For three quarters of Wednesday’s Public League Red South game at Julian, Simeon point guard Kurtis Ellison turned the ball over several times and missed every shot he put up.
A high fever and sore throat can do that to a player, not to mention going head-to-head against one of the state’s top point guards, Sean Dockery.
But when his team needed him the most, Ellison fought through the sickness, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to lead Simeon past No. 18 Julian 71-63.
After the game that gave the Wolverines (14-8, 8-2) sole possession of second place and put Julian (16-8, 7-3) third in the Red South, Ellison strained to speak.
“I was getting kind of winded out there,” he said, who made six consecutive free throws in the final 32.5 seconds to help break open a close game. “I had to keep fighting out there. Because I’m a senior, I think I’m supposed to have the ball when we need it.”
Ellison, who is also the quarterback of the football team, made 8-of-10 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter. Ellison and sophomore Dashawn Walker almost single-handedly carried the Wolverines in the final quarter, and especially in the last 42 seconds when the game was tied 60-60. The two scored 10 of the team’s final 11 points as Simeon closed out the game on an 11-3 run.
Walker scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and also registered three rebounds, a block and a steal in the final eight minutes.
Albert Hethington led the Wolverines with 20 points, including consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter that gave Simeon its first lead of the second half–48-45 with 1 minute 20 seconds left.
The Wolverines, who trailed 35-29 at halftime, had six players who scored five points or more.
“When we play as a team we can compete with anybody,” Ellison said.
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Julian fell apart in the final minute, turning the ball over three times and scored three points, including a meaningless layup at the buzzer. Martese Williams led the Jaguars with 13 points and Dockery, Anton Palmer and Mike Wilson each had 12. Dockery also added seven assists, two steals, two blocks and three rebounds.
“It came down to us not executing down the stretch,” said Julian coach Loren Jackson. “Simeon just outplayed us.”
Sean Duncan.
Marshall 69, Westinghouse 58: Westinghouse looked to be headed toward its fourth straight victory when it held the momentum and a four-point lead with four minutes left in the third against neighborhood rival Marshall.
But like many teams have found out this season, No. 3 Marshall can simply shut down its opponent when it needs to and the hosts’ defense buoyed the Commandos to the Red West victory in front of a capacity crowd.
“Once again, it came down to our defense,” Marshall coach Al Williams said. “Westinghouse’s guards penetrated well in the first half, but we closed the lanes and shut them down with good man-to-man defense.”
The defense clicked in the third when Marshall closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to lead 51-47. Marshall (22-3, 9-1) limited Westinghouse to one field goal in the next three minutes–a jumper by Jamal Washington (19 points, 12 rebounds)–and forced three turnovers.
Westinghouse did not succumb as quickly as Marshall would have liked as Jamaal Brown (16 points) scored to make it 55-51 with 5 minutes 31 seconds left. But Marshall used a stall offense to near perfection and forced Westinghouse’s 2-3 zone to spread. That left gaps in the middle for Andre Goodwin (14 points) and Kelly Whitney (17 points) lay-ins as the Commandos put the game away with a 10-2 run to lead 65-53 lead with 2:59 left. The Commandos held the Warriors (11-12, 3-6) to one field goal the rest of the way.
Young 66, Crane 65: For two-and-a-half quarters, the No. 20 Dolphins were at their best–controlling the tempo, dominating the inside and completely shutting down Crane star guard Will Bynum.
With four minutes to play in the third quarter, Young (12-9, 8-2 in the Red West) led 40-22 following a layup by Ronald Howard (17 points). Bynum (14 points) did not score until 1:47 remaining in the third. It appeared bleak for the No. 5 Cougars until Carl Marshall was inserted into the lineup. The sophomore scored 10 straight points over a two-minute stretch, pulling the Cougars within 48-43 with six minutes remaining.
A barrage of Crane three-pointers, the final one from Tremel Gilot, narrowed the Young margin to 54-53 with just under five minutes to play.
Young responded with a power move from Marcus White (17 points, 14 rebounds) and five straight points from Nate Harrington (13 points) to extend the margin.
