St. Patrick Beats Carmel 70-43

SHAMROCKS STAY IN ESCC RACE WITH HOME WIN OVER CARMEL

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY 

One of the goals for varsity basketball team at St Patrick is to win East Suburban Catholic Conference basketball championship in its final season. The Shamrocks (21-4, 5-1) moved a step closer with 70-43 win over Carmel (9-18, 2-6) last Friday night. 

“Our name would be carved in gold but it would be a co-championship,” senior RJ McPartlin said after the latest victory. “It would be a tremendous thing.”

The ESCC will merge with the Catholic League next school year in basketball.

Top ranked Benet (26-1, 6-0) is going for fourth straight title, and Redwings stayed in sole possession of first place with a victory over Notre Dame. Marist (23-4,4-1) and St.Viator (18-8, 4-2) stayed alive for share of excellence in ESCC with wins as well.

“It would mean the world to me and our program to win the league in its final season,” St Patrick head coach Mike Bailey admitted. “I love the ESCC. The schools are all very similar. We have two road games left. We are treating next two games as championship week. We have to take care of business.”

There was very little drama on Friday against Carmel who has one of the state's best football players sophomore inebacker Jameer Myles on its roster. Shamrocks jumped out to a 13-2 lead before putting the Corsairs away in the third quarter by scoring 27 points. In fact the only issue for St Patrick was Shamrocks played critical conference clash without Joey Costanzo who was sick. 

Maurice Neeley led Shamrocks with 19 points while Omar Ajanovic added 17 points.

Ethan Matz led Carmel with 10 points.

Neeley is very underrated player but plays important role for St Pat's. The senior guard is point man on its defense while starting the offense for Shamrocks.

“As important as the other players are on our team he is the glue for our team,” Bailey said. “He means so much to our basketball team. He does a little bit of everything for us.”

“He is tough as nails,” McPartlin stated. ‘He is not a selfish guy. He’s a good teammate.”

St Patrick closed the weekend with a 74-42 win over Jones College Prep from Chicago PublicLeague. The victory was a milestone for Bailey who won his 700th varsity basketball game. Bailey has now won 604 games with Shamrocks in 32 seasons.

“It's a nice accomplishment,” Bailey said. “For me it is always about having great assistant coaches and players. Very blessed to have great families and basketball players in our program at St Patrick. I have a very supportive administration at St Patrick. The most important thing for me is our students and basketball players.”

The state basketball playoff pairings will released this Friday. Shamrocks will be in Class 4A at Loyola sectional with defending Class 3A champion DePaul Prep, Evanston, and Loyola. St Pat's is seeking third straight trip to the Elite Eight after finishing third in Class 3A last season.

DePaul Prep Defeats Marist 59-43 at When Sides Collide

People are sitting around waiting for the Rams to lose but they keep winning. The penultimate game at this year’s When Sides Collide shootout at Benet featured the No. 2 ranked DePaul Prep Rams (20-3, 6-0) against the No. 7 ranked Marist Red Hawks (19-3, 2-0). This game and the following game between Benet and Warren might have resulted in a shakeup of the rankings and impact on the upcoming seeding for the 4A state playoffs.  

Had Marist taken down DePaul Prep and Warren overcome Benet No. 1 and No. 2 would have to be replaced. There was actually very little explicit discussion about such a scenario before the games amongst the collected observers, but it was obviously on everyone’s mind.

Maybe it’s just a yearning to see an underdog win or perhaps just a boredom with stagnant rankings and storylines that fuels such thoughts. DePaul Prep and Benet would have none of it. The Rams and Redwings put up convincing wins in the face of tough challenges.

The Marist Red Hawks opened the season at No. 4 and have moved between three and seven ever since. The Red Hawks, a skilled veteran group, have run through their schedule including wins over No. 10 Evanston and Brother Rice. Top ESCC matchups against St. Patrick and Benet have yet to be played.

The Rams however, have fought through a formidable schedule with their only losses coming at the hands of No. 1 Benet in the Pontiac Championship game, national powerhouse La Lumiere in the Chicago Elite Classic and Arlington, Virginia’s Bishop O’Connell, in their own Pappas Shootout in overtime. The Rams opened the season at No. 1 and dropped to No. 2 after the loss to Benet.

There was a little controversy, at least in my head, about the point total for DePaul Prep’s Rykan Woo. I am a little sensitive about this since I initially misreported Woo’s point total after the Mount Carmel game. I had him with 26 points including four three-pointers. Another guy had him with 24 so that is what I reported. Matt Now also had him with 26. I went back and added up my totals again and it shows 26. That’s what I am going with—26.

It was a close game until the Rams broke it open in the fourth quarter with five inside points and free throws by senior forward Rashaun Porter and, of course, 13 of Woo’s 26 points including 3 three-point coffin nails in the final couple minutes. Rams 59, Red Hawks 43.

Seven games left for the Rams. First and foremost are Brother Rice and St. Laurence to salt away the Chicago Catholic League. Then Deerfield, Christ the King, IC, Warren, and finally Ridgewood.

No. 6. Warren will be an obvious challenge with the best player in the state, Jaxson Davis. This could be a preview of a state final game but the seedings will be out by then so it won’t affect that. A final tune-up to a four-peat.

If the past is any guide, the Rams will finish. Champions finish.

DePaul Prep Rallied to Defeat Mount Carmel 58-50

[Preview of this week’s Inside—Booster article.]

By Jack Lydon

Down five at the half at Mount Carmel, the DePaul Prep Rams dialed up the energy in the third quarter, went on a 14-2 run and stayed away to take an important Chicago Catholic League victory Thursday evening. Key to the victory were the 30 points scored by Rams’ senior shooting guard Rykan Woo, a high school career high. 

Mount Carmel’s young group has gained some attention in recent weeks rising in the rankings, currently No. 14, as they gain experience at the highest levels of basketball in the state. The Caravan (15-7, 4-2) starts two freshmen, Da'Kylen Heard and Ronald Johnson. Both are big, tough, can score and are getting better by the minute.

The Rams (19-3, 6-0) are focused first on winning the Chicago Catholic League and then winning a fourth consecutive state championship. The trip to 64th and Dante for the Rams was key to that first goal. They needed this tough win against the rising power that is Mount Carmel.

It did not start in the usual fashion for the Rams. The usual formula for a DePaul Prep victory is to grab a first quarter lead, survive a second quarter rebound by the opponent, build a big lead in the third quarter and coast to victory in the fourth taking time off the clock and putting the bench players in the last couple minutes.

