As his teammates clanked one fourth-quarter free throw after another, Tremel Gilot saved No. 3 Crane from a late collapse by scoring his team’s final eight points to edge No. 13 Farragut 54-52 Wednesday at Crane.
Gilot’s game-high 19 points and late-game heroics likely landed Crane (17-1, 8-1) a share of the Public Red West title with Farragut (13-5, 9-1), which previously had beaten the Cougars. Crane completes its conference schedule Saturday at Collins. Farragut’s league season is over.
“Thank God Tremel Gilot came to play ball in the fourth quarter,” said Crane coach Anthony Longstreet, who watched his team miss 9-of-12 fourth-quarter free throws, including four in the final 20.5 seconds.
Farragut took a rare lead with 1 minute 42 seconds to play when freshman Christopher Singletary stole an errant pass and went in for a layup to make it 48-46. But Gilot came right back and buried a three-pointer. Following a Farragut turnover, Gilot hit another three-pointer for a 52-48 lead.
Singletary, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, cut the lead to two, but when Crane’s Carl Marshall missed the front end of a one-and-one, Gilot grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled.
Gilot, who had nine points in the fourth quarter, made both free throws to seal the game. Florentino Valencia scored all 10 of his points in the second half, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked five shots. Lorenzo Thompson added 10 points, all in the first half.
Farragut’s Emmanuel Little, whose three-quarter court shot at the buzzer hit the rim, finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Sean Duncan.
Simeon 79, Fenger 42: The No. 11 Wolverines (13-5, 7-2) breezed past Fenger (7-17, 2-7) in the Public Red South behind Anthony Newell’s 16 points off the bench.
Round Lake 54, Johnsburg 53: Jim Nicoline had 24 points as the Panthers (10-8) handed Johnsburg its first loss of the season. John Smith had 17 points for the Skyhawks (17-1).
Public League tournament: George Stanton, the Public League’s boys basketball coordinator, said league officials will restructure the city tournament after meeting with a coaches committee Friday.
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The tournament can include only 32 teams, instead of the 64 or more it had included in the past, because it is a regular-season event and cannot exceed five rounds in accordance with an Illinois High School Association bylaw. In past years the tourney was held in the postseason without limits on rounds.
The tournament is tentatively scheduled to begin Feb. 6.
Girls basketball
Fenwick 62, Carmel 28: Erin Lawless netted 23 points for the No. 2 Friars (24-2, 7-0) in the East Suburban Catholic.
Public League playoffs: No. 5 Marshall (20-2) routed Northside Prep 72-18 behind Jacquay Holmes’ 15 points. . . . Sarah McCoy’s 11 points and 11 rebounds led No. 7 Hope (21-2) past Westinghouse 65-44. . . . Elizabeth Smith’s three-point play with 12 seconds left lifted Lane Tech (14-12) over Curie 49-48.
Fenton tournament: No. 8 Oak Park (21-2) beat Hoffman Estates 64-44 as Dani Engleman scored 18 points.
New Trier 56, St. Ignatius 40: Deirdre Naughton scored 14 points to pace the No. 10 Trevians (20-4).
Sectional seeding: Glenbrook South was unanimously voted the No. 1 seed in the highly competitive Highland Park sectional, which includes four Tribune top-20 teams. The No. 9 Titans are followed by No. 10 New Trier, No. 14 Niles North, Maine West, No. 19 Regina, Evanston, Loyola and Resurrection.