The former stars of Wheaton-Warrenville South’s first-ever elementary school traveling team moved within two steps of a DuPage Valley title with a 71-53 victory over Glenbard South.
When Wheaton-Warrenville South’s athletic department began to organize an all-star team of the area’s best grade-school ballplayers about five years ago, seniors Bakari Adams, Scott Sonnenberg, Chad Hoekstra and Mike Collins formed the core of the first team.
“They played together for a long time,” said Wheaton South coach Barry Brennan, whose team is 19-3, 11-0. “They know what each other is going to do on the floor.”
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Collins led the Wildcats on Friday with 20 points, six rebounds and four steals, Wilkinson added 16, Sonnenberg chipped in 12 and Hoekstra had 10.
No. 16 Wheaton-Warrenville can clinch the conference title with victories over Glenbard North and Naperville Central next weekend.
Thornton 78, Shepard 43: Add another player to top-ranked Thornton’s list of heroes this season.
In his second game at the varsity level, sophomore Tamon Holloway scored seven of his 15 points at the end of the second quarter as the Wildcats pulled away in the SICA East.
“I knew that he (Holloway) was capable of playing this well,” said Thornton coach Rocky Hill.
Deerfield 81, Maine West 72: Ryan Hogan (25) and Mike Casey combined for 48 points and No. 4 Deerfield (21-1, 8-0) held on in the Central Suburban North.
West Aurora 64, DeKalb 40: No. 7 West Aurora couldn’t quite pull away from DeKalb until the Blackhawks cranked up the defense in the second half.
Ricky Taylor led West Aurora (19-2, 12-0 in the Upstate Eight) with 12 points, but it was the Blackhawk defense that held DeKalb to four points in the critical third quarter.
Proviso West 111, Downers Grove North 73: No. 10 Proviso West (19-3, 9-1) poured in a school record point total in the West Suburban Silver.
Mike Griffith led Proviso West with 26 points, Awvee Storey added 16 and Jermaine Ellis chipped in 12.
New Trier 80, Maine East 57: Jerry Happ had 24 points and No. 12 New Trier survived shaky shooting and the temptation to look past Maine East to Saturday night’s Central Suburban North Division showdown with Deerfield.
Hoffman Estates 73, Elk Grove 45: The year 1996 has been good to No. 13 Hoffman Estates (19-2, 8-1). The Hawks have yet to lose in what hardly qualifies as the new year anymore.
The streak continued Friday as Mark Ganek scored 17 points and hauled down seven rebounds, Nick Abruzzo chipped in 14 and Steve Gorman and Marty Manning each had 12 as Hoffman Estates prevailed in the Mid-Suburban South.
Batavia 90, Minooka 61: Dan Carlson tossed in 15 points, Brandon Schwab added 13 and Jay Kramer and Steve Schafer each chipped in 12 for No. 16 Batavia (8-0, 19-3) in the Suburban Prairie Red.
Zack Pucel scored 14 to lead Minooka (3-4, 8-14), which trailed by only seven with two minutes remaining in the third before Batavia pulled away.
Phillips 92, Kennedy 39: No. 17 Phillips (18-3, 8-1) emptied the bench and filled the scorebook with double-digit scorers in the Blue Central. Eric Watkins tossed in 18, Leon Squares added 16, Glenn Rogers chipped in 14, Floyd Farrow had 12 and Antawn Anderson and Curtis Owens each notched 11.
Marist 65, Joliet Catholic 47: No. 18 Marist improved to 18-3 and 10-0 in the East Suburban Catholic and could finally set its sights on Saturday night’s showdown with St. Joseph.
Justin Cuculich, who had 10 rebounds, scored nine of his game-high 19 points in the second quarter. Wayne Plowman added 17 while Matt Manzke chipped in 15.
St. Charles 74, Waubonsie Valley 50: Phil Krahenbuhl came off the bench to toss in 20 points for No. 19 St. Charles (17-3, 10-2). Shaun Catey added 12 and Casey Dodson chipped in 10.
George Poulakidas led Waubonsie Valley (7-14, 2-11) with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Proviso East 63, Willowbrook 44: No. 20 Proviso East (17-5, 10-0), led by Reggie Davis’ 12 points, stayed unbeaten in the West Suburban Gold.