Not Thursday. The Caravan came out rolling, trading buckets with the Rams and draining threes to take a 14-10 first quarter lead. But it was the third quarter that proved the difference.

“We picked up the energy [in the third quarter]. The first half, honestly we were just huffing and puffy out there,” said Rykan Woo.

“We weren’t bringing the energy and the excitement. When Blake [Choice] got that [dunk] we weren’t going crazy. We had to change the tempo, play with more energy.”

And so they did, the Rams dialed up the pressure, forcing multiple turnovers leading to fast break layups. They put together the 14-2 run to close out the third.

“Coach was telling us the whole day that is was a senior leader game. Our senior leaders, me, AJ [Chambers], Rashaun [Porter], Zion [Lee], we stepped up. That’s why we won the game,” Woo added.

“We had to change it up from the first half. We started trapping a little bit. [Woo] is clutch. He’s an all-state player. He’s a division one player. He stepped up for us,” said DePaul Prep head coach Tom Kleinschmidt.

Woo’s 30-point game was not the only record he had that game. He also became a 1000-point scorer for his high school career.

“One of our coaches pointed out that they had a big 14-2 run. I didn’t realize it was that big. They turned up the pressure. . . . Some of our youth showed. We just didn’t take care of the ball,” said Mount Carmel head coach Phil Segroves.

With nine games left in the regular season, the Rams are still a couple games away from their first goal of winning the Catholic League. Tough CCL games remain against Brother Rice and St. Laurence. Not to mention Saturday’s matchup against No. 7 ESCC powerhouse Marist at the When Side Collide shootout at Benet. The Rams will also face No. 6 Warren Township on February 19th.

DePaul Prep Defeats Lane 54-36 in National Women and Girls Sports Day Event

The seventh ranked DePaul Prep Rams girls basketball team (17-3) defeated the Lane Tech Champions 54-36 Saturday afternoon at Lane Tech’s National Women & Girls Day Event. It was a great event with many elementary school girls teams in attendance.

It was a very competitive game in the first quarter but the Champions had no answer for Rams star center Grace Lee who finished with 33 of the Rams 54 points. The Rams jumped ahead in the fourth quarter outscoring Lane 16-4.

The Rams have put together an historic season winning their first fifteen games under second year coach Corey Morgan. Interestingly, the DePaul Prep girls team has the same record, 17-3, as DePaul Prep’s reigning state champion boys teams.

The Rams have four games left in their regular season: Plainfield North, Providence (GCAC conference game), Taft and Simeon. DePaul Prep will host an IHSA 4A Regional playoff series. The move to 4A this year has landed the Rams is a very tough sectional which includes Loyola who the Rams lost to just ten days ago.  

Lane Topples Schurz 61-41

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY 

Lane is known as school of champions winning Public League titles in different sports, with one exception. basketball. Head basketball coach Nick LoGalbo believes he can build competitive program. 

Northside basketball teams haven't cut down the nets many times in Public League playoffs in decades. Roosevelt was the last Red North team to win CPL championship in 1952 while Foreman lost in 2010 Semifinals at UIC to Morgan Park. Only three basketball teams have advanced to the Public League final four since 1978. Taft, Von Steuben, and Foreman have come within 32 minutes of playing for the covered championship.

Only three North side teams Lane, Von Steuben, and Foreman have won a regional title in state basketball playoffs since 2003. Marshall has won the most boys basketball title with twelve. Simeon has eleven, including eight in this century. Recently retired Simeon coach Robert Smith who won six state championships as well.

Marshall’s queen of girls’ basketball Dorothy Gaters has won twenty-three city titles.

“It's hard to be successful in basketball for a long time at an academic school,” LoGalbo stated. 

There are some people who might dispute that statement, but Lane has more championship banners in baseball and football than basketball in its long storied history. Believe it or not Lane won Public League basketball banners six times before 1950. Neighborhood rival Schurz last won in 1919.

LoGalbo believes his school is at a disadvantage because it is a select enrollment institution. “We can’t recruit athletes like other schools because we are an academic school,” LoGalbo stated.

This season, Lane (7-7) is trying to compete in basketball starting four sophomores while playing a challenging schedule. Lane will face St. Ignatius (15-2) on Friday night. Lane has lost to some quality programs recently in early season play: DePaul Prep (14-2), Lincoln Park (11-3), Young (12-6), New Trier (12-3) and Brother Rice (11-4).

“We keep saying one day at a time and we are going to get better,” LoGalbo admitted. “We have a good sophomore class. We played a tough early schedule to get ready for city and state playoffs. It's a fun team to coach."

“This group has improved greatly since start of the season,” senior Matt Szafoni said. “They have only scratched the surface. The big thing about this group is their potential.”

The Champions had a good day at the office beating neighborhood rival on Addison Street, Schurz (10-4) 61-41. Szafoni led Lane with nineteen points while sophomores Cole Christian and Owen Zackaras each contributed combing for twenty-one.

Lane jumped out to a 21-9 advantage and the outcome was never in doubt.

Lane against Schurz was always a special and entertaining matchup especially in baseball and football. Neither school is in same conference anymore in football, basketball or baseball.

“It was the neighborhood rivalry,” LoGalbo admitted as a former Lane graduate.

Schurz faces a different challenge after starting 10-1 and upsetting East Aurora (8-6) in its holiday tournament before losing to defending Class 1A champions Chicago Hope Academy (8-5) in the tournament championship game. The Bulldogs who were off to their best start since 1988 and have lost three straight games. Schurz is currently 4-0 in the CPL White North Division and must now survive without leading scorer Michael Chaney who suffered a knee injury in loss at Tinley Park (2-8) on Monday night.

“It was very disappointing. We thought we could hang with them without Michael,” head coach James Shelton said after the loss. “No excuses. We missed free throws we missed layups. Lane did a great job with that motion offense.”

Kam Fagairo led Schurz with fourteen points. The Bulldogs trailed 45-13 at halftime and started the game by missing six free throws and five layups in the first half.

One thing that has never been in dispute about Lane. The school is one of the best academically in the state.

“It's a special place,” said Logalbo who is a former Lane student and basketball player. “I love working and coaching here.”

“We have a very rigorous academic schedule,” Szafoni said. “The school spirit is great and we get support from everybody.”

DePaul Prep Pastes St. Francis 67-22; Lane Handles St. Rita 71-32

[Preview of this week’s article in Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

It was a weekend of blowouts for Northside neighbors DePaul Prep and Lane Tech. The No. 1 ranked Rams (7-1) handled St. Francis (Wheaton) 67-22 Friday evening. The Champions (4-5) handled St. Rita 71-32 at the Team Rose Chicagoland Shootout early Saturday morning.

