The numbers won’t jump out at you: Sangolay Njie had six points and eight rebounds and Grant Newell had eight points and six rebounds.
But those two bigs played with focus and toughness tonight and made the difference in Young’s win against Lincoln Park. The Dolphins are totally loaded in the backcourt. Everyone knows about DJ Steward and Tyler Beard.
“You have Tyler who is on constant attack and DJ who can score in a multitude of ways,” Young coach Tyrone Slaughters said. “That’s a really tough combination no matter how you slice it. And they both are going to go and guard. That’s a prescription for victory.”
Junior Jaeshon Thomas has been quietly effective so far for Young and will likely improve throughout the year. He hasn’t shown much trouble adjusting to the Public League.
Elliott Sieger is experienced and freshman Dalen Davis is a terrific talent. If Njie and Newell continue to put in solid efforts in the post there is no limit to what Young can accomplish this season.
Sectional assignments were released tonight and there are some major changes. Quick first impressions:
-Simeon is not in the Class 4A south suburban sectional. Wolverines are with Young and Curie at Lyons.
-Benet went south in Class 3A. There could be a Benet-Bogan sectional final with the winner facing Morgan Park in the supersectional.
Friday’s top games
No. 24 Loyola 34, No. 11 Notre Dame 31: No Anthony Sayles for the Dons, no Vaughn Pemberton for the Ramblers. Mike Clark has a full report here.
No. 17 Bolingbrook 72, Waterloo West, Iowa 70: A nice win over the No. 3 team in Iowa. Kai Evans led with 26 points and Darius Burford scored 19.
Clemente 63, Collins 57: The Wildcats get back to .500 behind 25 points from Terrell Tyalor and 20 from Trey Spires.
North Lawndale 89, Payton 73: The Phoenix have a seriously solid backcourt. Daequan Davis had 26 and Jamar Wilkins 23 points and 10 assists. Junior Larry Johnson added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jabari Chiphe scored 34 for the Grizzlies, which are still winless in the Red-North/West.
Farragut 61, Lane 50: Finally a win for the Admirals. Malik Williams scored 20.
No. 12 Orr 77, Westinghouse 54: Dominant win behind 18 points and eight rebounds from Shaun Harris. Will Thomas Jr. added 25 and Demarius Splunge had 10 points and 10 boards.
Yorkville Christian 97, Universal 34: Jaden Schutt made an IHSA record 17 three-pointers and scored 51 points. The record was held by Sycamore’s Andy Thomas, who made 16 threes against Geneva in 1993.
Tinley Park 82, Argo 64: AJ Casey pours in 25 points to lead the Titans.
St. Ignatius 46, Leo 43: Luke Collins scored 17. A nice 6-2 start for the Wolfpack.
Oak Lawn 70, TF South 44: Trey Ward is putting up some scoring numbers this season. He had 24, Sami Osmani added 23 as the Spartans cruised.
Waubonsie Valley 60, Neuqua Valley 44: Ben Schwieger scored 17, Marcus Skeete has been excellent all season and the Warriors are 7-0.
No. 4 Evanston 50, New Trier 40: The Wildkits win the rivalry game at home. The game against Orr on Sunday is going to be dynamite.
Oak Forest 60, Richards 56: Jayson Kent scored 23 and Robbie Avila added 17 points. The Bengals are 7-1 and living up to expectations so far.
Rolling Meadows 79, Wheeling 51: Freshman Cameron Christie led the Mustangs with 15 points.
Highland Park 50, Deerfield 49 OT: A lot was expected of the Warriors this season and they are off to a 3-3 start.
