Brother Rice beats Rolling Meadows, stakes its claim to join the area’s elite

Rolling Meadows’ starting five is as good as any in the state. And the Mustangs have something no one else does: Cam Christie.

The Minnesota recruit was spectacular Saturday in Lisle, scoring 31 points. He might be the state’s most difficult player to shut down. Brother Rice’s Peter McShane actually did an admirable job against Christie, but there isn’t much you can do against a tremendous shooter who’s 6-6 and athletic.

“Christie is amazing,” Brother Rice senior Ahmad Henderson said. “He makes so many tough shots. I think we did a great job on him, but he can score in so many different ways.”

But it wasn’t enough for No. 6 Rolling Meadows. No. 7 Brother Rice took control in the last two minutes to grab a 64-59 When Sides Collide Shootout victory at Benet.

The Crusaders were able to rest most of their top players for a stretch of the second quarter and received major contributions from eight players. Rolling Meadows’ Achilles’ heel is depth. The Mustangs played seven guys and didn’t make a substitution in the second half.

“It’s on the six guys that play,” Christie said. “We have to do a better job of staying in shape. There’s just no excuse. It’s only 32 minutes. You have to be able to play hard all 32 minutes.”

Henderson led Brother Rice (20-3) with 20 points. He scored 10 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to help provide the Crusaders with the game-winning cushion.

Zavier Fitch added 12 points and six rebounds for Brother Rice, Cale Cosme scored 10 and Nick Niego came off the bench to make four three-pointers.

Rolling Meadows (20-3) led by a point at the half and 48-47 after three quarters. Brother Rice opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run that included three-pointers from Niego and Henderson.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

The Crusaders went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the last 19 seconds to seal the win.

Brother Rice has been highly ranked all season, but there seems to be a feeling that it isn’t one of the area’s elite teams. And the Crusaders were upset by Loyola on Friday. This victory against Christie and Rolling Meadows at one of the season’s major events might change some opinions.

“This is a big win against a team that is ranked over us,” Henderson said. “But we are focused on playing our best ball later in the season.”

Mark Nikolich-Wilson, a 6-8 senior, had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Rolling Meadows, and 6-7 senior Tsvet Sotirov added 10 points.

“We missed some shots today that we typically make,” Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich said. “We just have to get back and focus on some fundamental things we didn’t do well. But this game is going to help us in the long run.”