Despite the loss to national powerhouse La Lumiere at the preceding weekend’s Chicago Elite Classic, the DePaul Prep Rams are rolling. The Rams smothered the Spartans forcing outside shots and getting all the rebounds. Scoring inside and outside DePaul Prep’s size advantage was evident. They jumped out to a 19-0 lead on St. Francis (3-4) holding the Spartans scoreless until seconds left in the first quarter. And it wasn’t that close.

Despite the lopsided score, it was interesting to see the starting lineup for the Rams emerge after shifting starting lineups early in the season. The Rams have three returning starters from last year’s 3A state champions, Lashaun Porter, Rykan Woo and AJ Chambers. Rams’ sophomore forward Blake Choice and senior Sacred Heart—Griffin transfer, Zion Lee have grabbed the starting roles for the Rams. Even so, junior forward/center Magnus “Gus” Johnson and senior guard Pat Lovell are quickly off the bench.

Choice’ performance against St. Francis helped his effort to cement that place in the lineup with a big game that included four three-points field goals in the first half and five total in his three quarters of play. Rams’ head coach Tom Kleinschmidt confirmed he has settled on the starting lineup complimenting Choice on his improved shooting in recent games.

“I have been working on my shooting, it paid off today,” Humboldt Park resident Choice said.

“It’s a learning process,” Choice said of his starting role. “I am willing to do what my coaches tell me to do starting on defense and eventually my offense will come.

The Rams have some big games coming up this week with a late Sunday matchup against No. 3 ranked Kankakee and the Kays top rated players No. 1 ranked Lincoln Williams and No. 8 ranked EJ Hazelett at the Team Rose Chicagoland Shootout.   

The blowouts continued Saturday morning at Team Rose. The Lane Tech Champions rallied from string of tough losses against good teams, New Trier, Whitney Young and Lincoln Park, with a convincing 71-32 win over Chicago Catholic League White’s, St. Rita Mustangs.

“We have a lot of guys that can get to the rim and be effective. We have had a really tough stretch. Eight games and five top 25 teams. We told our guys, it’s gonna pay off. Today we showed that playing that tough schedule is helping us,” said Lane head coach Nick LoGalbo.

The Champions were led by 6’8” senior forward Matt Szafoni with 26 points in three quarters of basketball. Szafoni leads his Champions squad this year which contains seven sophomores. One of those sophomores is starter forward Cole Christian who finished with 18 points against St. Rita.

“Opening the game with a make definitely helps the confidence. That is something that I have struggled with the last couple games. But hitting a three with one of the new sets that we have just implemented is good for the team but also good for my confidence,” Szafoni said.

“[Matt] is evolving as a leader, him evolving as a playmaker and evolving as a rebounder are all things we are excited about,” LoGalbo said of Szafoni.

“We start four sophomores. But what’s really fun is that the sophomores are buying in and being stars in their roles. The seniors are leading and we are playing together.”

DePaul Prep Handles Hyde Park 60-28; St. Ignatius Clips Benet 69-65

Went to Tom Winiecki to see the DePaul Prep Rams first home game of the year against Hyde Park then decided to hurry down to St. Ignatius to catch the end of the St. Ignatius v. Benet. Glad I did. The Rams handled a good Hyde Park squad and #22 St. Ignatius upset #2 Benet.

I was a little late making it to Gordon for the game. I got there with a minute left in the half and the Rams lead the Thunderbirds 33-11. The Rams defense was locked in.

Rykan Woo lead the Rams with 17. Lashaun Porter had 10. It was good to see Rams’ transfer Zion Lee put some points on the board. He is fitting into his role the line-up and adding some points. He finished with 8.

Despite the lopsided scores in the Battle of the Bridge, the Rams didn’t exactly look like they were hitting on all cylinders. They looked pretty good today. Defense, offense. I bet they could play special teams too if need be. It was good to see this new team back in the Tom Winiecki Gym playing fast when need be and installing the shut down defense too.

The game went quick so I quickly went down to St. Ignatius to catch the end of the St. Ignatius v. Benet game.

I arrived at the Gentile Gym with a minute left in the third quarter with the Wolfpack trailing Benet 48-49. It was back-and-forth and back-and-forth.

Tied at 59 each at 1:29, Benet grabbed a one point lead. St. Ignatius’ senior guard Nico Harris dropped in a three, giving the Wolfpack a two point lead. Rebounds and free throws would seal the upset victory over the very good #2 ranked Benet Redwings.

I know it’s early. Benet is very good; some say a #1B ranking. This game was more about how good St. Ignatius is. Matt Monroe’s Wolpack are at the top of the Chicago Catholic League with Loyola and DePaul Prep. They will obviously move up in the rankings. I expect them to be around the top at the end of the season too.

We start right into the Catholic League schedule at the end of the week. #1 DePaul Prep faces #12 Loyola at Tom Winiecki on Friday. #22 St. Ignatius will see DeLaSalle on Friday.

Lane Falls to DePaul Prep 53-24

[A preview of this week’s piece in the Inside-Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

Lane Tech had no answer for Rashaun Porter. DePaul Prep senior forward Rashaun Porter, a early candidate for player of the year, put up 26 points against Lane Tech in the finale of this year’s Batte of the Bridge Tournament at Lane Tech. The #1 ranked DePaul Prep Rams (3-0) defeated the Lane Tech Champions (1-2) 53-24 Wednesday night.

The Champions did a great job stopping DePaul Prep’s other Division 1 recruit Rykan Woo (Brown University) holding him scoreless in the first half.

“That was the game plan. But we did not do our game plan with Porter,” said Lane Tech head coach Nick LoGalbo.

“It was the exact opposite last year where we really cut out Porter, but we had Dalton [Scantlebury, playing for Penn this year] and [DePaul Prep senior guard Rykan Woo] really went off on us,” LoGalbo added.

“So I thought we did a pretty good job on [Woo]. That was our game plan to cut those two out as best we could and make others beat us. But Porter really killed us.”

With Lane bringing out the defense to stop Woo, the Lane opened up for Porter.

“It just opened up there really. I didn’t even notice that Woo was cold. I thought he was pretty good. He just did some things that just can’t be put on the stat sheet,” said Lashaun Porter.

Porter, a commit to Division 1 Toledo University, has become one of the top players in the City this season. He is ranked #5 in PrepHoops.com’s class of the 2026 players behind only Whitney Young’s Marquis Clark for top players in the City.

