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Boys Hoops: ND Wins Thriller; RM, GBS Remains Perfect


Glenbrook South’s Justin Leszynski leads a fast break Saturday against New Trier. The host Titans won, 60-53. (Shawn Clisham/Journal photo)

Here’s a look at the boys basketball action in the Journal-area over the last week:

Sunday, Feb. 21

 

St. Viator 65, Marian Catholic 62: St. Viator trailed 35-29 at half, but refused to give up and came away with a narrow 65-62 win over Marian Catholic to improve to 2-1 this season. St. Viator (1-1 ESCC) was led by sophomore Eli Aldana (25 points). “Eli Aldana was absolutely outstanding,” St. Viator coach Michael O’Keeffe said. “He handled the ball, finished at the rim, knocked down open shots and controlled the pace of the game. It makes our job a lot easier as coaches to have a high character kid who works his tail off running the show. I could not be any more proud of our entire team. We received positive contributions from everyone on our roster and we are looking forward to competing at a high level the next three weeks.”

 

Saturday, Feb. 20

 

Niles Notre Dame 71, Fenwick 68 (OT): You’ve probably seen it on SportsCenter as the No. 6 play Sunday morning during the Top 10 Plays list. If you have a Twitter account you probably saw it already. Notre Dame star Louis Lesmond (35 points) hit a near three-quarters-court shot as time expired to win the overtime game in thrilling fashion. Anthony Sayles (20 pts.) and Troy D’Amico (9 pts.) also had great performances to help the Dons pull off the win. Fenwick was led by Bryce Hopkins, one of the top players in the state, with 22 points.

St. Viator 57, Lake Forest Academy 49: Michael O’Keeffe picked up his first win as St. Viator head coach as the Lions improved to 1-1 this season. St. Viator led 22-9 after one quarter and 37-19 at half. Eli Aldana (18 points, 6 assists, 3 steals), Connor Benson (16 pts., 10 rebounds) and Aidan Harrington (16 pts., 17 rebounds, 3 steals) led the Lions. LFA outscored St. Viator 30-20 in the second half.

Glenbrook South 60, New Trier 53: Glenbrook South improved to 9-0 this season as Nick Martinelli finished with a career-high 34 points over rival New Trier. Matt Rosenberger also contributed with 9 points for the Titans. 

Maine South 55, Niles West 30: Maine South (7-3, 2-2) was able to pull away after a slow start to beat Niles West on back-to-back nights. The Hawks were led by Nikola Zelenovic (18 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists), Sean Gallery (12 pts., 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) and Marko Anderson (12 pts. 11 rebounds, 2 assists). South led 14-11 after one quarter, but held the Wolves to 3 points in the second quarter as the Hawks flew to a 28-14 halftime lead. Maine South was up 41-22 entering the fourth and coasted the rest of the way to a 25-point win. Niles West was led by Hazma Khan (10 points) and Moses LeBlanc (9 pts.).

Loyola Academy 41, Providence 22: Loyola (5-3, 2-1 CCL) was able to hit the road and knock off Providence to regain their footing following a few losses. Jalen Axibal (9 points, 4 assists) and Vaughn Pemberton (8 pts., 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals) led the Ramblers with Scotty Dean (8 pts.), Max Garcia (6 pts.) and Ben Moser (6 pts.). 

Stevenson 48, Zion-Benton 43: Stevenson (5-2, 2-2) is heading back in the right direction after knocking off Zion-Benton with a balanced attack from Darius Clemons (14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks), Evan Ambrose (14 pts.) and Jaden Evans (13 pts.). Leading Zion-Benton (2-2, 2-2) were Amar Aguillard (14 pts., 5 rebounds), Joseph Worthington-White (12 pts.) and La’zarius Geater (9 pts., 6 rebounds). Stevenson plays its only real home game at Stevenson Tuesday, Feb. 23 against Waukegan with play scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. for senior night. The Patriots then play a home game at Woodlawn vs. Dundee-Crown at 7:30 Wednesday, Feb. 24 and travel to Lake Zurich Friday, Feb. 26 to close the week.

Hersey 45, Schaumburg 30: A day after falling to Rolling Meadows despite a 13-point lead in the third quarter, Hersey made sure Schaumburg never had a chance in an MSL crossover battle. Hersey (5-2) was led by Griffin Ginder (15 points, 6 rebounds), Ben Randall (12 pts., 7 rebounds, 2 steals) and Drew Zagorski (7 pts., 4 rebounds). Huskies star Ethan Roberts had an off night shooting, scoring only 5 points, but he still contributed with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Northridge 54, Walther Christian 41: Andrew Brockmeier (21 points) and Franco Chapello (12 pts.) led the way for Northridge (2-2) in their first win since losing assistant coach Scott Bogumil.

