Boys Net Roundup | Oak Lawn, Brother Rice among Illinois unbeatens

By Xavier Sanchez
Correspondent

A wrap of area boys basketball teams from games played between December 4 and 10.

Argo  (1-7, 0-3 South Suburban Red)

The Argonauts are 1-7, with their only win coming against U-High in the John McBride Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. They dropped South Suburban Conference crossovers to T. F. South and Bremen last week to fall to 0-3 in the league. Kassam Saleh was Argo’s scoring leader in the 57-55 loss to Bremen.

Brother Rice (9-0, 4-0 Chicago Catholic Blue)

The Crusaders remained unbeaten after a three-win week that included conference victories over IC Catholic Prep and Leo. Their other win came in a triple-overtime thriller versus Bloom on December 9. Crusaders senior Zavier Fitch had nine points and 17 rebounds. Cale Cosme led the team in scoring with 14 points.

Chicago Christian (2-6, 0-2 Chicagoland Christian)

The Knights had their losing streak extended to four games after losses to Eisenhower and Aurora Christian last week.

Evergreen Park (5-2, 1-2 South Suburban Red)

The Mustangs dropped conference matchups last week to Oak Forest and Oak Lawn.

After being down as much as 14 points to the Spartans, the Mustangs took a lead late in the fourth quarter before falling, 68-66, in the final seconds. Keshaun Vavel was the game’s scoring leader with 22 points. Tre Dowdell had 17 points and Billy Buchanan had 12 points and 16 rebounds.

Lyons (2-4, 1-1 West Suburban Silver)

The Lions split conference matchups with Oak Park-River Forest and Glenbard West. The Lions needed overtime to beat the Huskies, 74-64, and fell to the Hilltoppers, 54-34. They play conference rival York as well as Brother Rice this week.

Marist  (7-1, 2-1 East Suburban Catholic)

The RedHawks began last week with a 56-43 win over Saint Viator, then suffered their first loss of the season, 71-60, to Marian Catholic. Darshan Thomas averaged 18 points in the two games, which included a 23-point performance in a loss to the Spartans. Stephen Brown averaged 14 points over the two games.

Mt. Carmel (9-1, 1-0 Chicago Catholic Blue)

Mount Carmel is off to a 9-1 start with their only loss to out-of-state Vashon High School. This week, they went 2-0 with the first win being a conference victory over De La Salle. They followed that up with a 64-55 win over Hillcrest at the Team Rose Shootout. The Caravans were led by Northwestern commit Angelo Ciaravino’s 15 points.

Nazareth (3-5, 0-3 East Suburban Catholic)

The Roadrunners dropped games last week to Hinsdale South and Niles Notre Dame.

Oak Lawn (9-0, 3-0 South Suburban Red)

The Spartans remained unbeaten with wins over Evergreen Park and Bartlett. They took down the Mustangs at home in front of a packed gym on December 8. Senior Henry Martinez was the player of the night, posting 20 points (9-10 FG) — including two-of-two free throws with seconds left to clinch the win — 11 rebounds, two assists and four blocks.

Reavis (4-2, 2-0 South Suburban Red)
The Rams defeated Bremen, 49-46, on Dec. 1 in Midlothian and Shepard, 61-40, on Dec. 8 in Palos Heights. Yigit Akgunlu scored 21 points, and Gabe Hernandez and Oswaldo Rodriguez had 19 each in the win over the Astros. The latter victory marked the first time in eight seasons Reavis won back-to-back road games.

Richards (2-6, 0-3 South Suburban Red)

The Bulldogs lost South Suburban crossover games to Lemont and Eisenhower, and entered this week having lost four straight.

Riverside-Brookfield (7-1, 1-0 Metro Suburban Silver)

The Bulldogs came into the week riding a four-game win streak. After two lopsided wins over Latin and Elmwood Park, they squeezed past T.F. North, 57-48. Sophomore Cameron Mercy dropped 21 points and had seven steals against the Meteors.

St. Laurence (4-4, 3-0 Chicago Catholic White)

The Vikings stand atop the Catholic Catholic White. The Vikings got conference wins over Leo and Aurora Central Catholic last week. Zerrick Johnson averaged 15.5 points, seven rebounds and two steals in the two wins. Denver commit Josh Pickett dropped 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 65-41 win over Leo on December 5.

St. Rita (1-8, 0-3 Chicago Catholic Blue)

The Mustangs dropped three games last week, two of them in conference games to Montini Catholic and Fenwick, and the other to Hinsdale Central. They are still seeking their first conference win.

Sandburg (3-4, 0-2 SouthWest Suburban Blue)

The Eagles suffered a 79-69 road loss to Bolingbrook on December 8. Senior guard David Vargas scored 29 points.

Sandburg is scheduled to host Timothy Christian in their Shot Clock Shootout at 2:30 p.m. December 16. The shootout consists of 12 schools and 12 games, with both the varsity and junior varsity taking part in the event. First game tips off at 11:30 am. All proceeds from the event will go to the Andrew Weishar Foundation.

Shepard (1-7, 0-3 South Suburban Red)

The Astros suffered conference losses at home last week to Tinley Park (85-41) and Reavis (61-40). They next play at home against Manteno on December 18. Shepard has been outscored by an average of 24 points per game in its seven losses, which include defeats by 59 points to Marist, 44 points to Tinley Park and 36 points to T.F. South.

Stagg (7-1, 1-0 SouthWest Suburban Red)

The Chargers defeated Lincoln Way Central, 49-39, in their SouthWest Suburban Red opener. They were led by senior guard Conor Williams, who finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Tarik Barakat had some timely steals and clutch 3-pointers, and finished with eight points and three steals.