You might say Curie has had a glowing week.
The Condors followed up their double-overtime victory over No. 3 Young earlier this week with another impressive victory, holding off a late Crane run to topple the No. 2 Cougars 82-80 Thursday in a spirited Public League Red West game at Curie.
Forward Rome Sanders led No. 11 Curie (17-3, 5-1) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Omni Smith added 17 points.
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The Condors went on a 12-3 run to take a 77-66 lead with 1:28 remaining. Guard Gabriel Taylor sparked the run by scoring six points and picking up two assists during a three-minute stretch. Taylor scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Crane (15-4, 3-3), losers of two straight games, was led by Tremel Gilot’s 18 points–13 coming in the last quarter.
Gilot’s third three-pointer of the game sparked an 8-1 spurt that got the Cougars within 78-74 with 40.2 seconds left.
But Crane missed four straight shots and turned the ball over twice in the next 30 seconds as the Condors pushed the margin to 82-74.
Carl Marshall finished with 16 points and Jason Frierson had 13 points for the Cougars, who trailed 40-35 at halftime.
Crane took a four-point lead with 1:24 left in the third quarter after forward Florentino Valencia’s uncontested dunk, but Curie came back and tied the game 56-56 on a baseline dunk from Sanders that beat the buzzer.
The Condors will close out the regular season playing five of their last six games on the road.
David Carillo.
Morgan Park 100, Julian 98 (OT)
Morgan Park appeared to be on the verge of losing consecutive home games it trailed for nearly the entire game and by as many as 11 points at 72-61 with four minutes to play against Julian.
But Morgan Park responded by outscoring Julian 18-7 to force overtime before pulling out a wild victory, giving the Mustangs sole possession of the Red South Conference lead.
“This is a neighborhood rivalry and the kids always play hard against Julian,” said Morgan Park coach Herb Ray, whose team now has beaten Julian seven straight times. “Duran Taylor was on in the first quarter and then disappeared for the next two. He came back in the fourth quarter and made things happen.”
Taylor ignited the team with a rebound dunk, picked up a steal and hit an NBA-range three-pointer in a minute span in which Morgan Park cut a 76-67 deficit with 2:31 to play to 78-75 with 1:28 left in regulation.
Not to be outdone by Taylor (20 points), teammate Marcus Arnold scored eight of his team-high 30 points during Morgan Park’s (11-9, 5-1) fourth-quarter flurry. But it was a running layup by Kevin Bond (29 points) with :04 left that sent the game into the extra session.
Sean Dockery single-handedly kept Julian (11-7, 4-2) in the game during overtime when he scored 12 of his game-high 33 points, including a lay-in that knotted the game 83-83 with 2:45 to go. But Bond and Arnold combined for 13 points–with eight coming from the free-throw line–and stemmed the Jaguars’ efforts.
“We realized that we had to pick up the intensity,” said Arnold, whose team trailed 58-51 after three. “We just dug in the fourth quarter and did the job we were supposed to do.”
Henry Del Valle.
Farragut 59, Marshall 57: Ollie Dailey lifted No. 9 Farragut in the Red West with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Admirals (12-7, 5-1) led by nine points with just over one minute left, but Marshall nearly erased the deficit by hitting three three-pointers in the last minute. Farragut’s Elliott Poole had a key steal with :05 left to save the win.
Andre Marshall led the Commandos (8-8, 1-5) with 20 points.
Manley 93, Best Practice 48: The No. 12 Wildcats (17-4, 5-1) rolled in the Public Blue West behind Roy Hegwood’s 35 points. Marcus Jackson added 16 points for the winners.
Collins 84, Wells 56: The Cobras (17-1, 6-0) cruised in the Public Blue West as Marlon Brumfield collected 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Darnell Jackson led Wells (8-5, 0-5) with 31 points.
Conant 57, Hoffman Estates 52: Conant used a 7-2 run late in the fourth quarter to seal the Mid Suburban West win. Joe Rizzo’s 13 points and Scott Crassweller’s 11 lifted the Cougars (10-9, 4-3).
