Morgan Park’s Charlie Moore shrugged it off as quickly as he does opponents. The senior point guard provided the best review Thursday by saying “we just had a bad game.”
Evan Gilyard and Simeon outplayed the Memphis-bound Moore and the top-ranked Mustangs for a 60-57 Public League Red South victory in Morgan Park’s tiny, jam-packed gym.
The rubber match almost certainly will not include two postponements, two venue changes and a successful threat of boycott. It may not occur at all. But Moore, for one, hopes to see Simeon again in next month’s city tournament.
The parents of the Mustangs’ players successfully lobbied the school district to have the game held at Morgan Park instead of Little Village or Brooks by threatening to keep their sons from the game.
Moore, who led Morgan Park (16-2, 8-1) with 19 points but struggled with his shot, said the attention the situation received had nothing to do with the performance.
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“I kind of had a tough shooting night, so did the team,” said Moore, who has established himself as a leading contender for Mr. Basketball with an outstanding season. “We weren’t making shots and we didn’t get stops when we needed them.
“We were focused on basketball. No distractions. We weren’t concerned about the gym or where we were playing or anything. We just had a bad game. No excuses.”
Gilyard, meanwhile, was outstanding. The 5-foot-9 junior shot 8-for-13 and scored a game-high 24 points, including a coast-to-coast layup off a strip of Moore that gave Simeon (17-3, 9-1) a 54-51 lead with 80 seconds left.
“He had a pretty good game,” Moore said of Gilyard, who converted four 3-pointers. “It’s not going to happen next time.”
“It feels good, but me, I already know who the best point guard is,” Gilyard said. “I came out and showed it and I proved myself right.”
Jamal Burton got Morgan Park within 58-57 on a 3-point play with 34.2 seconds left. Burton and Moore both missed opportunities to give the Mustangs the lead.
“We beat ourselves,” Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin said. “A lot of guys were doing uncharacteristic things. We didn’t play defense and we let Evan get going too much.”
Gilyard and Gonzaga recruit Zack Norvell (18 points) handled the bulk of Simeon’s scoring, but the Wolverines also got a huge boost from an unlikely source.
Madison Lowery, who did not leave the bench in Simeon’s 70-65 loss to Morgan Park in December, scored all 10 of his career-high points in the second half, including four of the final six.
The 6-5 junior put Simeon ahead 56-53 with 53.5 seconds remaining. He added the finishing touch after Morgan Park came up empty in its two chances to take the lead.
“I’ve been prepared for this moment a long time,” Lowery said. “The first game, I wasn’t discouraged that I didn’t play at all. I just told myself when I get in the game this time to give 100 percent effort and do everything they tell me to do, and this game will go our way.”
Mike Helfgot is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.