His first name is Ebenezer, and against No. 11 Hales Franciscan, he played the role of Scrooge.
Loyola forward Ebenezer Noonoo tipped in the winning basket at the buzzer and erupted for 14 second-half points to lift the Ramblers to a 56-54 Catholic League North victory over the visiting Spartans on Tuesday night.
With the game tied 54-54 and time winding down, Colin Falls’ shot rimmed out and Noonoo was there for the putback.
“I was just there at the right time,” said Noonoo, who scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed six rebounds. “I thought the shot was going to drop. I think everybody just forgot about me.”
Noonoo played a huge role in helping Loyola (10-6, 5-2) erase a 33-22 halftime deficit. The 6-foot-2-inch junior scored seven points in a 17-5 third-quarter run, and his three-point play with 5 minutes 45 seconds left in the fourth forged Loyola’s first tie since late in the first quarter. Noonoo scored seven of the team’s 14 points in the fourth quarter.
The Ramblers had taken a 54-51 lead late in the fourth before Nate Minnoy’s three-point play tied the game at 54-54 with 57.4 seconds remaining. Hales, which dropped to 15-4, 4-4 in the Catholic North, was led by Nate Hood’s 19 points
Mike Brennan kept Loyola afloat early, scoring the team’s first six points and had 11 at halftime. He finished with 15 points, and Falls added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Loyola made seven of its first nine shots in the third quarter and went into the fourth down 47-42 before Noonoo took over.
“[Noonoo] plays in spurts,” Loyola coach Bryan Tucker said. “He definitely stepped up at the right time. Eb is real active … plus he’s got the best name ever.”
Sean Duncan.
Fenwick 70, St. Laurence 61
No. 15 Fenwick has worked its way to the top of the Catholic League standings the hard way–more often than not having to come from behind to post a victory.
Tuesday night they changed things a bit. Vince Humphrey, despite foul trouble, scored 22 points and Jason Okrzesik added 18, including 12 in the second half as the Friars stayed one step ahead of No. 13 St. Laurence, posting a 70-61 victory in Burbank.
“Coach has started calling us the cardiac kids, so it was kind of nice to have someone chase us through a game for a change,” Okrzesik said. “We knew this was a tough place to play, so to win at Hales last week and now here, the wins just keep getting bigger.”
Fenwick (10-4, 6-1) built a six-point lead, 25-19 in the first half, before the Vikings (14-3, 5-2) went on a 10-4 run to knot the game at 29-29 with 2:03 remaining. During the run, St. Laurence hit just 6-of-12 free throws and eventually trailed 31-29 at the half.
The Vikings made their last run in the third, tying the game at 45-45 with 2:18 remaining while Humphrey sat on the bench with foul trouble. Okrzesik then took over, scoring all of Fenwick’s points in an 8-3 run as the Friars closed the quarter with a 51-46 lead.
Humphrey returned in the fourth and scored six points in another 8-2 run early as Fenwick grabbed a 61-51 lead with 4:51 remaining. The Vikings never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
Marcus Stevenson scored 19 to pace St. Laurence while Rami Faris chipped in 12 in a sloppy contest that featured 48 fouls and 36 turnovers. The Vikings’ poor free-throw shooting also aided Fenwick as St. Laurence finished 20-of-37 from the line.
Phil English.
Hillcrest 61, Thornton 59: Shelby Jordan scored 17 points and Jerel McNeal chipped in with 12 as the fifth-ranked Hawks (15-1) held on for the non-conference win. Robert Bush scored 20 points on four three-pointers to spark Thornton (6-8), which opened the game with a 10-0 run but fell behind 32-28 by halftime.
Curie 72, Hubbard 71: The No. 18 Condors (17-5, 6-0) slipped past Hubbard in the Public Red Central behind Gabriel Taylor’s 17 points and Mario Brandon’s 15. The game was tied 66-66 with 1:12 remaining before Taylor scored the next four points to put Curie up for good.
Othyus Jeffers had a game-high 28 points for Hubbard (12-6, 4-2), which led by 13 early in the second quarter but went into halftime trailing by one.
Bradley-Bourbonnais 70, Lockport 67 (OT): Kyle Arthur put in 26 points to lift Bradley (7-8).
Chicago Latin 62, Lake Forest Academy 49: Mike Rudoy’s 18 points paced the Romans (17-1, 7-0) in the Independent School League.
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Dunbar 55, DuSable 49: Terrence Foster had 17 points and 10 assists to lead the Mightymen (11-6, 4-2) in the Public Red East.
Eisenhower 61, Reavis 53: The Cardinals (13-3) won their fifth straight as Montez Lewis and Chris Hobson scored 21 points apiece. Ian Jones scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds for Reavis (11-4), which pulled within 48-47 with 5:08 left before Eisenhower sealed the win with an 8-0 run.
Leo 81, Gordon Tech 66: Al Downing scored 32 points to lead Leo (14-6, 6-2) in the Catholic League.
Mather 79, Schurz 47: Allen Lesynski scored 20 points to lead the Rangers (15-4, 4-2) in the Public Red North.
Mt. Carmel 70, Providence 66: Casanova Brown netted 26 points for the Caravan (6-12, 2-5) in the Catholic League.
St. Rita 55, St. Ignatius 51 (OT): Mike Rembert scored four of his game-high 24 points in overtime as St. Rita (12-6, 6-1) hung on in the Catholic League. Coley LeClair’s 13 points led the Wolfpack (11-6, 4-3) in the loss.
Thornridge 84, Rich East 57: The Falcons (12-6) opened the game on a 15-0 run and used Ron Coleman’s 19 points and five steals to run past Rich East (7-10) in a non-conference game.
Girls
Marshall 70, Mather 30: Shanise White scored 22 points and Tre-va Young added 16 points to lead the No. 5 Commandos (18-2, 10-1) in the Public Superconference.
Trinity 55, St. Ignatius 34: Caprice Smith led the way with 23 points for the No. 6 Blazers (18-4, 6-0) in the GCAC Red.
Hope 51, Lane Tech 33: No. 8 Hope (19-2, 11-0) cruised behind 19 points and 14 rebounds from Akila Harris in Public Superconference.
Regina 37, Loyola 29: The No. 9 Panthers (15-6, 6-0) were led by Christina Quaye’s nine points and Lauren Schrober’s nine rebounds. Loyola fell to 18-5, 4-2 in the GCAC Red.
Young 79, Kenwood 30: Erin Dickerson scored 19 points to lead No. 12 Young (15-5, 8-2) in the Public Superconference.
Warren 60, Mundelein 37: Amy Peters scored eight of her 19 points in a 12-3 game-opening run as the No. 16 Blue Devils (18-4, 5-1) rolled in the North Suburban Lake.
Sandburg 69, Lockport 28: Erika Nelson scored 12 points as the No. 19 Eagles (15-7, 6-0) cruised in the SICA West.
Hillcrest 55, Thornton Fractional South 44: The Hawks (16-3, 7-0) used a 26-point, eight-steal effort from Nadia Bibbs to prevail in the SICA Central. Sara Berschock led the way for the Rebels (12-7, 5-2) with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Hyde Park 48, Morgan Park 40: Jamella Simms scored 13 points for Hyde Park (15-7, 6-5) in the Public Superconference.
Rosary 54, Aurora Central 46: Jill Krivacek had 32 points for Rosary (14-7, 8-1) in the Suburban Catholic.
Westinghouse 81, Juarez 40: Shanelle Walker had 19 points, 20 rebounds and seven blocks to lead the Warriors (18-5, 12-0) in the Public Blue West.