Tim Brasic almost single-handedly pulled off a miracle comeback for No. 20 Riverside-Brookfield on Friday night.
But even with Brasic scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter–including 13 in the final four minutes–it wasn’t enough as Yorkville stubbornly dealt the Bulldogs their first Suburban Prairie White loss 69-66.
Brasic, who finished with a game-high 29 points, hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 67-66 with 13 seconds to play.
But Foxes guard Reid Burel hit two free throws two seconds later to restore a three-point lead.
Brasic then missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
“We had some good free throws down at the end, and we had a lot of people step up,” said Foxes coach Jerry Farber, whose team went 9-of-10 from the line in the final 1:18.
Sophomore guard Luke Engelhardt made two free throws with 20 seconds remaining that gave the Foxes a 67-63 lead.
Yorkville (19-5, 12-3) never trailed after the game’s opening minutes as Burel scored nine of his 20 points in the opening quarter.
Brian Hefferan added 18 points for Yorkville.
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Shatone Powers had 13 for Riverside-Brookfield (19-3, 12-1).
Jack McCarthy.
Up next for Riverside-Brookfield: Friday at home vs. Lemont.
1. Joliet
Playing his first season at Joliet after transferring from Downers Grove South, senior point guard Branden Dillard wasn’t fully aware of the Steelmen’s rivalry with Lockport.
After Friday night’s 23-point performance that helped the No. 1 Steelmen top Lockport 75-65 before a packed house at Joliet, Dillard said he is beginning to appreciate the rivalry, especially since it marked the third time this season Joliet (23-1, 10-0 in the SICA West) has beaten the Porters (14-8, 5-5).
“This is a real good game,” said Dillard, who scored seven straight points early in the third quarter to give his team a 46-32 advantage. “The crowd had a lot to do with it. The crowd made it a more physical game.”
Once again the Steelmen had a balanced attack, getting 13 points from sophomore Jeremy Fears, who made consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter.
Senior Kellen Easley contributed 12 points, 12 rebounds and three steals, and Brandon Shoemaker had six of his nine points in the fourth quarter for Joliet, which led 37-31 at halftime.
Joliet’s balance was too much for Lockport’s Alando Tucker, who single-handedly kept the Porters afloat throughout the game.
Tucker, a 6-foot-5-inch senior, scored 35 points, grabbed nine rebounds and wowed the overflow crowd with four dunks. Tucker scored 12 of Lockport’s 15 points in the fourth quarter. Tim Splant added eight points for Lockport.
Sean Duncan.
Up next: Friday at Stagg.
3. West Aurora
Dameon Mason scored 19 points and Jaeh Thomas contributed 12 points to lead the Blackhawks (19-2, 10-1) in the DuPage Valley. West Aurora jumped out to a 45-15 halftime lead as it forced 14 first-half turnovers. The Blackhawks shot 57 percent from the field for the game and were 12-of-15 from the floor in the second quarter. Keiston Henderson added eight points and six steals for the winners.
Naperville North (9-12, 4-7) fell behind 13-0 and never challenged.
Up next: Saturday vs. Rock Island at Batavia.
4. Proviso East
Dee Brown scored 42 points and made 12 three-pointers as the Pirates (17-2, 9-0) romped past Addison Trail 98-56 in the West Suburban Gold. Shannon Brown added 23 points for Proviso East, which started the game on a 20-4 run.
“I’ve never seen a high school player shoot like that,” Proviso East coach Troy Jackson said of Dee Brown. “It looked the rim was 6 feet wide.”
Matt Cantrell had 22 points to lead Addison Trail (6-16, 3-7).
Up next: Saturday at Batavia.
6. New Trier
Ted Rosinski scored 14 points and Dan Larkin added 13 as the Trevians (17-4, 8-0) rallied to defeat Glenbrook South 65-58 in the Central Suburban South. New Trier trailed 40-39 in the third quarter before Rosinski’s three-pointer triggered an 11-0 run.
Mike Emerson had 16 points and David Gershenzon 14 to lead Glenbrook South (10-12, 4-4).
“We played hard, but we just couldn’t put them away,” New Trier coach Rick Malnati said. “We’d get ahead by a few baskets only to have them hit a critical shot to stay in the game. Defensively we didn’t do a good job pressuring the ball, and therefore, we did not create turnovers.”
Up next: Saturday at home vs. Peoria Central.
10. Thornwood
David Moss scored 20 points and Melvin Buckley added 17 as the Thunderbirds (19-4, 8-0) clinched the SICA East title with a 68-50 defeat of No. 11 Shepard. See story, Back Page.
Up next: Friday at home vs. Shepard.
11. Shepard
Mike Hall scored 18 points for the Astros (18-5, 3-5), but it wasn’t enough as Shepard fell to No. 10 Thornwood 68-50 in the SICA East. See story, Back Page.
Up next: Friday at home vs. Bloom.
12. Schaumburg
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Tony Young scored 28 points on 13-of-15 shooting as the Saxons (17-5, 7-2) downed Palatine 60-48 in the Mid-Suburban West. Schaumburg led 39-38 at the end of three quarters before going on a 14-3 run to seal the victory.
Young has “been steady all year long,” Schaumburg coach Bob Williams said. “No question he’s our take-charge guy for us.”
Mack Trent’s 14 points led Palatine (7-15, 3-6), while Chris Curtin and Reginald Ball added 10 points.
Up next: Friday at home vs. Conant.
13. Thornton Fractional North
Tom Piotrowski had 20 points and eight steals as the Meteors (18-3, 8-1) routed Bremen 72-50 in the SICA Central. Gregg Charles had 11 points and Brandon Boles 10 for T.F. North, which forced 30 turnovers with its pressure defense.
Sinatris Jackson had 11 points–all in the second half–to lead Bremen (2-20, 2-7).
Up next: Tuesday at home vs. Marian Catholic.
17. Brother Rice
Rick Harrigan scored 26 points and made five three-pointers as the Crusaders (18-4, 10-1) defeated Bishop McNamara 61-44 in the Catholic League. Harrigan now has 91 three-point field goals for the season–a school record. Brother Rice went on a 10-2 run to end the first half to take a 30-17 halftime lead.
Tim Keller’s 18 points led Bishop McNamara (9-11, 4-8) with 18 points.
Up next: Friday at St. Laurence.
19. Homewood-Flossmoor
Thornridge coach Mike Flaherty’s game plan against No. 19 Homewood-Flossmoor was simple: Deny leading scorer Adam Dauksas the ball.
Flaherty assigned Paris Brown, Gregory Benson, Marcus Richardson and Jeremy Bledsoe to the task at different time through the game, and the end result was five points for Dauksas and a 66-53 victory for the Falcons.
“The less he touched the ball, we figured, the better it would be for us,” Flaherty said after his team improved to 15-7 overall and 6-2 in the SICA East.
Bledsoe also contributed offensively, finishing with 16 points. Jeremy Bell and Jeremy Massingale had 14 each for Thornridge.
The Vikings, who trailed the entire game, were led by Chris Liddell’s 25 points and 13 rebounds. H-F pulled within 36-34 early in the third quarter, but a 12-2 Thornridge run put the Falcons in control at 48-36. H-F (15-8, 3-5) got no closer than nine points in the final quarter.
Bill Harrison.
Up next: Tuesday at home vs. Romeoville.