Somewhat unbelieveably, Rashaun Porter has been on state championship winning teams every year of high school. The DePaul Prep Rams won the 2A state championship in 2022 and 3A in 2023 and 2024. One might think he would be resting on his laurels, maybe looking ahead to college a little.

Not Rashaun.

“I lost weight over the course of four years. I've lost a lot of weight, trying to get slimmer and prepare for college and bulk up and using more strength instead of fat,” Porter said.

“It’s boosted my game tremendously. Made me quicker and faster. Then I got in the weight room, so I did get stronger.”

It’s early in the year and the Rams are still growing into their new starting line-up. Porter, Woo and senior point guard AJ Chambers return to the starting line-up from last year’s 3A championship team. Added to the starting lineup are juniors Gus Johnson who takes his brother Jonas’ spot. Jonas Johnson now plays at DePaul University. New to the line-up and the school is Zion Lee, a transfer from Springfield’s Sacred Heart—Griffin high school.

While obviously pleased with the win and the performance of his start player Porter, DePaul Prep head coach and Gordon Tech legend, Tom Kleinschimdt was circumspect about the early 3-0 for his Rams.

“We are we are not where we need to be three games in. We are usually a little bit better shape. I think you can see it in our woeful shooting percentage from three,” Kleinschmidt said.

“I think we left a lot out there today. I'm not sitting here knocking my team. I'm just saying I think we got a lot to work on, a lot to improve on. It's got to happen quick. We've got Hyde Park Sunday who's really good. We’ve got Loyola then we’ve got La Lumiere. So it better happened quickly.”

St. Patrick Wins Opener 70-28 over Dyett

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY 

If the Shamrocks basketball team is to make back-to-back trips to State Farm Center in Champaign they will need a healthy R.J. McPartlin. McPartlin, a 6’7’ senior, might be one of the best basketball players fans and coaches have seen the last two years if weren’t for injuries. McPartlin has been on the varsity basketball team since freshman year but unfortunately has been plagued by the injury bug.

“He started freshman year for us and scored ten points in his first game,” St. Patrick head basketball coach Mike Bailey said. “His career has taken off for us from there. He is one of our most important players. Unfortunately, he has been hurt the last two years. He is tough kid always willing to play through injuries.”

“I am worried about getting hurt again,” McPartlin admitted. “It feels great to be out there again. Its the best feeling in the world. I love to get on the court and play.”

McPartlin began his senior season by scoring 10 points in the season opening win over defending Class 2A champion Dyett, 70-28. Gael Guitterez added 13 points while Maurice Neeley contributed with 13 points as well. Omar Ajanovic who filled in for McPartlin as a sophomore scored 12 points on Monday night.

Charles Treadwell led Eagles with 11 points as Dyett couldn't solve St Patrick’s matchup zone falling behind 20-6 to start the season and never recovered. Shamrocks led 46-11 at the half as game finished with running clock while Bailey emptied his bench for final quarter.

“It was a good start tonight,” Bailey said after watching his defense allow only ten baskets.

“That was amazing defense,” McPartlin said after the win on opening night.

Naperville North began the night on Kurland Court by beating Payton 58-45 as guard Miles Okyne score 28 poihts.

Last year, McPartlin overcame a torn labrum in his shoulder after suffering broken nose as a sophomore. McPartlin played in 20 contests last season and averaged eight points a game to help the Shamrocks advance to state basketball finals for first time in school history.

McPartlin is the only starter back from a 29-win team that finished third in Class 3A tournament last season after losing 48-33 to Brother Rice (31-7) in semifinals.

“This team knows how to win,” Bailey said during preseason practices. “This team expects to win. They are very motivated to get back downstate.”

The Shamrocks were disappointed they didn't advance to championship game against DePaul Prep (33-4) and coach Tom Kleinschmidt who are seeking to win the state basketball title for fourth straight season.

“It was heartbreaking to not play for state championship,” McPartlin stated after season opening win on Monday night. “We played a bad fourth quarter against Brother Rice. Getting third place in the state means a lot to us. Only eight teams in the state get to finish the season with a win. We had a special group of guys. I couldn't end the season on a loss.”

St. Pat's shook off the disappointment of losing by beating Chatham Glenwood 50-28 in tilt for third place.

The Rams are trying to become the first high school basketball team in Illinois since Simeon and Peoria Manual to win four straight banners. Kleinschmidt’s club began its season on Monday night in the Battle of Bridges tournament at Lane with a 69-50 win over Niles North.

The Shamrocks will play Payton and Naperville North before finishing play in Kurland tournament on Saturday night.

Bailey will count on four new starters including Ajanovic, Neeley, football player Joey Costanzo, and junior Steve Quach.

Players and coaches claim they don't care or pay attention to rankings. Despite its recent success with back-to-back appearances in the Elite Eight and over 1,000 wins since 1959 with Bailey and Max Kurland, the Shamrocks surprisingly will start season unranked.

“The coaching staff told us not to worry about the rankings,” McPartlin said.
”We finished third in the state in 3A. We deserve to be ranked based on how we finished last year.”

St. Pat's is hoping to at least advance for a third straight basketball season to the Elite Eight.

DePaul Prep 70, Niles North 50 in Season Opener

DePaul Prep has something to prove.

The three-peat thing is not a thing. Winning 2A and 3A twice doesn’t mean much when one is in 4A now. It sure seemed like business as usual as the DePaul Prep Rams came out against Niles North.

Well business as usual as it can be against a Glenn Olson coached Niles North squad. The Vikings came ready to fight, as always. All fired up and playing fast in the first half taking a lead into halftime. Niles North dropped in six three-point shots. A little unusual for the Rams to give that up.

“We were very upset about it. We made a change in our line up at half time. It wasn't the kid's fault who we took out. But we couldn't play with three bigs against that offense. They had one three in a second half,” said DePaul Prep head coach Tom Kleinschmidt.

The second half was a different story. All Rams. The Rams put up almost twice as many points in the second half as they did in the first half. Rashaun Porter and Ryan Woo lead the Rams with 26 and 20 points respectively.

It was a good look at this year’s Rams. We are going to see a larger rotation. We will see quite a bit of Blake Choice, Pat Lovell and others. Tom Kleinschmidt likes the four guard line-up but he has a bigger squad this season. We will still see plenty of four guard line-ups.

Toledo commit DePaul senior forward Rashaun Porter was matter-of-fact after the game.

“We just came together as a team [in the second half]. We realized that is simple to be a good defensive team if we just speak. Just saying“switch” can like go a long way to change the game. We did that as a team. We came together and we were able to pull out a wind against a very good team,” said Porter.

