Most teams would be happy with a nine-point victory to start the season. But when it’s a highly regarded team like No. 3 Thornton and it’s playing an undermanned De La Salle squad, a 64-55 effort just doesn’t cut it.
“It seems like historically my teams start out slow,” Thornton coach Rocky Hill said. “Tonight we didn’t play like a top-ranked team in the Chicago area.”
De La Salle played without four of its five starters. Two of them, Mike Lebeter and Michael Brown, are preparing for Friday’s Prep Bowl football game at Soldier Field. The other two, Thomas Deaderick and 6-foot-10-inch Thomas Sisson, are injured. The lone starter in the Meteors’ lineup, John Mackey, led all scorers with 25 points.
Thornton’s Wildcats were paced by Jonathan Woods, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. His final six points came during an 8-2 fourth-quarter run after the Meteors cut their deficit to 48-47 in the opening minute of the final quarter.
“Jonathan bailed us out tonight,” Hill said.
Rodney Rollins added 12 points, while 7-1 Chris Alexander chipped in 11 for the Wildcats. Charles Pruitt had 11 for the Meteors.
Bill Harrison.
Bloom: Luther Head scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Isaac Kirk added 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead Manley to a 72-63 victory over Harper in the season opener for each team. Harper led 35-22 at the half. Anthony Myles led Harper with 17 points. . . . Reo Logan scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Odartey Blankson added 25 with nine rebounds and eight assists as Hillcrest rolled past Curie 77-59. . . . Julian Mills had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead Bloom past Corliss 65-46.
Buffalo Grove: Elgin opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run and held off Buffalo Grove 54-47 behind 16 points each from Marcus Howard and Marcus Smallwood. . . . Imari Sawyer singlehandedly beat Stevenson. The King standout had 42 points as the Jaguars rolled 73-36.
Elmwood Park: Bo Flowers scored 16 points and Will Molden added 14 as Walther Lutheran routed Latin 72-33. . . . Tom Nowik hit a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer as Elmwood Park edged Quigley 78-76. Jim Pawlak led Elmwood with 28 points, and Marcin Scislowicz added 26 points.
Evergreen Park: Walter Thompson had eight of his game-high 23 points in overtime to lead Kenwood to an 80-71 victory over Evergreen Park. . . . Shannon Armstrong’s 27 points paced Illinois Lutheran to a 49-46 victory over Luther South.
Fenton: Benet held off a late charge to upset No. 19 Gordon Tech 57-56. D.J. Pipke led Benet with 18 points, including 8 of 8 from the foul line, and Paul Mysliwiec added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Jitim Young led Gordon with 15.
Hinsdale Central: Hinsdale South held off a late Naperville North rally for a 46-44 victory. George Thomas and Mike McCord each scored 10 points to lead Hinsdale South. . . . Stephen Callahan had 18 points to lead Hinsdale Central to a 78-73 victory over Larkin.
Lane Tech: Dewayne Brown had 15 points and five steals and Curtis Collins and Brandon Hawkins each added 12 points to lift Lane (1-0) to a 64-39 victory over Roosevelt (0-1). Oscar Diaz led Roosevelt with 12 points and 15 rebounds. . . . Armond Williams had game highs of 28 points and seven rebounds as No. 7 Austin had little trouble in rolling past Flower 106-68. Christopher Jones added 25 points. Flower was led by Tyrin Buford’s 27 points. . . . Jessie Seay scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to lead Bowen past Harlan 77-69.
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Lincoln-Way: Eddy Curry scored 17 of his 31 points in the third quarter as Thornwood pulled away from Crete-Monee 75-41. . . . Kevin Menard scored 20 points and Adam Ferrari added 17 as Lincoln-Way defeated Rich Central 66-53.
Lisle: Chris Dennis scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Greg Armstrong added 16 points as Timothy Christian cruised past Westmont 70-56. Brandon Steadman led all scorers with 21 points for Westmont. . . . Bill Lally had 21 points and Dan Paplaczyk added 17 as Driscoll defeated the host school 72-63.
Mather: Daniel Mendoza had 18 points and Tedrick Rance added 16 as Mather cruised past Lake View 64-49. . . . Greg Dotson scored 16 points to lead Fenger past U-High 61-44. . . . Brian Smith’s 10 points paced Zion-Benton to a 55-38 rout of Hirsch.
Niles West: Niles West scored nine of its last 11 points from the foul line to hold off Libertyville 65-61. Jason Krynski led West (1-0) with 18 points and Drew Gazis added 17. . . . Tyce Sumerall scored 25 points and Michael Booker added 17 as Proviso West rolled past Hyde Park 82-67. . . . Donal Falls had 30 points as Loyola routed Notre Dame 53-27. Matt Lottich had 31 points to lead No. 8 New Trier to a 75-44 victory over Elk Grove.
Oak Lawn: Lamar Grimes had 23 points to lead Gage Park past Oak Forest 58-45 despite 29 points from Packy MacFarlane. . . . Dan Malloy’s 14 points led Oak Lawn to a 59-36 victory over Andrew.
St. Benedict: Joe Callaghan connected on 5 of 8 three-point attempts and finished with 17 points as Immaculate Conception downed Francis Parker 62-39.
Sandburg: Chris Clark scored 22 points, Melvin Buckley 21 and Peter Dunbar added 18 as Marian Catholic cruised past Rich South 83-68. . . . Bob St. Leger scored 15 to lead four in double figures as the host Eagles cruised past Tinley Park 86-53. Carlee Martin scored 23 for Tinley Park.
York: York outlasted Jacobs 60-51 with Rashad McSwine’s 23 points and Camlo Phillips’ 16 points off the bench.