Fremd 43, Propsect 42: Fremd (5-1, 4-1) won a thriller over Prospect with a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left off the hands of sophomore Ryan Sammons. He received a dish from Chris Smyros (10 pts.) before nailing the clutch shot. Eli Schoffstall (12 points) and Jack Walsh (10 pts.) were also big for the Vikings. Prospect was led by Chase Larsen with a game-high 21 points.

Rolling Meadows 72, Barrington 51: Rolling Meadows improved to 7-0 with a statement win over a strong Barrington team. Max Christie (21 points, 10 rebounds) led the Mustangs and got a little closer to 2,000 career points. Christie has 1,946 points following the win, making him one of the top 200 scorers in state history. Orlando Thomas (18 pts.), Cameron Christie (14 pts.) and Daniel Sobkowicz (8 pts., 10 rebounds, 6 steals) led Rolling Meadows.

Buffalo Grove 65, Palatine 43: Buffalo Grove’s Kam Craft (29 points, 10 rebounds) continues to shine as he closes in on 1,500 career points. He has over 1,430 career points after the game. Steph Harris (14 pts., 2 steals) and Will Genthner (8 pts., 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists) also contributed for Buffalo Grove (4-3). The teams were tied 30-30 at half, but Buffalo Grove outscored Palatine 14-8 in the third and 21-5 in the fourth to win by 22 points. Palatine was led by Tyler Swierczek (15 pts.) and Brandon Storm (12 pts.). The Pirates were still without star Julian Campbell.

Conant 75, Elk Grove 51: Conant held a narrow 11-7 lead after one quarter and blew the game away with a 27-14 second quarter run. The Cougars outscored Elk Grove 37-30 in the second half to prevent any comeback hopes. Devon Ellis (16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals), Isaac Hanley (12 pts., 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists) and Sean Beckman (10 pts., 4 rebounds, 4 assists) led the Cougars. Elk Grove was led by Josh Mottley (22 pts.).

Wheeling 73, Hoffman Estates 63: Wheeling gave new coach Tom Antosz his first career victory as the program’s head coach in a MSL crossover game with Hoffman Estates. 

Other scores:

Maine West 52, Maine East 39

 

Friday, Feb. 19

 

Niles Notre Dame 64, Marist 56: The Notre Dame three-headed monster struck again for the Dons as Louis Lesmond (19 points, 3 assists, 2 blocks), Anthony Sayles (16 pts., 4 assists, 4 steals) and Troy D’Amico (13 pts., 10 rebounds, 3 blocks) led No. 1 Notre Dame to victory.

Prospect 56, Wheeling 40: Prospect was glad to return to the court and knocked off Wheeling in its return home to Jean Walker Field House for the first time in over 345 days. Prospect’s last game was on the road in a win over Elk Grove Feb. 6. Leading the Knights were Chase Larsen (17 points), Owen Schneider (16 pts.), Alex Moeller (9 pts.) and Marco Shaw (8 pts.). Wheeling was led by the pair of Solomon Hudson (19 pts.) and Jaden Terrell (11 pts., 5 rebounds). 

Barrington 52, Fremd 42: Fremd (4-1) dropped its first game of the season despite the effort of Eli Schoffstall (21 points) and Chris Smyros (9 pts.). Barrington (5-0) was led by Damian Zivak (17 pts.), Will Grudzinski (14 pts.) and former Conant player Daniel Hong (9 pts.).

Lyons 70, Leyden 27: It wasn’t pretty for Leyden, falling behind 17-4 after one quarter and 38-12 at half, on its way to the Eagles first loss of the year. Leyden (2-1) showed some life in the third, scoring 12 points in the quarter, but they allowed 20 to fall behind 58-24 entering the fourth. Leyden was outscored 12-3 over the last eight minutes to end a rough night. Lyons was led by Christian Desimone (16 points). Leyden had seven players score, led by Jonathan Chavez (6 pts.). Leyden had 29 turnovers in the loss.

Chicago Christian 46, Northridge 34: Northridge led at half, but narrowly trailed 31-30 heading into the fourth, but stumbled late to hand Chicago Christian the win. James Spingola (11 points) and Andrew Brockmeier (6 pts.) led the Knights.

