It was Joey Paul’s game to win. Or lose, which was what Highland Park and Paul came perilously close to doing during the final seconds of regulation against Downers Grove North.
Given a second chance in overtime, Paul wasn’t about to let his career-high scoring performance go for naught. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior guard scored six points and had a key block in overtime to lead Highland Park to a 78-75 victory in the first round of the 27th annual Elgin Holiday Tournament on Wednesday.
Paul finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, but the Giants (9-2) nearly allowed Downers Grove North (5-6) to pull out the win in the final minute of regulation.
Leading 63-58 with 44 seconds left, Highland Park watched as the Trojans’ Stephan Bolt (19 points) converted a three-point play and Matt Formato (24 points) buried a three-pointer to cut the Giants’ lead to 65-64 with 16 seconds remaining.
After Paul converted one of two free throws, North’s Antonio Poole drove the lane with 3 seconds, made the layup and got fouled to tie the game. But Poole missed the potential game-winning free throw. In overtime, Paul scored half of Highland Park’s 12 points and secured the victory by making 4-of-4 free throws in the final 28 seconds.
“I thought our best player stepped up and took ownership of the game,” Highland Park coach Paul Harris said of Paul. “That was a big win for us.”
Highland Park will next play defending Elgin tournament champion St. Patrick, which overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat Waukegan 55-53. The Shamrocks (6-2), who trailed for most of the game, took only their second lead of the second half– 54-53–on Matt Marino’s two free throws with 56 seconds remaining.
Waukegan (2-9) led 34-25 at the half before St. Patrick’s Chris Mroz scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half.
In another first-round game, Glenbrook South edged host Elgin 55-54 behind Dave Gershenzon’s 26 points. Gershenzon scored all 13 of the Titans’ fourth-quarter points, including the game-winning basket.
— Sean Duncan
York: No. 11 Brother Rice (10-1) held off Timothy Christian 67-51 as Ray Jendra scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter. Brian O’Neill added 11 points for Brother Rice, while Kevin VanderWal led Timothy (7-3) with 15 points and 11 rebounds. . . . Tim Brasic scored 20 points and Shatone Powers added 16 as Riverside Brookfield topped Stagg 58-50. David Genslinger paced the Chargers with 34 points. . . . Alex Freer’s 17 points led four players in double figures as Wheaton Warrenville South (7-3) beat Glenbrook North 67-51. . . . Michael Lang had 20 points and Joe Soroko added 17 points as Gordon Tech (8-1) pounded Willowbrook 65-44. . . . Scott Crassweller scored 13 points as Conant edged St. Ignatius 48-43. . . . Justin Stanger’s game-high 20 points led Downers Grove South (6-2) past Palatine 69-57. . . . The host Dukes (7-4) upended Nazareth 48-41 behind Mike Schuetz’s 12 points. . . . Seth Franklin had 21 points as Deerfield (7-4) topped St. Charles East 73-60.
Rich South: No. 12 Bloom (9-2) blasted Hinsdale South 82-54 as Antonio Cool and Joe Chapman scored 24 and 23 points, respectively. . . . Mike Smith scored 21 points to lead No. 16 Shepard (8-2) past Crete-Monee 65-47 . . . Orlando Montgomery had 18 points for Crete (3-8). . . . Brandon Cole collected 27 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for No. 19 Rich South (10-0) in a 65-53 win over Lincoln Park.
Karlin House scored 27 points and Jibril Hodges added 23 points, six rebounds and six steals as Rich East (8-4) edged Chicago Vocational 78-77. Antonio Stamps paced Vocational (5-5) with 33 points and 10 rebounds. . . . Hales Franciscan (5-5) defeated Eisenhower 63-48 behind Jawaan Stalling’s 17 points. . . . Steve Schweer had 12 points for Hinsdale Central (7-2) in a 61-35 defeat of Prosser (4-6). . . . Anthony Williams’ 21 points led Thornton (3-5) to a 63-44 victory over Marian Catholic.
Lincoln-Way: No. 17 Curie (7-2) downed Richards 65-51 as Rome Sanders notched 17 points and Paul Nowak added 15. . . . Thornton Fractional North (10-1) crushed Brooks 68-36 behind Janine Hudson’s 12 points. . . . Bobby Olson had 31 points and James Augustine added 15 as Lincoln-Way Central earned a 74-49 win against Lane Tech. … Pete Spain scored 20 points to help Oak Lawn edge Harper 67-64. . . . Romell Owens’ 18 points led Hyde Park to a 67-52 decision over St. Laurence. . . . George Jones and Courtney Williams each had 20 points to help Robeson past Tinley Park 66-44. . . . Marcus Arnold scored 14 points to lead Morgan Park past Lincoln-Way East 64-51. . . . Nick Balestri tallied 16 points as LaSalle-Peru defeated Oak Forest 77-71.