The No. 1 rank, the start of a four-peat season just didn’t seem to be a thing to this team. At least not in second half or after the game.

I think it’s because they were playing the why they play, which happens to be championship basketball.

Maybe it’s a little more. Maybe they still have something to prove. 3A is not 4A. It’s just strange to be writing about a team working on a fourth straight state championship at any level, let alone three different levels.

Something to prove is good thing.

Bailey Begins 32nd Season at St. Patrick

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY

Mike Bailey is a self-described gym rat at 71 years old who loves the game of basketball. He is addicted to watching basketball games and practices. Bailey also enjoys everything that takes place off the court, like recruiting and game planning and summer basketball. Most of all, he loves teaching the game to his players during practice sessions. And he has no intention of doing anything else.

“I am not retiring at the end of the season,” Bailey said, putting an end to rumors to the contrary. “I’m just getting started.”

“Mike Bailey has all the qualities that you are looking for in a head coach,” said former Weber and Elgin basketball coach Jim Harrington, who had Bailey on his staff at both schools. “He is hard working, loyal and dedicated. Whether Mike is young or old, he is always trying to get better as a head coach.”

Bailey, who began his hjgh school coaching career with Harrington at Weber in 1979, will begin his 32nd year as head coach at St. Patrick in the Shamrocks’ annual Thanksgiving tournament. He has won 583 games at the school on West Belmont and one of his goals is to surpass the record of 658 victories established by his predecessor, the legendary Max Kurland.

“I just keep going,” said Bailey, who recently underwent hip replacement surgery. “As long as I have energy, enthusiasm and health, I will keep coaching. I don’t think I would have retired if I had won a state championship last year. A lot of people ask me that question. Honestly, if we had won, I wanted to come back and coach this group of kids because I had promised them and their parents that I would be their coach. I think that I am a better and more prepared basketball coach now at this stage of my life.”

Last season, Bailey guided St. Patrick to 29 victories and third place in the Class 3A tournament. The Shamrocks lost to Brother Rice in the semifinals, then came back to rout Chatham Glenwood for third place.

“It was probably the most proud I have ever been of any team I have coached, to come back and win third place after losing 24 hours earlier,” he said.

Twelve players return from that 29-8 squad, including starter RJ McPartlin. The Shamrocks will begin their quest for a return trip to Champaign on Monday, November 24, against Chicago Public League power Dyett, the defending Class 2A champion.

“This team knows how to win basketball games,” Bailey said. “It expects to win. They are very motivated to get back Downstate.”

The road back to Champaign won’t be easy. It became more difficult when the Illinois High School Association placed St. Patrick in Class 4A with defending champion Benet and neighborhood rival DePaul Prep, last year’s Class 3A champion, which also has been moved up into Class 4A tournament. St. Patrick might have to beat both schools to reach the championship game.

Meanwhile, Bailey has been proud to follow in Kurland’s footsteps. Kurland built the Shamrocks into one of the state’s most successful programs at St. Patrick playing his signature 1-3-1 zone defense. St Pat's always fell short in conference play, finishing second to coach Gene Pingatore’s St. Joseph teams. The one thing that Kurland couldn’t do was advance to the state quarterfinals and gain ticket play to at Assembly Hall in Champaign. Kurland retired in 1994 after losing to Lyons Township in the York sectional championship.

“It was an honor to be chosen to replace Max Kurland at St. Patrick,” Bailey said. “Max was very nice to me when I came to St. Patrick. I didn’t replace him. I followed him.”

Bailey has a different philosophy playing strictly man-to-man defense.

“Max Kurland was one of the greatest guys in the coaching profession. He had a heart of gold,” Harrington said.

Bailey, a graduate of Gordon and DePaul University, joined Weber in 1979 as Harrington’s sophomore coach. He was head coach at St. Gregory in 1984-1986, then head coach at Dundee-Crown in 1986-1990. Then he went to Elgin to assist Harrington in 1990-94. In 1992, when Steve Pappas left Gordon to become head coach at Deerfield, Bailey applied for the job.  Rich Kolimas was hired to replace Pappas. When Kurland retired in 1994, he brought his expertise to St. Patrick.

After losing four times in the supersectional round before finishing third in the Class 3A tournament last season, marking the first time that the Shamrocks have qualified for the Final Four. The achievement isn’t lost on Bailey or his staff. Why retire when you still have goals to accomplish?

“It means the world to advance to the state finals for the first time in school history,” he said.

Basketball is a family affair in the Bailey household. Mike’s daughter Kelly is the official scorer for the Chicago Bulls while son Brandon is an assistant coach for DePaul’s men’s basketball team after spending time with the Boston Celtics in the NBA.

After the upcoming Thanksgiving tournament, St. Patrick will open its regular conference season in a televised matchup against Notre Dame of Niles. This is the last season of the ESCC in basketball. The Chicago Catholic League has merged with the East Suburban Catholic. Next season, St. Patrick will join Marist, Benet, DePaul Prep, St. Ignatius, Mount Carmel, Loyola, Brother Rice and Fenwick in a new and very competitive conference featuring three divisions.

Mike Bailey can’t wait to be a part of it.

Brother Rice Stops St. Patrick

SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY 

 

St. Patrick first year head coach Tom Zbikowski was expecting a difficult game on the road against unbeaten Brother Rice (5-0). The Crusaders, who upset Loyola the week before, delivered a dominating performance on the both sides of the football in beating the Shamrocks 56-14.

Brother Rice has good football history winning a state championship in 1981 and five Prep Bowl wins, but the Crusaders were coming off a 6-4 season in 2024.

"I wasn't worried about a letdown after beating Loyola," Brother Rice head coach Casey Quedenfeld said after the win. "We were locked in and focused at practice this week."

Indeed. The Crusaders scored on its first six possessions to build a 42-0 advantage. Brother Rice quarterback Senior CJ Gray threw four touchdown passes in first half and torched the Shamrocks for 308 yards.

The long night on South Side began with St. Patrick falling behind 21-0 to start the game amassing only 25 yards while running only nine plays from scrimmage. The Shamrocks finally got moving late in the second quarter with a 70-yard drive which ended with QB Gavin Gardiner throwing his sixth touchdown toss to Tim Schayer with 1:06 left. Both teams had an interception in the first half.

It was unfortunately a short night for St Pat's star running back Anthony Catron. Catron was knocked out if game in first half and had minus 1 yard on four carries after the game of his life against DePaul Prep with 241 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Shamrocks struggled to move football consistently going 3 for 13 on third downs.

