Boys Hoops Wrap | Curie soars past Kenwood for Chicago city title

By Xavier Sanchez
Correspondent

Curie powered through Whitney Young, Simeon and Kenwood to earn the Chicago Public League championship.

The Condors defeated the Broncos, 65-59, in the city title game played Feb. 10 at Credit Union 1 Arena on the University of Illinois-Chicago campus. The win secured Curie’s third city title, with the other coming in 2014 and 2019.

Curie’s Carlos Harris, who has committed to playing at UIC next season, scored a game-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and a steal.

The Condors began to slip away in the second and third quarters and led by as many as 13 points with 5:03 left in the third.  The Broncos would get within four points with roughly 30 seconds left in the game but would not score again.

Gonzalez finished with 15 points, three rebounds and six assists.

The Condors (27-2, 7-1 CPL Red) defeated Whitney Young on Feb. 6 and rolled past Simeon, 75-51, on Feb. 8. Will Gonzalez led the way with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal against the Wolverines.

Argo (8-22, 2-11 SSC Red)

Argo best Tinley Park on Feb. 6. Syncere Westbrook scored 18 points, including a game-winner against the Titans. The Argonauts lost road games to Richards on a buzzer-beater (67-64) and Fenton (59-41). Westbrook had a team-high 18 points at Richards and Darron Greer scored nine points at Fenton.

Brother Rice (26-3, 9-0 Chicago Catholic Blue)

Brother Rice extended its win streak to seven games, starting with a 30-point win against St. Laurence (82-52). Marcos Gonzales led the way with 22 points. Gonzales (20) and Zavier Fitch (19) combined for 39 of the Crusader’s 69 points in a win against Mount Carmel (69-59). At the WI/IL Border Battle in Racine, Wisconsin, the Crusaders defeated Verona, 86-42, with five players scoring in double-figures. Fitch had 23 points and 17 rebounds.

Chicago Christian (8-20, 2-9 Chicagoland Christian)

The Knights lost three of four games, but defeated St. Edward, 58-54. AJ Van Dellen’s performances at the Chicagoland Christian Conference tournament earned him All-Conference honors.

De La Salle (18-11, 4-3 Chicago Catholic Blue)

The Meteors suffered losses to DePaul (43-40) on Feb. 6 and Madison (Louisiana) (57-50) on Feb. 10. De La Salle won a conference game, 41-39, against Loyola on Feb. 9. Tavariyuan William had 14 points and Richard Lindsey had 12 points against the Ramblers

Evergreen Park (20-9, 10-3 SSC Red)

Evergreen Park got wins against Lemont (64-49) and Shepard (69-48) to reach a 20-win season for just the fourth time in school history. Tre Dowdell had 24 points and seven rebounds against Lemont on Feb. 6. Mustangs guard Nolan Sexton averaged 16.5 points for the week with a week-high of 22 points against the Astros on Feb. 9.

Lyons (10-15, 5-6 West Suburban Silver)

Lyons split two conference games with a loss at Oak Park-River Forest (56-49) and a win at home over Hinsdale Central (57-52). Liam Taylor had a game-high 19 points for the Lions in the loss to the Huskies on Feb. 9. The following day, they had four players in double figures scoring in their win over the Red Devils. Brady Chambers had a team-high 15 points (tied with Caleb Greer) to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists on Feb. 10. Taylor had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in the win.

Morton (3-19, 0-9 West Suburban Gold)

The Mustangs suffered three conference losses — home and away losses to Addison Trail on Feb. 5 and 9 also a loss at Hinsdale South on Feb. 10.

Mount Carmel (26-4, 6-1 Chicago Catholic- Blue)

Mount Carmel split two conference road games with a 63-41 win at Leo on Feb. 6 and a 69-59 loss at Brother Rice on Feb. 9. Angelo Ciaravino and Noah Mister each scored 17 points for the Caravan in the loss to the Crusaders. Lee Mark suffered a fractured elbow against Leo and did not play against Rice.

