Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Dec. 22, 2017

SHARE Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Dec. 22, 2017

Simeon was able to hang with the top-ranked team in the country, Memphis East, tonight at the City of Palms tournament in Fort Myers.

The Wolverines were down six with 1:54 left in the fourth and missed two free-throws, they missed ten in the game. Simeon lost 70-60.

Kenny Pittman led the way with 14 points and Messiah Jones scored 10 and had eight rebounds. Xavier Pinson added 11 points and Talen Horton-Tucker scored nine. Pittman shot 4-for-8 from three-point range.

Memphis East is a massively tall team, so Pittman’s three-pointers were likely key.

No Shot Clock is back a little early this week, Joe Henricksen and I preview all the holiday tournaments.

There was some news today. Craig Hodges resigned at Rich East after just ten games.

Friday’s top games

Lincoln Park 96, No. 2 Young 91, 2 OT: The Red-North knew for years that going into Lincoln Park’s tiny little loud gym was a nightmare. Tonight Young learned it as well. This might be the first real impact we’ve seen from the new super conference. It isn’t just the gym of course, the Lions are talented. They have been for a few seasons now. Junior guard Chris Roberts had 43 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

No. 17 Marian Catholic 77, Waukegan 73 OT: The Spartans go into the Dog Pound and win this one. Very impressive. Malik Tidwell scored 30 and Chris White added 23. Bryant Brown scored 32 for the Bulldogs.

No. 5 Morgan Park 107, Wilson (Washington, DC) 80: Ayo Dosunmu set a Tarkanian Classic record with 60 points. He drained nine three-pointers.

No. 12 DePaul Prep 48, St. Ignatius 36: Perry Cowan led all scorers with 18 points including eight in the fourth quarter.

St. Charles East 52, No. 13 West Aurora 51: The Saints were ranked in the preseason and frankly, I have been a bit worried about them. They didn’t play well when I saw them at Larkin. This is a really nice win, a boost heading into Hinsdale Central. Justin Hardy scored 26 points. One thing though, Camron Donatlan did not play for the Blackhawks. He wasn’t in uniform.

St. Charles North 56, Batavia 46: The North Stars will head to Pontiac on a high. They are clearly as dangerous as any team in the Super 25. Kyle King scored 27 and Cade Callaghan added 13 points.

Lincoln-Way East 55, Lincoln-Way Central 50: Big rivalry win for the Griffins. Zach Parduhn led the way with 13 points, Sam Shafer added 12.

Loyola 58, Brother Rice 42: Kevin Cunningham scored 27, was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. He doesn’t get any hype, but Cunningham is a really fantastic high school basketball player. Brendan Coghlan led Brother Rice with 13.

Proviso West 72, Downers Grove North 58: This is tonight’s eye-opener (ok, other than Lincoln Park beating Young). No one is paying any attention to the Panthers, possibly because they have only played four games. Proviso West AD Calvin Davis told me he thinks Ronnie Allgood could break out at the holiday tournament next week. He scored 29 and grabbed 10 rebounds tonight. Larry Lynch added 18.

St. Laurence 80, St. Rita 73: A nice rebound from the Marist loss for St. Laurence.

St. Joseph 58, De La Salle 56: The Meteors missed a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Latest
Despite getting into foul trouble, which limited him to just six minutes in the second half, Shannon finished with 29 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Cowboy hats, bell-bottoms and boots were on full display Thursday night as fans lined up for the first of his three sold-out shows.
The incident occurred about 3:40 p.m. near Minooka. The horse was successfully placed back into the trailer, and the highway reopened about 40 minutes later. No injuries were reported.
The Hawks conceded the game’s only two goals within the first seven minutes and were shut out for the 12th time this season in a 2-0 defeat Thursday.