Gray, who will attend Army next year, has thrown for 12 touchdown passes this season. Brother Rice received another solid performance from defensive linemen King Liggins, Mike Fitzgerald, and Brayden Parks. The Crusaders have been stingy on defense allowing only 63 points in five games.

St Patrick quarterback Gavin Gardiner completed 23 of 38 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the loss against a defense that was focused on stopping Catron and Jayden Miranda. Shamrocks finished with only 15 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Jaylin Green scored his second touchdown on a 51-yard run to begin the second half which meant the contest would be running clock for remainder of the night.

Brother Rice has to be considered one of the favorites for 8A championship. The Crusaders upset Loyola (3-1) and they will face Mount Carmel (5-0). Other contenders in class 8A include Maine South [4-1), Fremd (5-0), Lincoln Way East (5-0), and Lane[4-1) who has stunned two suburban schools. 

"We are only thinking about going 1-0 next week," Quedenfeld admitted after the game.  

Shamrocks will try to rebound against Benet [3-2].

"It's a great school," said Zbikowski who is enjoying his first season with the Shamrocks despite the setback last Friday night. "It's a special place. The kids are great and they have done everything I have asked them to do."

Tom Zbikowski Returns to St. Patrick

By John Montgomery

Welcome back. Welcome home.

Zbikowski is BAAAAAAAACK in Chicago at St. Patrick.

Tom Zbikowski is hoping to use his life experiences on and off the field to revitalize the football program at St. Patrick High School in Chicago. He has compiled an impressive resume from his playing days at Buffalo Grove, Notre Dame and the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. Zbikowski, who grew up wanting to be the next Mike Tyson and was even unbeaten in eight bouts as a professional boxer, also hopes to start a boxing program at St. Patrick after the football season. His next major goal is to fight actor Jake Paul.

For now, his focus is on Shamrock football after spending the last three football seasons as an assistant coach at Western Michigan and Brown.

Nobody has to remind Zbikowski that St. Patrick hasn’t won a conference championship in football since 2002. For whatever reason, the Shamrocks haven’t been able to achieve success on a consistent basis, usually with at least one team standing in the way. In basketball, it was St. Joseph. In football, it was Joliet Catholic, a 15-time state champion.

St. Patrick is best known for its success in basketball with back-to-back 500-game winning coaches Max Kurland and Mike Bailey, who guided the Shamrocks to third place in last year’s Class 3A tournament.

In football, St. Patrick overcame a 5-4 regular season in 2021 to advance to the Class 5A quarterfinals. Previously, they had won only eight games in the last three seasons. The Shamrocks have won 11 conference championships but never have won a state football title or a Prep Bowl.

St. Patrick alumni, students and fans are hoping that Zbikowski can have the same impact that former Gordon and DePaul basketball star Tom Kleinschmidt has had at DePaul Prep, which has won three state championships in a row. And former Northern Illinois University quarterback Jordan Lynch, who has guided his alma mater Mount Carmel to four state championships, including the three in a row.

Zbikowski has an interesting perspective on his first head coaching assignment.

“I didn’t come (to St. Patrick) to win a state championship but that would be nice,” he said following a recent practice session. “I don’t want to go 0-9, either. I want to win and send kids to college. I will measure my success by the number of kids who receive scholarships to play college football. That number is very important to me.”

The Shamrocks open their 2025 regular season on Friday night at Yorkville. They will entertain Elgin Larkin in their home opener at Triton College in Week 2.

Zbikowski’s new boss, St. Patrick president Dan Santucci, a former NFL player, recalls when he and Zbikowski were teammates at Notre Dame. 

“I had the privilege of having Tom has a teammate and there is no one who has played with more passion and intensity than him,” Santucci said.

“Tom’s experience at the highest level of football will be a tremendous asset to St. Patrick,” said St. Patrick athletic director Matt Reardon.

To generate more interest among alumni, St Patrick has plans to play an alumni football game at newly renovated Hanson Stadium on a yearly basis.

Meanwhile, his focus is on the 2025 season. He hired former St. Patrick quarterback Tom Barrett to run the Shamrocks’ offense and former Holy Cross football player Kevin Walz to run the defense with help from former St. Patrick coach Dan Galante, who won 77 games at the Northwest Side school.

Zbikowski said his team will throw the football while running a 4-3 defense.

“Working with Tom has been a great experience,” Barrett said. “Everybody thought we were getting this Buddy Ryan guru but he knows a lot about the game of football. He is more concerned about impacting young men.”

Zbikowski’s life in the NFL wasn't as glamorous as many people might believe with games practices and meetings every week.

“People don’t understand the loneliness of being a professional athlete,” he said. “There isn’t enough money in the world.”

And he recalls his never-to-be-forgotten experiences as a two-time All-America defensive back at Notre Dame in 2005 and 2006.

“It was more impressive that I graduated from Notre Dame,” he admitted. “I wasn’t a good student.”

For the time being, he is more anxious to prove he is a good coach. To build a successful program at St. Patrick, Zbikowski knows he must compete on and off the field against neighborhood rival DePaul Prep, which won the Class 4A football championship last year.

The Shamrocks are in the Purple Division of the newly realigned Chicago Catholic League with DePaul Prep, Benet and St. Viator. They have only four returning starters and a new quarterback in Gavin Gardner.

Competing in the Catholic League allows Zbikowski an opportunity to fulfill another dream—to play in the Prep Bowl against the Chicago Public League champion in a classic city rivalry that dates to 1934. And if he has any influence in the matter, he hopes to see the game moved back to Soldier Field.

"I would love the opportunity for our team to play in that game,"

But first is the matchup Friday night  at Yorkville. Game 1 of his new career with the Shamrocks

“I am excited about Friday night. I know my boys have worked hard,” Zbikowski said after Monday’s practice. He also was inspired by his team’s performance in a scrimmage against Hersey on August 22 that attracted a large crowd in Arlington Heights.

“That scrimmage was the most beneficial thing we have done,” he said. “I have accomplished many things in my life but having the ability to impact a young man’s life is most important.”

The first opportunity is Friday night against Yorkville.      

Photo credit: St. Patrick High School

Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout Day 1

I couldn’t wait to get over the Riverside-Brookfield High School for the annual R-B Shootout. I got there like four hours early. R-B Coach Mike Reingruber and all the folks at R-B do such a great job. It is chance for a high school basketball mid-summer overdose. I love it.

It was five straight games for me from noon to 4:45.