Nazareth (8-17, 3-11 East Suburban Catholic)

Nazareth suffered a 69-62 loss to St. Patrick on Feb. 6 and a 66-60 loss at Marist on Feb. 9.

Oak Lawn (20-7, 11-1 South Suburban)

Corey Lee scored 18 points to lead Oak Lawn past Reavis in 68-43 win on Feb. 6. The victory was Spartans coach Jason Rhodes’ 200th career win. The Spartans defeated Tinley Park 65-35 on Feb. 9 to extend their win streak to eight games. Junior Dontè Montgomery scored 27 points and sophomore Jack Dempsey had 11 points. The win streak was snapped in a 68-64 loss to Riverside-Brookfield on Feb. 10. Montgomery led all-scorers with 36 points in defeat.

Reavis (10-15, 4-9 SSC Red)

Reavis dropped a matchup at Oak Lawn (68-43) on Feb. 6. Rams guard Yigit Akgunlu scored a game-high 20 points in the loss to the Spartans. Reavis ended the week with a conference loss to Oak Forest (66-60)

Richards (12-16, 3-9 SSC Red)

Richards lost to Hillcrest (61-44) on Feb. 6, but bounced back with a win over Argo, 67-64, on a buzzer-beater from Travon Gourdine, who finished with a game-high 28 points. Camren King added 18 points in the win. The Bulldogs ended the week with a 74-59 win over Richards Academy on Feb. 10. Four Bulldogs scored in double figures: Gourdine (20), King (14), Isaiah Johnson (12) and Collin Wilks (12).

Riverside-Brookfield (24-4, 6-0 Metro Suburban)

Riverside-Brookfield defeated Richwoods (70-65) and Oak Lawn (68-64). Bulldogs center Stefan Cicic finished with a double-double (25 points/11 rebounds) against Richwood with Mehki Austin adding 19 points. Steven Brown had 18 points and 13 rebounds in a win over the Spartans, and Danny Loftus (16), Austin (14), and Cameron Mercer (12) all scored in double figures.

St. Laurence (17-12, 8-0 Chicago Catholic White)

St. Laurence lost at Brother Rice (82-52) and Richwoods (66-60), the latter at the Watchfire Signs Shootout. Their lone win of the week came against conference opponent St. Francis (59-55). Vikings guard Zerrick Johnson scored a team-high 15 points with Josh Pickett right behind him with 14 points in the victory. The win over St. Francis secured the Vikings (17-12, 8-0 CCL White) first Chicago Catholic League title in 44 years.

St. Rita (2-24, 0-7 CCL Blue)

St. Rita lost at Loyola (54-21) on Feb. 6, but bounced back to defeat Golder, 79-41, at home on Feb. 9. The win against Golder snapped a 20-game losing streak and gave the Mustangs their first win since Nov. 28.

Sandburg (15-15, 1-6 SouthWest Suburban Blue)

Sandburg opened the week with a 70-59 win at Bremen on Feb. 5. Senior guard David Vargas scored 28 points for the Eagles. In a 68-34 win over Tinley Park on Feb. 7, guard Yanal Swaiss (15) and Vargas (14) combined for 29 points. The Eagles ended the week with a 65-52 loss to Lincoln-Way East on Feb. 9. Vargas had a team-high 19 points in the loss.

Shepard (7-21, 0-12 SSC Red)

The Astros opened the week with a 73-48 win at home against Grace Christian Academy on Feb. 5. Jeremiah Storey scored a team-high 22 points and C.J. Nichols had 14 in the win. Shepard suffered conference losses at Oak Forest on Feb. 6 and at Evergreen Park (69-48) on Feb. 9. The Astros topped College Prep of America (62-60) on Feb. 8. Peter Primbas scored a game-high 20 points and Jovan Thomas added 19 in the win.

Stagg (17-11, 4-3 SouthWest Suburban Red)

Stagg opened the week with a 59-44 win over Andrew on Feb. 6. Lebarion Gilmore led the way for the Chargers with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. Connor Williams had 12 points and five rebounds with David Ortiz finishing with 10 points and four steals. Stagg lost, 66-59, to Lincoln-Way West on Feb. 10.