Morgan Park 113, Bowen 42: Quinnel Brown scored 21 points for the No. 9 Mustangs (17-5, 8-1) in the Public Red South.
Carver 58, Vocational 54: Teran Lee collected 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to lift Carver (17-6, 6-4) in the Public Red South. Antonio Stamps’ 16 points led Vocational (13-9, 3-6).
Curie 78, Manley 75: On a feed from point-guard Gabriel Taylor, Paul Nowak buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Condors (17-7, 3-6) the Public Red West win.
Rome Sanders put in 16 points to pace Curie, while Illinois-bound Luther Head collected 22 points, eight rebounds and three steals for Manley (12-12, 2-8).
Girls basketball
While Prospect may have sailed through the Mid-Suburban League East with a 10-0 mark, Fremd issued a wakeup call reminding the Knights that there’s a West side to the MSL as well.
Led by three-time MSL West Player of the Year Maggie Fontana, who poured in 29 points and collected 17 rebounds, No. 6 Fremd captured its first MSL crown since 1998 with a 60-44 victory.
Fontana scored all but 27 of the Vikings’ points and the Holy Cross-bound guard equaled Prospect’s entire offensive output (19 points) through the first 18 minutes.
“Typical day at work for Maggie,” said Fremd coach Carol Plodzien, whose team improved to 23-3. “Once we got past all of the [pregame] hoopla, we settled down and played Fremd basketball.”
Trailing 7-4 in the opening minutes, the Vikings proceeded to play “Fremd basketball” by reeling off 14 unanswered points to pull ahead 18-9 after the opening quarter. Setting the tone for her evening’s performance, Fontana paced Fremd with eight points and six rebounds in the frame.
Brittani Cottrell led Prospect (16-10) with 15 points.
Jonathan Schoenberg.
Stevenson 76, Round Lake 38: Sia Drebos scored 14 points and Jenni Dant pitched in with 13 as the fourth-ranked Patriots (26-4, 11-0) cruised to their eighth North Suburban conference title in 10 years.
Hillcrest 66, Homewood-Flossmoor 45: Fifth-ranked Hillcrest (24-1) rolled as Janelle Hughes poured in 32 points and Nadia Bibbs added 13 points and 13 assists.
St. Ignatius 54, Northside Prep 37: The No. 12 Wolfpack (19-10) cruised as Nicole Wylie and Katie Frett scored 12 points apiece.
Class A regionals
Herscher: Steph Olson’s 16 points paced Reed-Custer’s 42-23 defeat of Gardner South Wilmington. . . . Blair Bennett scored 20 points as Bishop McNamara bested Wilmington 47-30.
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Holy Trinity: Chicago Latin downed Francis Parker 59-41 behind Chrissy Dizon’s 19 points and Miranda Knox’s 16 rebounds. . . . Claire Stewart netted 22 points as University High (17-9) downed Luther South 56-52.
Madonna: Luther North breezed past North Lawndale 57-34 as Peggy Casey scored nine points. . . . Amber Watson’s 17 points helped Providence-St. Mel (14-7) tip Madonna 50-47. Myra Avila and Patrice Johnson each had 13 points for Madonna (11-17).
Peotone: Katie Schaafsma put in 13 points to help Momence (20-5) top Manteno 54-43. . . . Beecher (16-11) edged Peotone 57-55 behind Megan Stluka’s 17 points. Alisyn Rathje led all scorers with 31 points for Peotone (12-14).
St. Francis de Sales: Jess Eenigenburg tallied 18 points for Illiana Christian (16-9) in a 54-35 defeat of Seton. Jennifer Hoffman scored 16 points for Seton (13-14). . . . Gina Rose scored a game-high 16 points as St. Francis de Sales (20-10) held on for a 48-43 victory over Chicago Christian. Alicia Groenendal scored 16 for the Knights (12-10).
Girls gymnastics
Stevenson won its second straight sectional championship at Deerfield as Patriots freshman Lindsey Borkan hit the heights.
Stevenson tallied a 151.55 score, besting its 151.025 regional mark. Borkan won the uneven bars, tied for first on vault and balance beam and won the all-around with a 39.05 total. Warren (147.825) earned an at-large spot in the state meet.