Charlie Moore said he hasn’t second-guessed his decision to drive rather than go for the game-winning 3-pointer at the end of No. 1 Morgan Park’s two-point loss to No. 3 Simeon on Friday night.
Moore said he was perfectly happy to play for overtime. Then, less than 24 hours later, he showed why.
A night after the Mustangs’ crushing loss in the Public League semifinals, Moore forced overtime against No. 11 Riverside-Brookfield with a long, contested 3-pointer. He then scored 12 of his 31 points in the extra period to lift Morgan Park to a 88-79 win in the City-Suburban Showdown at Lyons.
The Memphis recruit also scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and totaled seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.
“It was a little tough (to bounce back emotionally), but I was anxious to play again because of that loss we took yesterday,” Moore said. “I’m happy we bounced back strong and came up with the win today.”
Morgan Park (22-3) had leads of 18-1 and 32-12 before Riverside-Brookfield (20-5) got going behind junior guard Jalen Clanton (32 points).
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The Bulldogs clawed within nine at the half, and that was still the deficit before Henry Trelenberg made a pair of 3s during an 11-0 run that gave R-B its first lead, 56-54.
A three-point play by Clanton gave his team a 67-63 lead with two minutes left in regulation, and Clinton made a pair of free throws to make it 71-68 with 13.3 seconds left.
Then Moore forced OT and scored Morgan Park’s first seven points of the extra period and 15 in a row overall as the Mustangs pulled away.
“I put the team on my back to get the win,” Moore said. “We had a tough stretch, a tough second and third quarter. I just tried to pick up the tempo and be aggressive.”
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
Player of the game: Charlie Moore, Morgan Park, 31 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals.
Key performers: Riverside-Brookfield — Jalen Clanton, 32 points, 10-16 FGs, 11-13 FTs; Mark Smith, 14 points, 7-8 FGs, 4 blocks; Morgan Park — Ayo Dosunmu, 10 points, 11 rebounds; Malik Binns, 11 points, 6 rebounds.