Montini 55, Loyola Academy 53: Loyola Academy (4-3, 1-1 CCL) battled hard but fell short against a strong Montini squad. Loyola was led by Scotty Dean (19 points), Vaughn Pemberton (17 pts., 9 rebounds, 4 assists), Jalen Axibal (7 pts., 2 steals, 3 charges) and Max Garcia (4 rebounds, 4 assists). Axibal has 9 charges over his last three games. 

Buffalo Grove 80, Elk Grove 33: Buffalo Grove was led by Kam Craft (20 points, 5 steals), Will Genthner (13 pts., 2 steals), Adidas Davis (11 pts.), Pasquale Dellaquilla (9 pts.) and Ayden Anderson (9 pts.). A dozen different Bison players scored in the win. Buffalo Grove scored 35 points off of turnovers. Elk Grove turned the ball over 24 times. Elk Grove was led by Josh Mottley (15 pts., 2 steals) and Jaden Alberson (7 pts.). The Grenadiers hit six 3-pointers with Mottley (3), Joey Martorano (1), Roland Fouche (1) and Alberson (1). Buffalo Grove made 28-of-42 2-point field goals and 7-of-19 from beyond the arc, while Elk Grove only made 11-of-35 shots. The Bison led 29-10 after one quarter and 48-16 at half. Buffalo Grove then outscored Elk Grove 23-7 in the third for the final nail.

Schaumburg 47, Palatine 39: Luke Seiffert scored 14 points to lead Palatine, but the Pirates were unable to pull off a win.

Maine South 65, Niles West 44: Maine South (6-3) had a memorable scoring night with Marko Anderson (24 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists) and Sean Gallery (22 pts., 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals) combining for 46 points to knock off CSL South rival Niles West. Nikola Zelenovic (7 pts., 4 rebounds, 2 assists) also contributed for the Hawks. Niles West was led by Moses LeBlanc (15 points), Hamza Khan (11 pts.) and Aidan Flowers (8 pts.).

Hoffman Estates 65, Conant 62: Hoffman Estates narrowly edged Conant in a tough neighborhood rivalry game. Conant (1-4) had two players combine for 46 points, but the Cougars fell just short in the fourth quarter. Devon Ellis (26 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals) and Isaac Hanley (20 pts.) led the Cougars charge. Nahum Smith-Hernandez (14 pts.) and Darien Irvin (12 pts.) led the Hawks. Hoffman Estates led 25-16 after one quarter, but Conant managed to tie the game after three quarters. The Hawks outscored Conant 14-11 in the fourth to persevere.

Schaumburg Christian 66, Christian Liberty Academy 41: Christian Liberty hung close to start, trailing 18-15 after one and 34-27 at half, before falling apart in the fourth quarter. Schaumburg Christian outscored CLA 20-3 in the final quarter. Christian Liberty was led by Mark Petrovici (13 points), Rob Litzenberger (12 pts.), Mark Merrill (9 pts.) and JD Elleson (7 pts.).

 

Thursday, Feb. 18

 

Christian Liberty Academy 61, South Beloit 53: Christian Liberty used a monster third quarter to turn a 26-16 halftime deficit into a 42-37 lead entering the fourth. CLA outscored them 26-11 to flip the script. JD Elleson (17 points), Mark Merrill (13 pts.), Tanner Aiello (11 pts.) and Mark Petrovici (8 pts.) led the Chargers in the win.  

 

Wednesday, Feb. 17

 

Nazareth 49, Northridge 43: Andrew Brockmeier (18 points) and James Spingola (13 pts.) led Northridge in their first game in 12 days, but they fell just a little short to move to 1-1 overall this year.

Stevenson 52, Warren 35: Stevenson (4-2, 1-2) didn’t have a single player score in double digits, but with six players scoring between 7-9 points it was more than enough to defeat Warren. Andrew Chieng (9 points, 3 assists), Evan Porto (8 pts.), Evan Ambrose (8 pts., 3 assists, 2 steals), Jason Williams (7 pts.), Darius Clemons (7 pts., 6 rebounds) and Jaden Evans (7 pts., 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) led the very balanced Patriot attack. Warren (1-2, 1-2) was led by Stacey Cooper (11 pts., 8 rebounds) and Andrew Dolan (8 pts.).

