Before Dunbar’s Jason Straight goes west, he wants to accomplish something in Chicago first.
Straight, a University of Wyoming signee, blistered the nets for 36 points Tuesday as the Mighty Men held off Gage Park 83-80 and moved a step closer to clinching the Chicago Public League Red Central title.
Straight scored 22 points in the second half, including consecutive layups in the final two minutes, to lead Dunbar (14-7, 8-1).
“[Straight is] an excellent player,” Gage Park coach Sterling Spencer said. “He knows how to get open and he knows how to get to the basket.”
“He’s playing like he wants to go to the next level,” added Dunbar coach Fate Mickel, whose team completed a season sweep of Gage Park.
Down three points with 20 seconds left, Gage Park tried in vain to force overtime, but the Owls missed five three-point attempts before the clock ran out.
Cory Lee added 21 points and eight rebounds for Dunbar.
Pierre Alston and Lamar Grimes each scored 24 points for Gage Park, which drops to 16-9, 4-6.
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“Gage Park played us tough,” Mickel said. “I know they have some great shooters. I’m just glad to get out of here alive.”
Shepard 65, Oak Lawn 46: Brian Nievara’s 22 points led the No. 4 Astros (18-3) in the SICA crossover. Don Hackstock had 20 points for Oak Lawn (3-18).
Lincoln-Way 41, Argo 40 (OT): No. 7 Lincoln-Way escaped with a narrow victory over Argo in a SICA crossover. Kevin Menard led the Knights (17-4) with 17 points. D.J. Reynolds added 13 points for Argo (9-12).
Proviso East 73, Hinsdale South 50: Dee Brown tallied 17 points and six rebounds for the No. 10 Pirates (18-3, 10-0) in the West Suburban Gold. Charles Richardson added 16 points for Proviso East. Zach Luetkemeyer’s 14 points paced Hinsdale South (4-16, 2-8), which led 22-20 at the half.
Brother Rice 47, Stagg 29: Greg Noha tallied 11 points and three blocked shots to lead the No. 11 Crusaders (18-3). John Sexton contributed nine points and six assists for Brother Rice. Jon Womack’s 15 points and nine rebounds led Stagg (9-14), which went scoreless for the final six minutes of the game.
Hillcrest 77, Rich Central 61: Armon Gates, Tyre Robinson and Chris Dryer scored 14 points apiece for the visiting Hawks (19-4) in the SICA crossover. Hillcrest jumped out to a 12-0 lead and held a double-digit advantage for most of the game. Dennis Childs led Rich Central (8-12) with 14 points.
Evanston 68, Deerfield 40: Anthony Lenoir scored 18 points, including eight in a key 14-0 third-quarter run to propel the No. 15 Wildkits (17-4) in the Central Suburban crossover. Stacey Moragne added 10 points for Evanston. Mark Morrison’s eight points led Deerfield (10-10).
Thornton Fractional North 49, Bremen 33: Brad Hatfield tallied 13 points and eight rebounds as the No. 17 Meteors (17-4, 9-0) breezed. Brandon Boles added 11 points for T.F. North.
DeKalb 70, Ottawa 39: Justin Diedrich scored 23 points on 11-of-13 from the field as the Barbs (20-3) snapped a three-game losing streak.
Elk Grove 72, Maine West 38: The Grenadiers (13-7) coasted behind Eric McDonald’s 14 points.
Geneva 60, Plainfield 49: Jim Eddy scored 19 points and Jon Shafer added 17 points as the Vikings (19-2, 10-1) won in the Suburban Prairie Red.
Homewood-Flossmoor 67, Kankakee 50: In the SICA crossover, Steve Winding had 16 points to lead five Vikings (10-10) in double figures.
Lake Forest Academy 66, Elgin Academy 60: Olu Adetiba scored 22 points as the Wildcats (13-5, 5-4) won in the Independent School League.
Lane Tech 72, Prosser 63: Curtis Collins tallied 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Indians (13-11, 4-5) in the Public Red North.
Lemont 74, IMSA 65: Jason Reiter scored 36 points and hauled down 12 rebounds as Lemont (11-8) won the non-conference game.
Lisle 82, Newark 57: Joe Cortez poured in 26 points and T.J. Parker contributed 21 points for Lisle (20-2).
Prospect 75, Maine South 62: Dan Johnson scored 16 points while Kevin Carlson put in 15 as the Knights (12-9) held on. Prospect made 23 of 26 free throws in the fourth quarter to stave off a Maine South comeback.
John Vigna had 16 points for Maine South (14-8).
Robeson 53, DuSable 46: Courtney Williams scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Raiders (13-11, 6-4) won in the Public Red Central.
Romeoville 71, Bradley-Bourbonnais 47: Robert Balkcom scored 17 points for the Spartans (14-6).
Taft 68, Roosevelt 27: The Eagles (20-3, 9-0) romped in the Public Blue North behind Fred Bailey’s 16 points.
Von Steuben 96, Sullivan 76: Phillip Watson totaled 29 points and 25 rebounds and Luke Rogers added 29 points and 15 rebounds for the Panthers (18-3, 10-0) in the Public Red North.
Westmont 84, Yorkville 68: Pierre Pierce poured in 40 points and Brandon Steadman contributed 24 for the Sentinels (20-3, 14-0) in the Suburban Prairie White.