Kankakee v. Evanston (Benet v. Hinsdale Central)

I was very interested to see Kankakee. The Kays have the top prospect in the class of 2026 according to Prep Hoops, Lincoln Williams. I was my first chance to see him in action. Kankakee also got a recent transfer, EJ Hazelett, Jr. They are a very good-looking squad. Big. Talented. Shots fall.  

The Evanston Wildkits strolled into the gym at 11:42, a few minutes before the noon start. The Wildkits were significantly smaller than Kankakee, like everyone of their starters was shorter than the smallest Kays player. That didn’t much matter. The scrappy Kits jumped out a lead. The Kays fought back and tied at the end of regulation but Evanston won in OT.

When Kankakee dials up the intensity, they looked scary.

The great thing about R-B is one can watch two games at the same time. I couldn’t exactly cover and photography two games. But I was able to watch Benet v. Hinsdale at the same time as the Kankakee game. Benet just looked awesome. Jayden Wright is a money player.  

DePaul Prep v. Rich Township (St. Ignatius v. Rock Island)

The Rams come out hungry. Rashaun Porter was going to the hoop. It kind of looked like a fullback powering to the endzone with Shaun charging down the lane for a dunk. AJ Chamber was a comfortable as can be on the point.

Got a look at the transfer in from Sacred Heart Griffin, senior forward Zion Lee. It seemed like a little bit of a slower start for Zion than it was for the other Rams but it sure looks like he will fit right in.

Then there is returning senior Rykan Woo. The Oxford English Dictionary has a photo of Rykan as the definition of “money.” He does it all. At a stretch in the second half of the Rams’ game against Stevenson, the Rams had gone cold. Nothing was falling. The Patriots cut the double-digit lead to two. Rykan poured in two straight three pointers. Money. Rams took control.

Magnus “Gus” Johnson, Jonas’s younger brother, has stepped into his brother’s role as the other big man beside Rashaun Porter. You might not see as much of the four-guard set from the Rams this year as you did last year. But we will get plenty of three guard sets with the six-man rotation including sophomore guard Blake Choice.

Lane v. Thornton

We have a whole new set of Champions this year. Matt Szafoni returns as one of only four seniors. I counted eight sophomores on the squad. They all look talented and athletic but not quite the usual polished group of playmakers we have seen from Nick Logalbo’s teams in recent years.

The first day of R-B did not disappoint. Getting get some sleep now to be ready for Day 2.

DePaul Prep Falls to St. Ignatius 3-0 in 2A Sectional Final

[A preview of this week’s story in the Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

DePaul Prep Rams fell to the St. Ignatius Wolfpack 3-0 in the IHSA girls soccer sectional final on Friday evening at DePaul Prep. Wolfpack’s junior wing, Lauren Reed scored two goals, two minutes apart early in the first half giving the Wolfpack an commanding lead against conference rival DePaul Prep. Try as they did, the Rams (16-9-1, 5-2-1) just couldn’t put together a comeback against the stingy St. Ignatius defense.

“I was really thinking about winning this for my team and playing for my seniors. Then I guess I got really lucky on those two shots. But when I saw the opportunity take it, I did,” said River Forest resident, Lauren Reed.

Coming into the game, the Wolfpack (11-9-3, 3-3-2) focused on getting the ball into their center forward, junior Kayla Washington and so much on Reed.

“Kayla is our lead scorer. She's got like twenty-eight goals. Kayla is a classic striker. When you play with only one person up front, she has to be a big, strong capable player who can hold the ball up and wait for support,” St. Ignatius head coach Pam Whitehead said of Washington.

“Usually our goal is to get it to Kayla. I usually come up as back up. We kind of work together, but the main focus is to get it to Kayla,” Lauren Reed said of her teammate Washington.

“So I was lucky,” Reed added. She said “luck,” but two goals and two minutes is more than just luck. Reed was there to capitalize on the attention paid to Washington and that she did.

“Lauren is amazing because, first of all, she never came out of the game and absolutely she is positioned where she has to run up and down constantly,” Whitehead said of Reed, who is also a talented field hockey player. “And she is a third leading scorer [with 13 goals].” Lili Garcia is the Wolfpack’s second leading scorer with 17 goals.

DePaul Prep and St. Ignatius are both members of the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference and played each other on May 1st which ended in a 1-1 draw.

“It was our senior night. All of our seniors played. And you'll notice the [Senior Night] shirt that I wore tonight to remind them,” Whitehead said of the tie game.

Proud of her team’s rebound from the last match, Whitehead added, “It's just good combination play on the ground. I don't know if you noticed the tactical difference with DePaul. They like to send the long balls in, but we like to play between three of our key players up front with angle runs and drop balls; Good classic soccer.”

St. Ignatius managed to hold the Rams’ leading scorer junior Lucia Troutman scoreless despite early success by the Rams in pushing to the ball forward to Troutman.

DePaul Prep head coach and chair of the DePaul Prep Science Department, Kelly Keckler, was obviously disappointed after the game.

“Iggy was scouting [our last game against DeLaSalle]. They saw a lot of who we've become this season. The team that we were when we played them the first time is very different team than what we are now. . . We've figured out a lot of new tactics. We've been stronger and faster on the ball. We've been playing a lot of tougher competition throughout the whole season to gear up for this moment,” Keckler said after the game.

“No way would I've ever guessed it would be three zero. I think [Ignatius] brought their game winning boots today. It's as simple as that. We played almost same game as we played the first time we played them. I think it just came down to grit at the end of the day.”

St. Ignatius moves on to play Crystal Lake Central in the 2A super sectional on Tuesday. 

Kenwood Comes Back to Edge Simeon 58-56

After the DePaul Prep Rams took care of our St. Viator Lions 63-23 in the Antioch (my photos to follow), I jetted down to Hinsdale Central to catch the end of Kenwood v. Simeon.

I got there with about four minutes to go. Simeon lead by a point after having lost a seventeen point lead in the third quarter.

I was there mostly to see what happened rather than actually cover the game. I found a spot on the floor next to Sun-Times photographer Kirsten Stickney. She was working so I took a spot out of her way. She is a master at the reaction shot. I am not good at it despite working on it. I was kind of watching her work so I could learn from her. She never puts the camera down. She is always hunting for a shot. She was only using one camera with a 70-200mm lens.

I managed to get the obvious reaction shot of Kenwood’s Devin Cleveland after he dropped the game winning floater with 37.1 seconds left. Kirsten also got the shot but she also the shot of Devin taking the shot—the shot that is in the paper. The shot I got of that was obscured by a Simeon defender.

