Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Dec. 20, 2018

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Payton’s Jabari Chiphe (35) goes up strong over Lincoln Park’s Julio Montes. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

Excellent first trip to Payton. There was a fun crowd full of students into the game, which was close all the way until the end.

It was quite a showcase for underclassmen. Lincoln Park’s Julio Montes and Ismail Habib have been excellent this season. The duo was instrumental in knocking off Young last week and played very well tonight.

Payton’s Jabari Chiphe was a complete load. He’s much stronger and more aggressive than when I saw him last year. The 6-4 junior can really play.

Read all about Lincoln Park’s win at Payton

It’s a slow weekend, but Joe Henricksen takes a look at three big games in his Weekend Forecast.

Thursday’s top games

Dunbar 84, Carver 28: The Mighty Men are still perfect. Gavin Alston had 26, Ishmael Martin 23 points and seven rebounds and Tyrese Scurlock 20 points and 11 boards. It will be very interesting to see how things go at Proviso West.

No. 13 Oswego East 67, Oswego 49: There was an excellent crowd on hand for the rivalry game. The Wolves took control in the fourth quarter. RayJ Dennis had 17 and Sam Schultz added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

No. 5 Young 61, Buckeye Union (AZ) 59: Tight win for the Dolphins. Word is that Tyler Beard was back to attacking the rim. He scored 17 and Myles Baker added 16 points. DJ Steward finished with 15 points.

Joliet Central 69, Joliet West 58: I enjoyed the game at Payton, but regret missing my schools play. The Steelmen pulled it out. Huge game from DeeJay Holmes with 22 points. Dakota Joachim scored 18. Central is 7-2 and should be a major threat in Bloomington.

No. 18 New Trier 62, La Joya (AZ) 46: The Trevians win in Arizona.

Schurz 73, Julian 33: Nakyel Shelton scored 25 points. This evens the Bulldogs up at 6-6.

Brooklyn South Shore 87, No. 6 Evanston 76: The Wildkits lose at King of the Bluegrass down in Kentucky. They led at halftime but couldn’t hold on. Ryan Bost scored 27.

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