A year after graduating five starters from a Public League championship team, Curie was back in the city final on Feb. 15 and almost won another title.
Down seven points with under six minutes remaining, the Condors got within a point late before falling 67-65 to Kenwood at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena.
Junior guard Justin Oliver scored 22 points to lead the Condors (21-9), Brad Johnson Jr. added 14 and Jahkil Jackson contributed 13 off the bench.
TJ Seals had 22 points for Kenwood (27-1), which won its first city title and is the consensus No. 1 team in the state.
But the Broncos trailed the Condors by three after three quarters and needed to hold on late after winning the teams’ first meeting by 22 on Jan. 23.
Curie’s progress bodes well for the upcoming Class 4A playoffs.
“Well, I guess that’s something we can celebrate,” Justin Oliver said. “Nobody thought we (were) gonna be here, like nobody, not one person. If you asked them in the summer, or even before the (city) playoffs started, nobody even said we (were) going to be in this position.”
But the Condors were, thanks to some relentless defense and impressive depth. Curie used 10 players against Kenwood and nine made the stat sheet by scoring, grabbing a rebound or contributing an assist.
“It’s Curie basketball,” coach Mike Oliver said. “Had a whole new team, took them some time to jell. … But we knew we had the talent, we knew we had the heart.
“It’s just a matter of mixing some of the juniors in with the seniors. I’m very proud of these guys. They worked their butt off to get to this point.”
Johnson felt the same way.
“We fought through a lot of adversity and people didn’t really expect us to be here,” he said. “So I’m just really proud of my team for fighting the whole season.”
There’s plenty to keep fighting for. The Class 4A Condors are the seventh seed in the state’s toughest sectional, hosted by No. 2 seed Hinsdale Central.
But Curie will host a regional which includes Hinsdale Central, and could get another shot at Kenwood in the sectional final if both get that far.
How much motivation is that?
“A win probably would have helped it a little bit more,” Justin Oliver said. “(But it’s) good coming all the way here, getting a lot of experience. We’re probably going to play on this floor again if we win (the sectional).”
“We’ve still got a lot of basketball ahead,” Mike Oliver said. “We’ll take three days off and get ready for the state (playoffs).”