Evergreen Park senior Nolan Sexton drives past a Thornton defender during the Wildcats' 77-47 win over the Mustangs in the Class 3A Thornton Sectional on Feb. 27. Photo by Xavier Sanchez
Boys Basketball Class 3A Sectionals | Evergreen Park’s historic ends with loss to Thornton
By Xavier Sanchez
Correspondent
The 2023-2024 Evergreen Park boys basketball team had one of the greatest seasons in program history.
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, that season has come to an end with a 77-47 loss to Thornton in the semifinals of the Class 3A Thornton Sectional on Feb. 27.
Evergreen Park was coming off its first regional championship in 50 years after a win against Hillcrest last week. Playing in a sectional was new territory for this group of Mustangs, but they were prepared to take on the Wildcats.
“There might have been some nerves early, but we were definitely ready to battle,” Evergreen Park coach Jim Sexton said after the game.
After a tightly played first few minutes that saw the teams combine to make the first five shots of the game without a miss, Thornton began to extend its lead and the Mustangs never recovered. Ulises Cardenas hit a 3-pointer to pull the Mustangs within 9-7 early into the first quarter, but that would be the closest they would come the remainder of the game. Despite Evergreen Park limiting Thornton star Morez Johnson to just two first quarter points, the Wildcats closed out the first quarter with a 26-11 lead.
Johnson, an Illinois commit, finished with a game-high 21 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.
Evergreen Park senior forward Billy Buchanan (30) boxes out for a rebound during the Mustangs’ loss to Thornton on Feb. 27. Photo by Xavier Sanchez
Evergreen Park senior forward Billy Buchanan was tasked with defending Johnson most the night.
“We knew we did not have anyone close to his size,” said Buchanan, who finished with 10 points. “I just tried to bump him out as much as possible and try to outshoot him. That was the main goal.”
Senior guard Tre Dowdell led the Mustangs with 13 points to go along with five rebounds, while Keshaun Vaval scored nine points and senior guard Nolan Sexton dropped eight.
“Obviously, we hoped for a lot better at this game,” Nolan Sexton said. “We thought we were going to win, but it does not take away [winning a regional championship].”
Buchanan agreed.
“It’s been a great season,” he said. “We did what we set out to do.”
Coach Sexton said the team’s goals were to win 20 games, win the South Suburban Red and win a regional.
“We did not win the conference but we did get two out of three,” he added.
Evergreen Park’s Keshaun Vaval looks to score during the Mustangs’ loss to Thornton on Feb. 27. Photo by Xavier Sanchez
Many of the Mustangs have been playing basketball together since grammar school.
“We knew we could do it,” Buchanan said. “We just had to keep getting better. And to see it all come together is great.”
“Overall, it was exactly the season we wanted,” Nolan Sexton added. “The regional was our goal and we got it, and we had 20 wins also,”
Jim Sexton began his tenure at Evergreen Park with the 2020-2021 season after previously coaching at St. Laurence. This Mustang team’s accomplishments and the impact it will have for the present and future is something he has been proud to witness.
“It is competing every single day on and off the court to get to play games like this,” Jim Sexton said. “That is what our seniors have really taught the younger guys. If we carry that through, we won’t just have a few years of success but sustain it.
“It’s a historic team. If it is not the best team in Evergreen Park history, it is one of the best.”