Lemont: Keelan Amelianovich netted 25 points for No. 20 Neuqua Valley (8-1) in a 65-51 win over Joliet Catholic. . . . Sandburg (5-5) used Ray Vicario’s 12 points to top Romeoville 59-37. . . . Nate Geipel scored 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter as Plainfield (6-3) topped Thornton Fractional South 58-44. . . . Ian Jones put in 25 points as Reavis (8-2) beat Lemont 52-41.
Collins: The host Cobras (9-0) slipped past King 68-63 as Marlon Brumfield and James Scott scored 21 and 20 points, respectively. . . . Lennix Gladney’s 19 points lifted Corliss (4-4) over DuSable 61-53. Benyamin Robinson had 15 points for DuSable (2-8). . . . Keith Gayden had 22 points for Tilden (6-3) in a 75-58 win over Senn. . . . Steinmetz (2-7) blew past Bowen 85-53 as Onani Wilson scored 26 points.
DeKalb: Chad Pecka’s 14 points helped DeKalb (9-3) tip Geneva 57-53.
East Aurora: Mike Benning’s 20 points lifted Naperville North (6-5) over Foreman 62-56. . . . Derell Jenkins and Dan Buchanan scored 12 points apiece for Bolingbrook (2-9) in a 62-45 win over Wheaton Academy. . . . Glenbard East (3-7) defeated Oswego 60-56 as Jeff Bridges collected 16 points, five rebounds and four blocks. . . . East Aurora (5-4) beat St. Francis 84-54 behind Darice Venson’s 23 points.
Jacobs: Matt Glees had 16 points as Vernon Hills edged Machesney Park Harlem 49-47. . . . Jason Richards and Michael Klear scored 17 and 13 points, respectively, as Barrington (10-2) routed Crystal Lake Central 78-47. . . . Elk Grove breezed past Fenton 77-54 as Mike Madden scored 20 points. . . . Jim Nicoline’s 23 points paced Round Lake to a 62-53 win over Cary-Grove. . . . Anthony Maestranzi’s 22 points gave Bartlett (9-3) a 60-56 edge over Johnsburg (9-1). . . . The host Golden Eagles (9-4) used Brian Nutt’s 22 points to beat Prairie Ridge 78-58.
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Luther North: Morton (6-4) held off Holy Trinity 62-60 as Hector Vargas scored 26 points. Damien Bracy had 28 points for the Tigers (4-4) in the loss. . . . Rammell Nwaokai had 19 points as Mather (8-2) outlasted Northridge Prep 72-69. Steve Stoll led all scorers with 25 for the Knights. . . . Holy Cross (10-1) routed North Shore Country Day 61-26 behind Jason Hess’ 12 points. . . . Jason George’s 24 points led Zion-Benton (9-1) to an 89-53 defeat of Elmwood Park. . . . Chris Cobbs’ 20 points helped Taft (11-1) down Ridgewood 69-42. . . . Bo Flowers’ 19 led Walther Lutheran (8-3) to a 63-58 defeat of St. Benedict. . . . Jason Kay scored 22 points as the host Wildcats (9-4) defeated Amundsen 73-51.
Wheeling: Matt Petralia hit a driving bank shot at the buzzer to lift Lake Park (4-6) over Naperville Central 64-62. Ryan Cibulka had 18 points for the Lancers, while Ryan Paradise’s 33 led Central (3-7). . . . St. Viator cruised past Streamwood 65-42 as Rob Costello put in 17 points. . . . Rueben Trotter’s 15 points and seven rebounds led Stevenson (9-3) past Niles North 56-40. . . . Colin Falls hit four three-pointers to finish with 17 points as Loyola (8-3) bested North Chicago 57-47. . . . Maine West edged Prospect 47-44 as Mike Georgalas tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds. . . . Bryan Smaha had 20 points as Maine South rallied from a 27-21 halftime-deficit to tip Carmel 63-59. . . . Notre Dame jumped out to a 12-2 first-quarter lead and coasted to a 61-42 win over St. Edward. John Bowler led the Dons (8-1) with 19 points. . . . Libertyville (11-1) beat Wheeling 72-58 as Pete Silvestri tallied 22 points and 11 rebounds.