No. 11 Westinghouse’s 51-42 non-conference victory Friday night over neighborhood rival Marshall was overshadowed by an ugly incident involving a fan.
During a dead ball midway through the first quarter at Westinghouse, Deandre Thomas and Marshall’s Brandon Johnson exchanged shoves. The two appeared to be walking away from each other when a male fan ran out of the stands and punched Johnson in the head.
Johnson, who never saw the punch coming, fell to the floor. As Johnson lay on the ground, security personnel worked to apprehend the person and restore order in the stands.
Johnson had to be helped off the floor, and both teams were sent to their locker rooms. After a delay of almost 30 minutes, Johnson emerged with an ice pack on his forehead. He left the school with paramedics and was taken to a hospital, although he was able to walk off the floor under his own power. The game resumed a few minutes later and finished without incident.
The fan “just walked right by security and came out on the court,” Marshall coach Alvin Williams said. “And then security didn’t try to apprehend him. They just escorted him out.”
Westinghouse officials said they did not know whether an arrest had been made.
Williams said he and officials at Marshall would review the incident before a decision is made on what action to take, and he wasn’t surprised that the remainder of the contest went smoothly.
“It wasn’t anything with the kids,” Williams said. “If that guy didn’t come out of the stands, nothing would have happened. These are two neighborhood schools. The kids know and like each other.”
When the teams did emerge from the locker room, Westinghouse’s Thomas was in street clothes.
“That was a coaching decision,” Westinghouse coach Quitman Dillard said. “I figured that since one of their players was in the hospital, I would take out one of my players to help defuse the situation.”
As for the game itself, Westinghouse (2-1) used a 14-2 run over the second and third quarters to take a 31-20 lead and give itself some breathing room.
“One of our problems all year has been a lack of intensity,” Dillard said. “We picked it up a little right after halftime, and when we do that, we’re OK.”
Shawn Smith led Westinghouse with 10 points and six rebounds, while Jerwin Callaway had 12 points for Marshall (1-3).
— Jeff Ponczak
Up next for Westinghouse: Wednesday at home vs. Prosser.
5. Evanston
Gordon Watt scored 17 points and Mike McKinney added 13 points and six rebounds as the Wildkits (4-2, 1-0) defeated Waukegan 45-33 in the Central Suburban South. Emanuel Gaiter’s 17 points and seven rebounds led Waukegan (4-3, 0-1).
Up next: Saturday at home vs. No. 19 St. Joseph.
6. Thornwood
Eric Gray scored 22 points as the Thunderbirds (5-0, 1-0) defeated No. 13 Homewood-Flossmoor 64-52 in the SICA East. See story, Back Page.
Up next: Saturday at Lyons Township.
7. Hillcrest
Oak Forest was well aware that to have any chance to beat Hillcrest it had to accomplish two things: limit the turnovers and consistently do what the Bengals pride themselves in–hit the three-pointer.
The Bengals were able to do neither. They committed 24 turnovers and were just 8-of-30 from three-point range. Behind their strong defense, the Hawks won easily 77-52 in the SICA Central.
“We didn’t expect them to shoot as many three-pointers as they did,” HIllcrest coach Tom Cappel said. “We didn’t know they were still doing that.”
Shelby Jordan led the way for the winners with 25 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Jerrell McNeal finished with 16 points and three steals for the Hawks (6-0, 2-0).
John Czerniak’s 11 points led Oak Forest (0-6, 0-1).
— Bill Harrison
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Up next: Tuesday at Lincoln-Way Central.
9. Hales Franciscan
Mike Robinson scored 18 points and hit the game-winning shot with 2.2 seconds left as Hales edged No. 12 St. Rita 71-69 in overtime in the Catholic League. See story, Back Page.
Up next: Saturday vs. Orion at Lisle Shootout.
12. St. Rita
Mike Rembert had 21 points, but the Mustangs lost to No. 9 Hales Franciscan 71-69 in overtime in the Catholic League. See story, Back Page.
Up next: Friday at De La Salle.
13. Homewood-Flossmoor
Excell Hardy had 21 points for the Vikings (6-2, 0-1) in a 64-52 loss to No. 6 Thornwood in the SICA East. See story, Back Page.
Up next: Thursday at Bloom.
14. Sandburg
Jim Hoffmann and Brian Lee each scored 13 points as the Eagles (7-1, 2-0) defeated Andrew 59-44 in the SICA West. Sandburg used a 10-1 run in the second quarter to pad the lead.
Up next: Dec. 26 vs. Joliet Catholic at Lemont Tournament.
16. Fenwick
Vince Humphrey scored 21 points and Jason Okrzesik had 18 points and four steals as the Friars (4-2, 2-1) survived in a 64-62 victory over host Providence in the Catholic League.
Fenwick trailed by seven with 5:16 left in the game before Lou Bertuca’s layup tied the game 59-59 with 2:30 left. Sean VanDeWalle’s free throw with 1:53 left put the Friars ahead to stay.
Bertuca added 12 points and 14 rebounds for Fenwick, while Michael Lindsey’s 30 points led Providence (3-3, 1-2).
“[Providence is] always a tough place to come and play,” Fenwick coach John Quinn said. “We lost by one point the last two times we’ve been here.”
Up next: Friday at Brother Rice.
17. Schaumburg
Craig Reichel scored 18 points and Jeremy Moneyhun added 16 points as Schaumburg (4-2, 1-1) rallied for a 70-63 victory over Fremd in the Mid-Suburban West. Fremd led 56-55 after Matthew Monaghan’s three-pointer with 3:35 left, but the Saxons went on an 11-3 run to seal the victory. Monaghan’s 27 points and five three-pointers led Fremd (4-3, 1-1).
Up next: Saturday at Naperville Central.
18. Holy Cross
Notre Dame lost center John Bowler to graduation and Eastern Michigan University, but the Dons didn’t miss a beat as they defeated Holy Cross 56-32 in the East Suburban Catholic contest.
Abe Badmus scored 17 points and Matt Patek contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Dons (3-2, 2-0), who held Holy Coss to one field goal in the third quarter. Notre Dame outscored Holy Cross 27-11 in the middle two quarters.
“We don’t have the big guy [Bowler], but we think we still have a pretty good team,” Notre Dame coach Dennis Zelasko said.
Jawond Gage’s 10 points led Holy Cross (5-2, 1-1).
Up next: Tuesday at Marist.
19. St. Joseph
Tony Freeman scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the third quarter as the Chargers (3-2, 1-1) downed Carmel 64-49 in the East Suburban Catholic. After Carmel tied the game 23-23 early in the third, Freeman scored all of the points for his team in a decisive 13-5 run. Freeman sat out the Chargers’ Dec. 6 loss to Holy Cross because of a sore back.
Up next: Saturday at No. 5 Evanston.
20. Joliet
Jeremy Fears scored 14 points and Bryan Stewart added 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Steelmen (5-2, 2-0) rolled past Lincoln-Way Central 66-48 in the SICA West.
Up next: Friday at Lincoln-Way East.
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