Trey Pettigrew dominates as Kenwood cruises past Hyde Park

Hyde Park vs. Kenwood is one of the city’s premier rivalries. This year’s game promised to be special, with both schools having their best basketball teams in recent memory.

Broncos senior Trey Pettigrew didn’t let that happen. The Nevada recruit dominated the third quarter, scoring 17 of his 32 points to break the game open.

“We were just really motivated,” Pettigrew said. “We want to get back on track.”

No. 3 Kenwood cruised to an 81-66 win against No. 9 Hyde Park.

“When you have a great player like that, he can break out at any moment,” Kenwood coach Mike Irvin said. “Trey Pettigrew came to boogie. He’s probably one of the best players in the country when he comes to boogie.”

Kenwood was without star junior guard Darrin “Dai Dai” Ames. Irvin said Ames likely will sit out a week or two. He’s still nursing the knee injury he suffered in December.

Pettigrew put up impressive numbers at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament, as well. Ames sat out those games with the injury. Irvin’s challenge this season is finding how to get top-level performances from Ames and Pettigrew at the same time.

“We had that at the start of the season,” Irvin said. “Then when Ames came back, he was just about 70%. He was just a shade of himself. This time when he comes back, he will be 100%, and you are going to see all kinds of showtime.”

Pettigrew started high school at Fenwick and played at a prep school in Arizona last year. So it’s understandable that it could take some time for two very talented players to figure out the best way to blend.

“It’s a really strong backcourt, so sometimes it can be tough to manage it and balance it out,” Pettigrew said. “We work tirelessly just to make it the best fit possible. We can both score and pass and dribble. So it looks good when it is going our way.”

Nine players scored for Kenwood (16-5, 6-1 Red-South/Central) in the first half. The Broncos might be the deepest team in the area. Senior Rashard Anderson’s tip-dunk early in the fourth quarter was astounding.

“I saw it going in the air and thought it might be too high for me,” Anderson said. “But I had to get it.”

Anderson had eight points and seven rebounds off the bench. Darius Robinson added eight points, and freshman Bryce Heard scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.

“[Anderson] has dunked on me before, so I know what he is capable of,” Pettigrew said.

Junior Davis Loury might be the Kenwood player with the brightest future. He’s 6-7 with natural basketball instincts and smooth athleticism. Loury finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. He missed just one shot.

“We have so much depth,” Irvin said. “I have to figure it out and understand that we can go big or small. It’s a versatile group.”

Hyde Park (13-6, 3-3) knocked off Hillcrest to win the Big Dipper Tournament and beat Homewood-Flossmoor and Bloom earlier this season. The Thunderbirds took a narrow loss to Curie at home on Tuesday but have been blown out by Simeon and Kenwood.

“We just went through our toughest stretch,” Hyde Park coach Jamere Dismukes said. “I would have loved to get one of those three wins, but I’m proud of our guys. This is really our first year together. Last year was so limited with no fans and everything.”

Junior Damarion Morris led the Thunderbirds with 17 points, and senior Malik Jenkins added 15. Hyde Park was outrebounded 40-26.

“We still have a lot of games left, and we aren’t content,” Dismukes said. “There’s a lot of season left to go.”