Hillcrest could have made any excuse if they had lost Tuesday night’s non-conference battle against No. 2 Lincoln-Way. The game was a snow-day makeup, and a wrestling conflict pushed a key SICA North battle against Thornton Fractional North to Wednesday.
The No. 14 Hawks (13-3) got 19 points and five rebounds from Armon Gates and 14 points from Chris Dryer and frustrated the Knights defensively in the second half in posting a 63-56 win in Country Club Hills.
“In the locker room at the half, we got our nine together and said we need to show everybody what we’re all about,” said Gates, a Lincoln Park transfer. “It all came down to just defense. Man-to-man. And using our quickness.”
Lincoln-Way (13-2) hit a blistering 65 percent from the floor (13-for-20) early, but turned the ball over nine times as they held just a 32-29 halftime lead. Hillcrest held the Knights without a field goal for the first 5 minutes 41 seconds of the third and forced six more turnovers yet still trailed 40-38 heading into the fourth.
Hillcrest opened the fourth on a 14-6 run, with Robinson Tyre picking up a layup and key offensive put-back with 3:15 remaining to push the Hawks to a 52-46 lead. Lincoln-Way, which was held without a field goal in the fourth for nearly five minutes, never got closer than four the rest of the way. Hillcrest hit all five of its free throws in the final 58 seconds, including a back-breaking three-point play by Dryer with eight seconds left on a full-court inbound heave from Gates.
“[Gates] played terrific, but I think everybody played well. And we’re still a young team. We’re still learning,” Hillcrest coach Thomas Cappel said. “That was a veteran team out there and we could have easily folded, but we didn’t.”
Adam Ferrari led the Knights with 22 points while Kevin Mennard added 16.
— Phil English
West Aurora 64, St Charles East 56: Jamaal Thompson scored 20 points and Jason Thomas had 16 as the No. 3 Blackhawks (13-2) rallied from a five-point deficit in the third quarter with a 22-2 run. Eric Regan had 17 points and 15 rebounds for St. Charles East (10-6).
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Crete-Monee 24, Marian Catholic 8: In a game that was scoreless until the fourth quarter, the Warriors (9-7) won behind Darrin Alexander’s nine points. Marian, which defeated No. 15 St. Patrick and St. Viator last week, just waited for Crete to get out of its zone defense.
“Marian was intent to get them out of the man-to-man,” said Marian freshman coach Kevin Kelly, who was a spectator at the game. “They just stood around with the ball. They put the ball in [Crete’s] court and wanted to see how they reacted. Once they hit the first shot, [Marian] was going to play.”
Crete shot 6-of-7 from the field in the fourth quarter. Rick Romeli scored five points to lead Marian Catholic (11-5).
Brother Rice 58, Sandburg 48: Ryan O’Reilly and Marty Masterson each scored 14 for the Crusaders (13-3). Corey Cummens had a game-high 24 points for Sandburg (11-6).
Dunbar 75, Hubbard 70: Jason Straight tallied 24 points and eight assists as the Mighty Men (7-5, 2-0) held on in the Public Red Central. Hubbard (7-11, 1-2) fell despite Rashaun Johnson’s 42 points and 10 three-pointers.
Gage Park 78, Harper 70: Issac Owens had 24 points and six assists for the Owls in the Public Red Central.
Hales Franciscan 58, Bishop McNamara 39: Lionel Miller scored 12 points as Hales (11-5, 4-2) cruised in the Catholic League.
Hope 72, Englewood 56: Marcus Smith had 19 points and eight rebounds for Hope (13-7, 1-2) in the Public Blue Central.
Lake Forest Academy 46, Morgan Park Academy 44: John Colling had 18 points and Olu Adetiba hit a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer for the Wildcats (6-5, 4-1) in the Independent School League.
Leo 76, Fenwick 51: Will Washington scored 22 points and added seven rebounds as the Lions (14-4, 6-2) romped in the Catholic League.
Lisle 79, Wilmington 41: Tom Buchholz had 18 points and four three-pointers as Lisle (14-2, 7-0) rolled in the Interstate Eight.
Prosser 67, Lincoln Park 61: Jason Bowden scored 17 points for Prosser (8-8, 1-1) in the Public Red North.
Reavis 53, Eisenhower 44: Munther Khamis scored 16 points to lead the Rams (14-2).
Rich South 67, Richards 63: Brandon Cole scored 21 points and Kevin Winston added 17 points as the Stars (11-5) edged Richards in the SICA crossover. Lester McDaniel’s 27 points led Richards (7-9).
Thornridge 86, Rich East 58: Jeremy Bledsoe and Parrish Brown had 15 points apiece as the Falcons (11-6) breezed.
Von Steuben 89, Mather 57: Phillip Watson tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds and Henry Stephens added 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Panthers (10-3, 3-0) cruised in the Red North.