Buffalo Grove 68, Hampshire 38: A monster 18-point third quarter by Kam Craft (27 points) helped Buffalo Grove blow out nonconference foe Hampshire. The Bison had a dozen different players score in the win. Kyle Brosnahan (14 pts.) was the only other scorer in double digits for Buffalo Grove. The Bison led 24-14 at half and pulled away after outscoring Hampshire 29-19 in the third and 17-5 in the fourth.

Leyden 56, Proviso West 55: Leyden (2-0) won at the buzzer with a bucket in the paint by Jonathan Chavez (10 points). The Eagles also received help from Adrian Kaczmarek (13 pts.), Matthew Espinoza (10 pts.), Andrew Mann (9 pts.), Christian Lopez (5 pts.), Jiovanny Garcia (5 pts.) and Isaiah Gibson (4 pts.) in the exciting win. Proviso West was led by Jacob Rallings (19 pts.), Joshua Simmons (17 pts.) and Calvin Lucas (15 pts.). Leyden trailed 16-6 after one quarter but outscored Proviso West 37-23 in the middle quarters to turn things around.

 

Tuesday, Feb. 16

 

Niles Notre Dame 52, St. Patrick 45: Anthony Sayles (17 points), Louis Lesmond (14 pts.) and Troy D’Amico (11 pts.) led Niles Notre Dame over rival St. Patrick in a close ESCC matchup. Notre Dame was 19-of-20 from the FT line and 12-of-12 in the second half.

Fremd 45, Schaumburg 33: Fremd (4-0) remained perfect this season with a balanced offensive display from Eli Schoffstall (15 points), Chris Smyros (11 pts.), Jack Walsh (10 pts.) and Ryan Saxe (10 pts.). Saxe added a charge and has taken 8 charges in 4 games.

Palatine 59, Hoffman Estates 40: Palatine (2-2) easily rolled past Hoffman Estates (0-4) with help from Tyler Swierczek (21 points) and Grant Dersnah (8 pts.). The Pirates had 11 players score in the win. Palatine led 19-10 after one quarter and 36-18 at half. Palatine extended the lead to 49-28 after three quarters.  

Glenbrook South 62, Highland Park 29: Glenbrook South won only 9 games in Phil Ralston’s first year as head coach in 2017-18. Now in his fourth season, his squad is off to an 8-0 start despite losing the program’s greatest player ever (Dom Martinelli) to graduation last year. The Titans were led by Nick Martinelli (21 points), Cooper Noard (15 pts.) and Brandon Ballarini (9 points coming off the bench). Martinelli and Noard have proven to be a formidable 1-2 punch that has Glenbrook South being ranked No. 7 in Illinois in Class 4A.

Hersey 70, Buffalo Grove 66: After dropping the season opener, Hersey has turned things around and won the last four games. Hersey (4-1, 2-0 MSL East) was led by Ethan Roberts (34 points, 7 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 3 assists), Ben Randall (20 pts., 10 rebounds) and Andrew Wagner (8 pts., 10 assists, 3 steals). The trio proved to be too much to contain for Buffalo Grove (1-3), which dropped another close game. Buffalo Grove was led by Kam Craft (25 points) and Steph Harris (13 pts.).

Maine South 67, Maine West 44: Maine South (5-3) is picking up steam as Marko Anderson (24 points, 4 rebounds), Sean Gallery (18 pts., 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals) and Nikola Zelenovic (11 pts., 3 assists) begin to hit their groove. District 207 rival Maine West had no answer for the Hawks. Maine South led 13-11 after one quarter, but put the Warriors away in the second quarter. The Hawks went on a 17-0 run to end the second quarter and entered half up 34-19. South pulled ahead 57-35 after three quarters.

Niles West 73, Vernon Hills 67 (2 OT): Moses LeBlanc (25 points), Lucas Vidrean (17 pts.), Hamza Khan (16 pts.) and Aidan Flowers (13 pts.) led the Wolves in a thrilling double overtime win over Vernon Hills. Vernon Hills was led by Erik Rimas (20 pts.), Milan Raval (19 pts.) and Max Brusso (14 pts.) in the crossover game.

Rolling Meadows 62, Wheeling 34: Rolling Meadows remained undefeated with help from Max Christie (17 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals), Cameron Christie (16 pts.), Foster Ogbonna (10 pts., 7 rebounds), Aidan Hosler (5 assists) and Daniel Sobkowicz (7 rebounds, 2 charges).

Glenbrook South junior Nick Martinelli slams one home during Saturday’s CSL South conference win over New Trier. (Shawn Clisham/Journal photo)

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