Crane beat Morgan Park in the finals of the Board of Education tournament last month. Since then, both teams have struggled with inconsistent play. In Saturday’s rematch, Morgan Park could not shake out of its recent funk.
Sophomores Carl Marshall and Florentino Valencia were the difference in Crane’s 75-69 victory. Marshall’s three-pointer gave Crane a 65-62 lead with 3 minutes 30 seconds remaining. On the ensuing play, Marshall grabbed a loose ball, drove the length of the court and hit a twisting shot off the glass for a five-point lead. Holding a narrow 67-65 lead, Valencia scored on consecutive offensive rebounds for a 71-65 cushion with 1:15 to play.
Morgan Park’s starting backcourt of O’Neal Carter and Clarence Kelly fouled out in the fourth quarter and the Mustangs had difficulty handling the Cougars’ pressure.
Crane’s victory overshadowed a brilliant effort from Morgan Park’s 6-foot-5-inch Quinnel Brown. He scored 14 of his team-high 24 points in the third quarter, putting the Mustangs ahead 54-51 entering the final quarter.
Crane guard Will Bynum, who scored 16 in first half, drained three free throws at the start of the fourth quarter to tie the score. There were three ties and two lead changes before Marshall’s three-pointer from the top of the circle broke the final tie.
Bynum failed to score from the field in the second half, though his 21 points paced the seventh-ranked Cougars (16-5).
No. 8 Morgan Park (15-5) had several chances to get back in the game, but two turnovers and a critical miss under its own basket sealed its fate.
The Mustangs had turned an 11-point first-half deficit into a six-point lead late in the third quarter.
Patrick McGavin.
Thornwood 73, Champaign Centennial 51: Eddy Curry had 31 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots as the top-ranked Thunderbirds (19-1) romped. Melvin Buckley and Pierre Thomas each added 11 points for Thornwood.
Marshall 63, East St. Louis 45: Marshall coach Al Williams did not like the way his second-ranked Commandos came to play against East St. Louis. He called a timeout three minutes into the opening quarter after the Flyers opened an 8-3 advantage. The Commandos paid attention. They immediately started a 14-0 run, and it also signaled the end of East St. Louis’ upset bid.
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Relying on balanced scoring, a punishing inside game and hawking defense, Marshall (21-3) handled the perennial state power. The team’s imposing 1-2-3 punch of Kelly Whitney, Justin Bowen and Ronald Davis each scored 15 points. Whitney and Bowen each scored nine in the first half, the catalysts of the Commandos’ 31-20 halftime advantage. Davis was the key player in the second half, scoring 10 in the final two quarters, using his speed, quickness and jumping ability to score on a series of layups in transition.
“We started off playing pretty lackadaisical,” Williams said. “We weren’t playing very good defense or getting back. In the second quarter, we started getting into a pretty good groove, and we picked up our play quite a bit.”
Downers Grove North 73, Rockton Hononegah 49: Eric Allen poured in 25 points and Andy Sigerich added 15 points as the No. 4 Trojans (19-2) romped. Downers North led just 36-31 at the half, but went on a 15-2 run to start the second half.
Proviso East 73 York 53: Dee Brown scored 24 points and Shannon Brown added 17 as the Pirates (17-3) rolled in the West Suburban crossover. Rashad McSwine and Kevin Kenny had 16 points apiece for York (11-10), which fell behind 14-0 in the first four minutes.
East Aurora 52, DeKalb 51: Raymond Anthony made the game-winning three-pointer with less than a second left as the Tomcats (12-8, 7-4) nipped No. 13 DeKalb in Upstate Eight play. Anthony scored 26 points and made eight threes, seven in the second half. East Aurora trailed 30-17 at halftime after being outscored 15-0 in the second quarter. Justin Anderson had 14 points to lead DeKalb (19-3, 9-2), which dropped its third straight game.
Bloom 68, Rich South 59: Joe Chapman had 34 points and seven rebounds as the No. 15 Trojans (18-4) won in the SICA crossover. Brandon Cole had 23 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots for Rich South (13-8).
Evanston 80, Thornton 51: Scott Horne scored 27 points and Anthony Lenoir had 20 points to lead the No. 17 Wildkits (16-4). Evanston trailed 23-22 with 3:20 left in the opening half before closing the half on a 16-0 run, which included eight points from Horne.
Lyons Township 72, Oak Park 47: Fueled by an 11-2 run to end the first half and a 10-2 run to begin the second, No. 20 Lyons (19-2, 8-1) topped Oak Park (3-15, 0-9) in the West Suburban Silver. Lyons was led by 19 points from Jim Maley and 11 points from A.J. Allodi.
Elgin 68, Larkin 33: Chamar Sallis scored 11 points as the Maroons (18-4, 10-1) took over first place in the Upstate Eight.
Schaumburg 85, Conant 65: The Saxons (17-3, 8-0) cruised in the Mid-Suburban West behind Mark Pancratz’s 17 points.