After stunning No. 13 Thornton Fractional North Friday night, Eisenhower entered Tuesday night’s SICA North contest against No. 14 Hillcrest knowing a second straight upset would create a three-way tie for the conference’s top spot.
The Cardinals could not have come closer, but Hillcrest (17-5, 8-1) used an overtime session and a pair of free throws from Shelby Jordan with 4.7 seconds left to remain in first with a hard-earned 90-88 win.
“We put the ball in Jordan’s hands because he sees the floor so well,” Hillcrest coach Tom Cappel said. “We have a lot of faith in him.”
Jordan’s free throws gave him his 29th and 30th points of the game to go with 12 rebounds.
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The Cardinals’ Chris Hobson, whose layup with 1.3 seconds left in regulation tied the game 81-81 and forced overtime, finished with 26 points.
The Cardinals (13-8, 6-3) trailed by as many as 15 points early in the third quarter before a 7-0 run helped pull them within 63-56 entering the fourth.
Eisenhower then took its first lead since 2-0 via a 13-4 run, thanks to a pair of three pointers off the bench by John Campbell. Campbell (12 points) hit three of his four three-pointers in the fourth quarter to rally the Cardinals.
— Bill Harrison
Joliet 68, Lincoln-Way East 45: Brandon Dillard’s 14 points led No. 1 Joliet (21-1, 9-0) in the SICA West.
Curie 63, Marshall 48: Rodney Williams hit six three-pointers and finished with 20 points to lead the No. 7 Condors (19-4, 7-2) to a come-from-behind Public League Red West win. Four of Williams’ threes came in a two-minute span of the second half, turning a two-point lead into a 45-31 advantage. Andre Goodwin’s 17 points led Marshall (8-13, 2-7), which opened the game with a 13-0 run and led 25-21 at halftime.
Shepard 61, Bremen 32: The No. 11 Astros (18-4) used Mike Smith’s 17 points for the non-conference win.
Thornton Fractional North 70, Thornton Fractional South 34: Janine Hudson had 18 points to lead the No. 13 Meteors (17-3, 7-1) to the SICA Central win.
Collins 70, Austin 58: The No. 15 Cobras (20-1, 8-0) used Tarell White’s 23 points and Marlon Brunfield’s 17 for the Public Blue West win.
Manley 69, Wells 50: Marcus Jackson had 19 points and Roy Hegwood had 12 points to lead the No. 16 Wildcats (18-4, 7-1) in the Public Blue West.
Brother Rice 68, Nazareth 55: Rick Harrigan had 26 points and Marty Masterson added 15 to lead the No. 17 Crusaders (18-4).
Homewood-Flossmoor 88, Kankakee 56: Chris Liddell had 21 points and Adam Dauksas added 18 points and 12 assists as the No. 19 Vikings cruised.
Plainfield 51, Geneva 32: Nathan Geipel, who set a new school record for career three-pointers with 71, hit four on his way to a team-high 14 points for the Wildcats (14-8, 7-4) in the Suburban Prairie Red.
Simeon 73, Carver 42: DeShawn Walker had 26 points to go with Clyde Hooks’ 20 points and 12 rebounds as Simeon (13-10, 6-3) rolled in the Public Red South. Cornelius Bardney’s 16 points led Carver (9-11, 6-4).
Tinley Park 83, Oak Forest 73: Mindaugas Luskas, a 6-foot-9-inch junior, scored 18 points, including four dunks, to lift the Titans (11-11, 5-4) in the SICA Central.
Girls basketball
Marian Catholic 56, Nazareth 53: The No. 1 Spartans (22-1, 7-1) earned a share of their first East Suburban Catholic title behind 23 points from Melissa Mitidiero.
Mitidiero was 11-of-13 from the free-throw line and hit four in the final 78 seconds to help seal the win. Nicole Baich’s 14 points led No. 20 Nazareth (19-7, 4-4).
Lake Zurich 50, Dundee-Crown 40: Patti Hornung’s game-high 20 points paced the No. 2 Bears (27-0, 17-0) in the Fox Valley. Beckee Henk (16-9, 11-6) led Dundee-Crown with 11 points.
Naperville Central 71, West Aurora 52: Candace Parker broke the Redhawks’ career scoring record with a personal-best 38-point performance as No. 5 Naperville Central (24-2, 13-0) clinched the DuPage Valley Conference title outright.
Parker, only a sophomore, reached 1,267 points, surpassing the old mark of 1,258 set by Dawn Ripplemeyer from 1978-82.
York 62, Wheaton North 27: Krystal Hugelier netted 22 points for the No. 11 Dukes (21-4).
Elgin 49, Neuqua Valley 38: Kelly Sikora scored 13 points and Katie Grens added 11 as the Maroons (21-8, 11-2) knocked off No. 12 Neuqua Valley in an Upstate Eight contest. Lindsey Wisdom led Neuqua Valley (22-5, 12-1) with 15 points.
Hinsdale South 66, Downers Grove South 60: Kourtney Shavers’ 19 points led the No. 16 Hornets (25-4, 10-1) in the West Suburban Gold.
Bolingbrook 46, Lyons Township 25: The No. 17 Raiders (23-3) cruised behind Chloe Kerr’s 20 points and Jenee Graham’s 17.
Girls gymnastics sectional
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At Stevenson: Defending state champion Stevenson convincingly won its own sectional Tuesday night, advancing to the state meet for a fourth consecutive year.
In the second and most competitive of the four sectionals, Stevenson posted a 151.35 score. The Patriots join Fremd, the Barrington sectional winner Monday night, as automatic qualifiers to the state meet Feb. 15-16 at Palatine.
Wrestling
Public League dual-team tournament: Lane won its eighth straight title with a 40-30 win over Simeon in the championship.
Lane was missing four regulars due to injury, forcing them to forfeit three weight classes. But thanks to several clutch wins, including Quinton Smith’s 3-2 victory over previously unbeaten Charles Brown at 160, Lane won its 14th title in the last 16 years.