Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Dec. 3, 2019

Lindblom was never able to really threaten Simeon tonight, but the Eagles have enough about them to give every team in the Red-South/Central a real fight.

Wolverines coach Robert Smith played 14 guys in the first quarter. He spoke about his depth in the preseason and it appears to be for real. One of the most interesting aspects of that was his mid-first quarter backcourt substitution with sophomore Ayvion Morris and freshman Jalen Griffith coming in for Ahamad Bynum and Jaylen Drane.

Both Morris and Griffith were making their varsity debuts.

“They will play together a lot because they feed off each other so well,” Smith said. “When [Morris] and Jalen Griffith get in the game we have a different dynamic. We pressure the ball a little bit more. It was [Griffith’s] first game at home so I knew he wasn’t going to play as well as he should have but I thought overall he wasn’t bad.”

Morris led the Wolverines with 13 points and five rebounds.

Tuesday’s top games

No. 1 Bloom 75, Kankakee 65: This one was tied at halftime. It was in Chicago Heights, so it looks like the Kays are for real. Deylon Johnson and Ambrozino Storr each scored 19 for Kankakee.

Hyde Park 80, Vocational 51: Junior Jalen Houston stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Lamont Williams added 15 for the Thunderbirds.

Neuqua Valley 61, Morton 53: The Wildcats pull out the road win with a 28-12 run to close the game.

Corliss 76, Kenwood 75: The Trojans will not sneak up on me this season. I’m going to see them on Thursday against Hyde Park. Nashawn Townsen led them tonight with 25 points and Jaquan Reed added 22.

No. 8 Bogan 71, No. 2 Morgan Park 68: The big result of the night. It’s tempting to say that the Bengals winning at home is never an upset, but this one is. It’s hard to say Morgan Park is a runaway favorite in Class 3A now. Darrion Jones scored 15 points and Antoine Bloxton had 13. Brandon Weston led the Mustangs with 24.

No. 12 Orr 75, Danville 64: What a fun game. I wish I knew it was happening, would have been a great excuse to check out the Danville gym. The Spartans open the season with a nice win and it looks like Demarius Splunge may be poised for a big season. The senior had 17 points, 15 rebounds and four steals.

No. 19 Fenwick 58, Providence 47: Bryce Hopkins and Trey Pettigrew each scored 22 as the Friars get past an always pesky Celtics team.

Andrew, Argo 56: The T-Bolts are now 3-2. Jolo Amoranto scored 33 points, 25 in the second half.

No. 25 Joliet West 60, Romeoville 49: The ranking did not jinx the Tigers.

Yorkville 55, West Aurora 43: That is not a score you see every season.

Naperville Central 63, Buffalo Grove 55: Joe Henricksen was at this one and impressed with Chris Conway, who had 22 points and eight rebounds. Cameron Dougherty scored 20.

Dunbar 64, Catalyst Maria 36: It isn’t every day that a sophomore posts a triple-double. Jerrell Edwards had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks. Fellow soph Isaiah Robinson added 11 points and five assists.

Tinley Park 75, Stagg 49: AJ Casey scored 15 and has the Titans off to a 3-1 start.