Hinsdale Central 70, Oak Park 62: Pat Cuttica finished with 21 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Red Devils (12-6, 5-2) held on in the West Suburban Silver.
Girls
Hope 57, Simeon 32: Akila Harris sparked the third-ranked Eagles (24-2, 8-1) in the Public Superconference with 23 points, including seven three-pointers.
Naperville Central 61, Wheaton Warrenville South 31: The No. 5 Redhawks (20-2, 9-0) remained perfect in the DuPage Valley as Candace Parker scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Courtney Peters and Jen Doyle added 10 points each.
Hinsdale Central 56, Oak Park 43: The No. 6 Red Devils won in the West Suburban Silver behind Morgan Kasperek’s 15 points. Hinsdale Central (22-1, 9-0), which was up 30-15 at the intermission, led by at least 10 points throughout the second half. Aubrey Hampton led Oak Park (12-11, 4-5) with 15 points.
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Marshall 59, Young 53: The No. 8 Commandos held on in the Public Superconference behind Lekisha Smith’s 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tiffany Sardin contributed 12 points and seven rebounds for Marshall (18-1, 8-0).
Young’s Candis Jackson, who finished with 25 points, hit a three with :20 on the clock to cut the lead to six points. Jackson attempted another three 10 seconds later, and despite contact on the play, no foul was called, setting off vehement protest on the Young bench. Both coach Corry Carter and assistant coach Mac Irvin, Jr. were called for technical fouls, but Young (13-8, 6-3) walked off the court with :02 left and Marshall never shot the free throws.
Neuqua Valley 44, Waubonsie Valley 32: Lindsay Wisdom paced the No. 13 Wildcats in the Upstate Eight with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Karly Chesko chipped in 11 points for Neuqua (18-4, 10-0), which opened the second half on a 9-2 run to take control of the game. Kami Bethke recorded 10 points for Waubonsie Valley (10-13, 4-5).
Antioch 47, Wauconda 37: Alex Mika notched 18 points for Antioch (7-16).
Glenbard North 51, Wheaton North 28: Jacki Falson tallied 19 points as the Panthers (18-4, 9-1) cruised in the DuPage Valley.
Harper 68, Carver 57: Zethanie Brown and Monique Davis scored 20 points apiece for the Cardinals (15-5, 9-3) in the Public Green South.
Hinsdale South 47, Schaumburg 37: The Hornets went on an 11-0 run in the first half and held Schaumburg (11-13) without a basket for more than 11 minutes in the Sweet 16 tournament matchup. Jen Belmonte had 16 points and Heather VanHoegarden added 12 to pace Hinsdale South (20-4).
Hoffman Estates 67, Conant 65: The Hawks’ Kristen Mertel scored her only points of the game on a layup with 32 seconds to play tying the score 65-65. Hoffman Estates (14-9, 4-4) went ahead for good on a Mandy Mennella free throw. Mennella finished with 42 points in the Mid-Suburban West win.
Lemont 45, Ridgewood 40 (2OT): Catherine Chappell scored 26 points, including two free throws late in the second overtime, to lead Lemont (7-15, 5-7) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Mather 36, Amundsen 34: The Rangers (15-6, 9-2) had the edge in the Public Blue North as Ashlie Compton scored 11 points.
Payton 46, Lincoln Park 34: Amanda Konopka led the Navigators (18-2, 12-0) in the Public Green North with 14 points, and Ashley Richard added 12.
Richards 56, Oak Lawn 45: Tina Hill collected 25 points and Candace Griffin 11 for the Bulldogs (17-2, 5-2) in the SICA North.
St. Francis 46, Providence 43: Lisa Meindel scored 11 points for the Spartans (16-8).
Sandburg 56, Lincoln-Way Central 31: The Eagles (16-7, 7-2) rolled in the SICA West as Lauren Palmer scored 10 points.
Sullivan 73, Prosser 70: A blocked shot by Nadish Brown with :06 on the clock saved the win for the Tigers in the Public Blue North. Octavia McGregor led Sullivan (8-4, 8-2) with 21.