Carver knew exactly whom it had to stop Thursday afternoon in its Public Red South game at No. 17 Julian.
The Challengers used their entire defensive playbook to contain Jaguars star Sean Dockery. Carver limited Dockery to 12 points–all in the fourth quarter–as it held off Julian 66-64.
Dockery had a chance to force an overtime, but his 10-foot jumper rattled off the front rim at the buzzer.
“I knew we had to stop him,” Carver coach Johnnail Evans said. “We knew the ball was going to be in his hands.”
Carver’s defense was strong throughout, and Dockery didn’t make his first field goal until there were six minutes left in the game.
“It was good zone defense,” Evans said. “We covered our areas really well and Sean didn’t score. We cut off his penetration. We knew [we’d win] if we concentrate on Sean and let everyone else do their thing.”
Evans often employed a 1-3-1 trap to slow down Dockery’s penetration and usually dropped to a 2-3 zone to force Dockery to work from the perimeter.
Carver point guard Marquis Adams, who scored a game-high 20 points, had nine in the fourth quarter as the Challengers opened up a 58-50 lead with 4 minutes left. After Julian cut its deficit to 65-64, Adams made 1-of-2 from the line with 11 seconds left for the final point of the game.
Johnny Barnettie contributed 17 points for Carver (5-8, 2-1), while Mychal Wilson led Julian (7-5, 2-1) with 15 points.
“Getting a win against Julian is great motivator,” Evans said. “We had played Crane and Mt. Zion (N.C.) tough at Chicago State (in the Public League tournament). We came here to win.”
Mike Pankow.
Crane 81, Orr 51: The No. 1 Cougars took advantage of an 11-4 run to start the second quarter and hit six three-pointers in the fourth quarter to cruise to the Public Red West win. Tremel Gilot tallied 19 points, seven assists and five steals to spark Crane.
“We came out flat on Tuesday (against Westinghouse),” Crane coach Anthony Longstreet said, “But I don’t think I ever had any of my teams come out flat in back-to-back games.”
Jamale Tidwell and Carl Marshall had 15 points apiece for Crane (12-2, 2-1).
Young 78, Marshall 65: No. 7 Young (12-3, 1-1) used 26 points from Anthony Harris and 20 points from Andre Knox to prevail in the Public Red West. Marshall (7-7, 1-2) was led by David Hilliard’s 22 points.
Manley 90, Flower 52: Roy Hegwood had 10 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and Marcus Jackson scored 21 points as the 16th-ranked Wildcats (14-3, 2-0) won in the Public Blue West.
Brooks 70, Spalding 54: Rico Poole and Jamal Washington scored 21 points and 16 points, respectively, for Brooks (8-6, 2-0) in the Public Green South-West.
Morgan Park 73, Washington 67: Duran Taylor led a balanced Morgan Park attack with 13 points and Marcus Arnold and Kevin Bond added 12 points each as the Mustangs (8-8, 2-0) held on in the Public Red South. Sophomore Courtney Horton led the way for Washington with 35 points.
Girls
Naperville Central 63, Naperville North 42: Candace Parker poured in 20 first-half points and finished with 29 and Rachel Crissy collected 10 points and five steals as the second-ranked Redhawks (17-1, 6-0) downed their crosstown rivals in the DuPage Valley.
“When we play a team that’s 4-1 in our league and we beat them by 20 at their place, you have to feel pretty good about it,” Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said.
Lashawndra Brown led the Huskies (10-9, 4-2) with 13 points.
Hope 82, Hubbard 36: The sixth-ranked Eagles (20-1, 5-1) rolled in the Public Superconference behind 22 points from Akila Harris and 17 points and 12 assists from Shuntae Roberison.
Lake Zurich 58, Crystal Lake South 10: The No. 7 Bears (17-0, 10-0) jumped out to their best start in school history behind 13 points from Patti Hornung and 10 points and six rebounds from Johanna Solverson in the Fox Valley win.
“We just wanted constant ball pressure.” Lake Zurich coach Carl Krause said. “Whatever we get from that is fine.”
The Lake Zurich defense forced 33 turnovers and held the Gators (6-10, 2-5) to 3-of-27 shooting from the field.
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Marshall 79, Westinghouse 17: The No. 8 Lady Commandos (12-1, 6-0) rolled in the Public Superconference behind Jacquay Holmes’ 20 points. Tiffany Sardin added 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Britney Jones contributed 12 points and five assists.
Hillcrest 71, Thornton Fractional North 33: Janelle Hughes led the way for the No. 9 Hawks (12-2, 6-0) with 21 points in the SICA Central.
Regina 48, Resurrection 26: The No. 10 Panthers jumped out to a 16-0 lead in their GCAC Red win. Christina Quaye finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Regina (16-3, 3-1).
Bolingbrook 60, Romeoville 47: Chloe Kerr sparked a 12-3 run early in the fourth quarter with six points to put the game away as the 12th-ranked Raiders prevailed in the SICA North. Kerr finished with 24 points and Rowsha LaBranche added 15 points for Bolingbrook (16-0, 5-0). Nicole Bormann led Romeoville (9-10, 1-5) with 13 points.
Stevenson 37, Libertyville 36: Erin Murtha scored 11 points to lead the No. 13 Patriots (17-3, 5-1) as they survived a late rally in the North Suburban Lake.
Neuqua Valley 50, St. Charles North 14: Lindsay Wisdom scored 12 points to lead the No. 17 Wildcats (14-3, 6-0) to the Upstate Eight win.
Bronzeville 57, King 26: Shawntel Washington had 19 points as Bronzeville (9-5, 7-0) cruised in the Public Green Central.
Good Counsel 44, St. Francis de Sales 35: Jan Dillon tallied 24 points and Stephanie Sapaduquia had nine steals as the Chargers (13-5, 3-1) earned the GCAC White victory.
Kenwood 43, Gage Park 42: Latreasea Smith finished with 17 points including a jumper with 30 seconds remaining to give the Broncos (12-5, 5-1) the Public Blue Central win.
Lincoln Park 56, Foreman 31: Stephanie Williams scored 21 points as the Lions (7-5, 7-1) won in the Public Green North.
Notre Dame 42, Holy Trinity 21: Notre Dame won in the GCAC Blue behind 15 points from Jennifer Davis and 10 points from Patrice Johnson.
Oak Lawn 46, Argo 32: Susie Cusick’s 10 points lifted the Spartans (14-4, 3-2) in the SICA North.
Roycemore 61, North Lawndale 38: Christy Canman’s 20 points paced Roycemore (8-2, 5-0) in the Chicago Prep League.
Schurz 41, Kelvyn Park 31: Carmen Ortiz collected 14 points and Priscilla Cook added 11 for the Bulldogs (7-5, 4-4) in the Public Green North.
Sullivan 55, Roosevelt 38: Helen Ogunjimi’s 27 points paced the Tigers (6-2, 6-1) in the Public Blue North.
Washington 48, Dunbar 24: Ashley Austin had 19 points and Markita Dean added 13 for Washington (9-9, 3-3) in the Public Superconference.
West Chicago 67, Glenbard East 47: Meghan Young had 21 points for the Wildcats (5-15, 2-4) in the DuPage Valley.