago Catholic Blue)
Brother Rice defeated Marmion (58-53) on Jan. 30 and St. Rita on Feb. 2. It was a team effort against the St. Rita as 15 Crusaders saw the floor. Marcos Gonzales had 12 points and Zavier Fitch scored 10 in the victory.
Chicago Christian (7-17, 1-7 Chicagoland Christian)
The Knights suffered a 70-46 conference loss to Christ the King on Feb. 1.
Curie (24-2, 7-1 Chicago Public Red)
Curie started a new win streak with victories over Morgan Park and Payton, defeating both by 27 points. The Condors had four players score in double digits against the Mustangs, with Taevion Collier leading the way with 16.
De La Salle (17-9, 7-1 Chicago Catholic Blue)
De La Salle went 3-1, with their only loss at Evanston (65-62). The Meteors strung together wins against Aurora Central Catholic (73-41), Fenwick (47-46) and Riverside Brookfield (75-66). Tavariyuan William carried the Meteors against R-B with 20 points and eight rebounds. Richard Lindsey added 18 points and Charles Barnes scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win.
Evergreen Park (18-9, 8-3 SSC Red)
Evergreen Park had gritty road wins over Richards (59-53) and Hillcrest (58-57) before falling to Glenbard North (70-63) on Feb. 4 at the Sunday Showcase, which the Mustangs hosted. Billy Buchanan and Tre Dowdell combined for 32 points in the overtime win over the Bulldogs on Jan. 30. Dowdell continued scoring with a game-high 23 against Hillcrest on Feb. 2. Keshaun Vaval scored 25 points, Nolan Sexton had 11 points, and Buchanan finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to Glenbard North.
Lyons (9-14, 4-5 West Suburban Silver)
Lyons split conference matchups at home with a 51-41 loss to Downers Grove North and a 57-49 win over York. Michael Reilly hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points against the Dukes on Feb. 2. Ian Polonowski had 12 points, and Caleb Greer added eight points with seven rebounds and five assists in the win.
Marist (22-4, 10-2 East Suburban Catholic)
Marist earned conference wins over Niles Notre Dame (65-64) on Jan. 30 and St. Patrick (60-56) on Feb. 3. In between the two road wins was a one-point win at home against Benet. Darshan Thomas lifted the RedHawks over the Redwings with a game-winning floater. The win over St. Patrick pushed Marist’s winning streak to seven games. Thomas led the RedHawks with 17 points, Adoni Vassilakis had 16 points and TJ Tate finished with 15 against the Shamrocks.
Morton (3-19, 0-9 West Suburban Gold)
The Mustangs lost two conference games, included a forfeit to Proviso East and a 48-23 loss to Leyden.
Mount Carmel (25-3, 5-0 Chicago Catholic Blue)
Mount Carmel topped St. Francis (58-55) on Jan. 30 and Wheaton-Warrenville South (61-47) on Feb. 4. Four Caravan players scored in double digits, led and by Lee Marks with 21, against the Spartans. Sophomore Noah Mister scored 19 points in the win over the Tigers at the Sunday Showcase at Evergreen Park..
Nazareth (8-15, 3-9 East Suburban Catholic)
Nazareth went 1-2 over three conference games. Talen Pearson carried the Roadrunners with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists in a 51-48 win over the Hilltoppers on Jan. 30. Their losses came against Marian Catholic (63-51) on Feb. 1 and Carmel (60-36) on Feb. 2.
Oak Lawn (18-6, 9-1 SSC Red)
Oak Lawn extended its win streak to six games with victories over Argo (61-49), TF North (49-48) and Leo (68-61). Corey Lee scored 27 points against Argo on Jan. 30 and 20 against Leo at the Sunday Showcase at Evergreen Park on Feb. 4. Donte Montgomery led the Spartans with 20 points in the win over Leo.
Reavis (10-12, 4-7 SSC Red)
Reavis lost to T.F. South (55-50) and Eisenhower (77-61). Arafat Alsharif led the Rams with 11 points off the bench in the loss to the Cardinals on Feb. 2.
Richards (10-15, 2-8 SSC Red)
The Bulldogs lost conference games to Evergreen Park in overtime (59-53) on Jan. 30 and Bremen in (56-50) on Feb. 2.
St. Laurence (16-10, 7-0 Chicago Catholic White)
The Vikings beat St. Rita and Marmion, while averaging a 36.5-point margin of victory over the two contests. Zerrick Johnson reached 767 career points to move into third on St. Laurence’s all-time scoring list. Josh Pickett scored 22 points in the win over Marmion.
St Rita’s Andrew Elwood pounces on a loose ball in a loss to St. Laurence on Jan. 30. Photo by Jeff Vorva
St. Rita (1-23, 0-6 CCL Blue)
The Mustangs dropped a non-conference matchup at St. Laurence on Jan. 30 and a conference game against Brother Rice on February 2.
Sandburg (13-14, 1-6 SouthWest Suburban Blue)
Sandburg lost three straight games to Homewood-Flossmoor (80-56), Eisenhower (79-64) and Bolingbrook (80-62), before ending the week with a 78-69 win over Lockport on Feb. 3. The Eagles were led by David Vargas’ 26 points and Paulius Mizeras’ 21 points in the win, Sandburg’s first conference triumph of the season.
Shepard (5-19, 0-10 SSC Red)
Shepard lost to conference foes Eisenhower on Jan. 30 and Lemont on Feb. 2. The Astros ended the week by snapping a nine-game losing streak with an 80-35 win over Universal on Feb. 3. Corey Merrity scored a game-high 15 points in the win.
Stagg (16-10, 3-2 Southwest Suburban- Red)
Stagg defeated Lemont (76-66) on Jan. 31 and lost to Lincoln-Way Central (60-57) on the road Feb. 2. Three Chargers scored 16 points each against Lemont.
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