Year in and year out, Hillcrest has been on the cusp of being a major force in the south suburbs, but the Hawks could never escape Thornton’s shadow.
This season may be different. The 20th-ranked Hawks improved to 6-0 Friday night in Country Club Hills with an 81-64 victory over Eisenhower in their SICA Central opener.
Ryan Blankson led the charge again, scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Kerwin Fleming added 18 points.
Hillcrest went on a 19-8 run in the first quarter to snap a 5-5 tie and take control. The Hawks added a 9-1 run to raise their lead to 19 with 6 minutes left in the first half. Eisenhower (1-3, 0-1) clawed back to pull within 42-36 with about 6:00 left in the game, but Hillcrest held on.
“In the past couple of years, these games (with Eisenhower) have always been tough,” said Hillcrest coach Tom Cappel. “(Eisenhower) is definitely the second-best team in the conference.”
Cappel acknowledged that without Thornton dominating the region, a lot of teams can make a claim at being the best team in the area. For Hillcrest to achieve that goal, Cappel will depend on more outings like Friday’s from Blankson.
“Ryan stood up when it counted tonight and became a leader,” Cappel said. “He played fantastic for us.”
Westinghouse 83, Taft 36: No. 3 Westinghouse continued to cruise through its non-conference schedule with Corey Riley and Terrance Williams each pacing the Warriors with 12 points. Riley hit five of his six shots coming off the bench.
Westinghouse (4-0) jumped to a 17-3 lead after the first quarter and never looked back as it converted 33 of 56 shots. The Warriors held Taft (3-2) to just 12 of 51 shooting. Marcel Reynolds led all scorers with 17 points for the Eagles.
Hoffman Estates 52, Buffalo Grove 47: Jeff Schilling came off the bench to score 12 of his 17 points in the second half and spark an 11-0 run as Hoffman Estates (4-0) knocked off the seventh-ranked Bison (3-2).
Schilling, who scored five points in the run, started the surge with a three-pointer. Buffalo Grove, which was led by Jeff Siok’s 11 points and 10 rebounds, got within two points when Dave DeVoss nailed a three-pointer with 1:35 left. But Hoffman Estates sank 5 of 8 free throws after that to ice it.
Elgin 58, St. Charles 48: Sean Harrington scored 22 points and connected on 6 of 6 free throws to lead the 10th-ranked Maroons (5-0, 1-0) in the Upstate Eight.
Elgin never trailed, but led by only four at 46-42 late in the game. The Maroons hit their free throws down the stretch to keep St. Charles at bay.
Zion-Benton 69, Antioch 54: No. 12 Zion-Benton (6-0, 1-0) started the second half with an 8-0 run to break open a tight game in the North Suburban. Al Lainio led Zion with 17 points and nine rebounds as the Zee-Bees led just 34-33 at the half.
Thornridge 64, Rich South 54: Corey Johnson had nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead No. 13 Thornridge (4-1).
“I thought I had to buckle down,” said Johnson. “I said we weren’t going to lose this game.”
Gibran Carter led all scorers with 27 points for Rich South (3-1).
St. Joseph 64, Carmel 43: No. 14 St. Joseph scored the first seven points of the third quarter to snap a 29-29 tie to claim the East Suburban Catholic League opener. Marlon London led the Chargers (3-1) with 25 points and six rebounds. St. Joseph played without Westinghouse transfer David Treadwell, who bruised his lower back in the second game of the season and will be out for another week.
Carmel closed to within 41-37 late in the third, but St. Joseph closed the quarter with a three-pointer by London to increase its lead to 49-41.
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“(London) is probably the best-kept secret,” said St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore. “No one knows about him because he didn’t go to the camps. He’s a big-time talent.”
Richards 59, Stagg 33: No. 18 Richards led 11-2 after the first quarter and never looked back in the non-conference game in Palos Hills. Demetris McDaniel led the Bulldogs (4-0) with 19 points and five rebounds.
Elk Grove 49, Wheeling 43: Elk Grove trailed No. 19 Wheeling 32-29 at the end of the third quarter and then proceeded to outscore the Wildcats 20-11 in the final period to pull off the upset.
Mike Schaffer score eight of his game-high 16 points during the decisive quarter. It was Schaffer’s steal and layup with 6:00 left that gave Elk Grove the lead for good at 33-32. That was part of a 19-8 run by Elk Grove, ending with the Grenadiers leading 44-36.
“I’m at a loss to explain our lack of intensity,” said Wheeling coach Joe Doyle. “The way we played tonight was the way we practiced all week, and hopefully they’ll learn that if you practice poor you’ll play poor.”