The Public League final four almost didn’t happen tonight. All four teams were prepared to boycott the games. The schools are in a dispute with Chicago Public Schools over tickets and revenue according to multiple sources.
The sides reached a tentative agreement Friday evening and the games went ahead as scheduled. As of now there are no plans for Morgan Park or Simeon to sit out Sunday’s title game.
“We will both be here Sunday,” Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin said.
In 2014 a Sun-Times investigation revealed that the CPS was unable to account for ticket revenue from the 2014 city championship game, which featured Young’s Jahlil Okafor and Curie’s Cliff Alexander. So it isn’t completely out of line for the coaches (and principals) to be taking a hard line about revenue from the event.
Friday’s top games
Lincoln-Way East 65, Bolingbrook 64: The undefeated, top-ranked team goes down. The Raiders were without big man Malik Binns. According to reporter Randy Whalen he didn’t play because he was “banged up.” Guessing that means it isn’t anything serious. Sam Shafer led the Griffins with 30 points and Dorian Aluyi added 13, he has more than 1,00 in his career. I haven’t been around to see Lincoln-Way East this season, but they’ve been a good team all year. Griffins are 18-12 now.
St. Charles North 62, Geneva 60: Another undefeated team falls. The Vikings make the long trip to Quincy tomorrow.
Prospect 77, Hersey 53: Prospect wins the MSL East title. Frankie Mack had 28 points and Matt Szuba added 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. The Knights will play Fremd on Wednesday in the MSL crossover title game.
Fenwick 66, St. Joseph 58 OT: The Friars win the Catholic League Tournament. Jamal Nixon and DJ Steward each scored 19, Jacob Keller had 14.
Dwight 75, Watseka 71: FOX WATCH. Our favorite under appreciated senior Justin Fox scored 36.
Stagg 48, Lockport 32: Nice road win for the Chargers. John Contant scored 19.
Waukegan 61, Stevenson 58: Perhaps the talented Bulldogs are peaking at the right time. Carson Newsome had a big game with 27 points and eight boards. Sophomore Bryant Brown added 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.
Jacobs 61, Prairie Ridge 54: Cam Krutwig leads the way again.