Local News
Campaign 2020: 11 elected officials endorse Newman in primary
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Marie Newman’s bid to win the Democratic nomination in the new 6th Congressional District picked up steam Tuesday when 11 elected officials in Cook and DuPage counties announced they were endorsing her in the June primary over fellow incumbent Sean Casten. “Congresswoman Marie Newman has been a very strong and effective…
Owner dispels rumors of Royalberry closing
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Frank Salman, owner of Royalberry Waffle House and Restaurant in Palos Heights, has a simple message: “We’re not closed!” Salman said rumors have been rampant in the area that his restaurant of 17 years suddenly closed at the corner of 127th Street and Ridgeland Avenue. “We are not closed. We are…
Things were poppin’ at Valentine’s event
Spread the loveBy Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 Last Saturday I stopped in at the Valentine Small Business Pop-Up at Monarca, on the northwest corner of 63rd and Spaulding. I really enjoy these events. I always walk out spending more than I planned, this…
The next correspondent could be you
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac GSWNH Columnist At-Large This week, it’s my privilege and pleasure to write the Greater Southwest News-Herald’s column for Greater Ashburn (the Wrightwood, Ashburn, Parkview and Scottsdale neighborhoods). Greater Ashburn has not had a correspondent in this newspaper since Carolina Franco stepped away from writing this column back in late 2019. Anyway,…
A one-two punch against internet freedom
Spread the loveBy Thomas L. Knapp On Feb. 10, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the EARN IT (Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies) Act, setting it up for possible adoption as a free-standing bill; or more likely, as a last-minute sneak amendment to one of Congress’s periodic so-called “must pass” legislative packages.…
GOP opponents not laying a glove on Irvin
Spread the loveBy Rich Miller I was a bit flabbergasted to see last week that Republican gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin told a blatant falsehood on a southern Illinois radio station. But what came after that helps us see how the Republican primary will play out for the next four and a half months. If you…
$900,000 Lotto ticket sold at Palos Heights 7-Eleven
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Local Lucky Day Lotto players best check their tickets for last Sunday’s mid-day drawing. A winning ticket worth $900,000 was sold at the Palos Heights 7-Eleven store. The winning ticket was sold at the store at 6350 W. 135th St., and matched all five numbers in Sunday mid-day’s drawing: 11-13-24-30-37.…
Bridgeview inks deal to promote village events, tourism
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Bridgeview is again partnering with the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau to market and promote tourism in the village. The village board, by a 6-0 vote at its Jan. 19 meeting, approved the resolution. Per the resolution, the bureau will “help market and promote the region for conventions, meetings,…
Landek urges slower driving near emergency vehicles
Spread the loveBy Ray Hanania State Senator Steven Landek expressed his concerns over reports that three Illinois State Troopers were struck by motorists in three different incidents during recent heavy snowstorms. In two separate incidents on Interstate 72, a state trooper had pulled over to the side of the road in Springfield to help a…
Evergreen Park High students collect blankets for the homeless
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Students at Evergreen Park Community High School started up an effort to keep the homeless warm as cold temperatures and frigid air have hit the Chicagoland area this winter. The Service Club at the high school, 9901 S. Kedzie Ave. in Evergreen Park, is hosting a blanket drive through Friday,…
Neighbors
Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Halfway through the 2024 election cycle and just a few weeks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy on Wednesday announced his resignation as head of the state Republican Party. Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in…
As Illinois session ends, lawmakers’ attempt to reinstate wetland protections fails
by JENNIFER BAMBERG Investigate Midwest jennifer.bamberg@investigatemidwest.org In 2006, 19-year-old Jessica Whinston inherited 20 acres of land that her grandparents once farmed in Quincy, Illinois. The land had sat dormant since the 1980s and was overgrown, but Whinston and her husband Bradley worked to turn it into a productive farm. The couple were eventually able to…
Elections board dismisses illegal campaign coordination complaint, declines to clarify law
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – State elections officials on Tuesday indicated they were unlikely to step in to clarify what constitutes illegal campaign coordination after voting to dismiss a complaint alleging such coordination in the 2022 campaign for governor. At their monthly meeting in Chicago, Illinois State Board of Elections members…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Lawmakers pass on oversight vote for Pritzker’s prison closure, rebuild plan
By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For the last two decades, each time a governor has moved to close a large state-run facility like a prison or mental health center, a legislative oversight panel has voted on the plan. That changed on Friday – at least for now –…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Members of House speaker’s staff sue over ongoing unionization conflict
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Members of a would-be union representing staffers in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office filed suit against their boss on Friday, asking a Cook County judge to force recognition of the union. The Illinois Legislative Staff Association, which formed in the fall of 2022, claims Welch’s…
Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor. Proft, a one-time gubernatorial candidate himself, is behind an…
Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Jimmy Soto spent more than 42 years wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. In 2020, he was moved to the “F-House” at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, a condemned unit, not because he was being punished, but because it was where the facility was housing individuals…