By Xavier Sanchez
Correspondent
The original March Madness got underway last week across Illinois, and several area teams were crowned regional champions.
Teams still alive in Class 4A are Marist and Curie, and in Class 3A are Brother Rice, De La Salle, Evergreen Park and Mount Carmel.
CLASS 4A
Marist (29-4) cruised to a 78-58 win over Thornwood in the opening round of the playoffs. Darshan Thomas scored a game-high 21 points. Stephen Brown added 15 and Adoni Vassilakis finished right behind him with 14 points.’
The RedHawks defeated Joliet Central, 66-51, on Feb. 23 to win their first regional championship since 2018. Marquis Vance had a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds. Stephen Brown scored 20 points and grabbed six boards. Thomas added 11 points in the win.
They are scheduled to play Bloom at the Rich Township Sectional at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28.
After not playing in 11 days, Curie (29-2) defeated Juarez, 96-28 on Feb. 21 to advance to the regional final against Lyons, whom the Condors defeated for their eighth straight win and 12th regional title in the last 19 years. Will Gonzalez led the Condors with 24 points while Taevion Collier finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Lyons.
Curie is scheduled to play Whitney Young at the Riverside-Brookfield Sectional at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27.
The season is over for the following teams:
Argo (9-23) lost to Riverside-Brookfield, 80-53. Darron Greer led the Argonauts with 16 points.
Lyons (12-16) lost to Curie, 55-46. Liam Taylor led the Lions with 12 points and six rebounds.
Morton (5-23) lost to Kenwood.
Nazareth (8-21) lost to Hinsdale South, 79-42.
Oak Lawn (21-8) lost to Kenwood, 60-54, in the title game of the Kenwood Regional. Donte Montgomery scored 17 points for the Spartans.
Reavis (12-16) lost to Oak Lawn, 57-47. Yigut Akgunlu led the Rams with 19 points.
Richards (13-19) lost to Lincoln Park, 80-46. Travon Gourdine led the Bulldogs with 15 points.
Riverside Brookfield (26-5) lost to Simeon, 52-42. Stefan Cici led with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the regional loss.
Stagg (20-12) lost to Homewood-Flossmoor, 64-56, in the Stagg Regional title game. Connor Williams finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Sandburg (16-16, 2-7) lost to Joliet West, 85-59. David Vargas led the Eagles with 21 points.
Shepard (9-23) lost to Thornwood, 78-39.
CLASS 3A
Brother Rice (30-3) opened the playoffs with a 67-39 over Tinley Park on feb. 21. Caden Workman scored a career-high 22 points in the win. Marcos Gonzales added 14 and KJ Morris had 11 points in the win on Feb. 21. The Crusaders then beat Perspectives, 59-48, to secure the Brother Rice Regional championship.
They now have back-to-back seasons with 30 wins and a regional title.
Rice is scheduled to play Marian Catholic at the Thornton Sectional semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28.
De La Salle (22-11) opened the playoffs with a 73-31 win over St. Rita on Feb. 21, then followed that with a win over Hinsdale South, 46-39, to win the Nazareth Regional championship. The Meteors will face Lindblom at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 in the Hinsdale South Sectional semifinals.
Mount Carmel (28-5) cruised to a 62-8 victory over Solorio on Feb. 21, then rolled to an 82-58 win over Bogan to win the Mount Carmel Regional title. Cam Thomas scored a game-high 28 points against Bogan. The Bengals play Hyde Park at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27 at the Hinsdale South Sectional semifinals.
St. Laurence (20-13) lost to Lindblom, 50-43, in the championship game of the St. Laurence Regional.
St. Rita (2-27) lost to De La Salle, 73-31.
CLASS 2A
Chicago Christian (8-22) lost to Joliet Catholic, 61-58, in the opening round of the Joliet Catholic Regional.