As for the game, I guess I just knew Kenwood would win. Jack Gleason said the same thing after the game. Kenwood just always wins close games at the end. Devin Cleveland, Amari Edwards and tj Seals are just money players. They know how to win.

These are shots from the final couple minutes and the overtime.

DePaul Prep Falls to Brother Rice 53-52

Lincoln Park Handles Lane Tech 62-46

[Preview of this week’s story in the Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

Lincoln Park hosted Lane Tech (9-9, 4-3) Thursday for a key game in the Chicago Public League’s Red Shield conference. Basically, the championship of the Northside. The Lions (15-1, 6-1) handled the Champions winning 62-46.

Some might have thought that with Lincoln Park ranked #11 and having a gaudy win/loss record, it would be all Lions. But Lane Tech has played have played top competition this season. Very top competition: #1 DePaul Prep, #2 Kenwood, #6 Brother Rice, #12 Curie, #13 Niles North—twice, formerly ranked St. Ignatius as well as top out-of-state competition at a Washington DC shootout. And the Champions just knocked off #19 Whitney Young on Tuesday. The Champions are much, much better than their record indicates.

With the size and length that the Champions possess, their ability in recent games to hit three-pointers and playing on Lincoln Park’s small home court, this thing could have gone either way.

It went Lincoln Park’s way, and it started early. The Lions jumped out to an 8-0 first quarter lead. The Lions were amped up and playing tough inside and out. Hitting shots and grabbing boards on both ends.

“[Our] guys they came in with a lot of fight,” Lincoln Park head coach Joshua Anderson said of his Lions.

“They executed. They were mentally locked in. They played harder. They played tougher. They played technique. They boxed out. They did exactly what I told them to do. I told them the shots what would be open. That’s just all from our execution.”

Lane rallied and made it game. Lane’s Zach Mazanowski quickly added five points late in the first quarter bringing them right back. Even so, the Lions would maintain a six to ten-point lead throughout most of the rest of the game.

The Lions gave no quarter to the size and length possessed by the Champions. Lions’ center Keyshawn Barfield battled the Champions’ division one prospect center Dalton Scantlebury the whole game.

The Lions turned off Lane’s usually productive three-point shooter. The Champions managed only one three-point field goal in the gameThe Lincoln Park gym is a unique place for top-level high school basketball game. It’s small. Very small. Three rows of seats on each side and none along the baselines. The staff at Lincoln Park are careful only to all proper number of people in the gym. It couldn’t be more than a couple hundred. But it was enough to make it load and provide a distinct home court advantage for the Lions with their students and fans quite literally on the edge of the court.

“I think the atmosphere was great. I love it. It was like a north side battle. You’ve got kids on both sides who know each other. It was great. I think the home court advance came to us, our school and wave of kids came out and show pride and support,” Anderson said of his team’s home court advantage.

The Lincoln Park Lions are one of the teams that emerged this year. It’s not like no one expected them to be good. They should signa last season. But the Lions have been a top team Ranked all year. They defeated Whitney Young, St. Laurence and Curie, all ranked teams. They lost to Red Shield rival and perennial powerhouse Simeon by one point in a wild one at Simeon. They lost to suburban powerhouse Warren Township also by just one point.

Of their success this year, Anderson said, “I attribute that to the hard work that these guys put in. We watch film. We work on things. When it comes to certain teams and they see film and they see what a team can't doing and won't do, we feed off that and we attacked that. We attack team’ s weaknesses.”

The Lions are poised to win the Red Shield conference. It could work out that the Lions will play #2 ranked Kenwood who is undefeated in the conference for the championship. The Lions have one loss in the conference, but if they win the rest of their conference games and defeat Kenwood in the regular season penultimate game, they would be Red Shield champs.

Just saying. Still almost half the season to play.

DePaul Prep Overwhelms Pontiac 73-23

The Depaul Prep Rams (10-1, 1-0) landed an invitation to this year’s Pontiac Holiday Tournament, the state’s most prestigious holiday tournament. This might be the final acknowledgement that the DePaul Prep program is now one of the few elite high school basketball programs in the state.

The Rams wasted no time in announcing their arrival as they took on the host Pontiac Township high school Indians in the premiere time slot of the evening in front of a packed home town gym, defeating Pontiac 73-23.

With a modest but typical 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Rams exploded with 33 points in the second period against Pontiac’s four points. The Rams defense just overwhelmed Pontiac by turning numerous Pontiac turnovers into layups.

Pontiac (4-6, 1-0) is in the Illini Prairie Conference. Pontiac Township High School is in 3A, has an enrollment of approximately 650 students and serves Pontiac and three neighboring communities, Odell, Saunemin and Graymont.

Given the lopsided score, DePaul Prep head coach Tom Kleinschmidt reached deep into his bench of 17 players. 13 of the Rams’ 17 players scored in the game.

The Rams advance to play Joliet West at 7:30 p.m. this evening. If you can’t make it down to Pontiac in time, you can catch a live stream, for a fee, on the tournament website, phtonline.live.

Kenwood Survives Lane Tech 82-75

[Preview of this week’s Inside—Booster article.]

By Jack Lydon

No. 1 ranked Kenwood Broncos came up to Addison and Western for a Chicago Public League Red-Shield Division showdown Thursday evening against Lane Tech. Despite a furious third quarter comeback by the Champions, the Broncos hold off the Champions for a 82-75 victory. Broncos improve to 9-0 and 5-0 in the Red-Shield.

With almost a third of the season in the books and with wins over ranked teams like DePaul Prep, Warren Township and Simeon, Kenwood is looking like the best team in the state. Kenwood’s top rated players Devin Cleveland, Aleks Alston, Terrance “Tj” Seals and Amari Edwards have coalesced into a punishing offensive and defensive squad.  

This is what the Lane Tech Champions faced on their home court but Kenwood’s record and star power mattered little. This reporter has been to more than a few rock ‘n roll shows in his day but none was louder and more raucous than Lane’s gym on Thursday. The place was packed with students and parents from both schools. The Lane band was amping up the crowd.

Despite Lane’s 6-6 record so far in the season, this Lane team is as good as I have seen. They have any ton of length—tall players that spread the floor and make teams shoot over them. These Champions play defense and can score inside and outside.

They also have put together the toughest schedule of any school so far in the season. Going into this game, Kenwood was just par for the course competition for the Lane. The Champions have faced five ranked teams, Niles North, DePaul Prep, Curie, St. Ignatius and Kenwood. And that is not to mention that the Champions went to the Gonzaga Shootout in Washington D.C., where the faced national powerhouse teams Bishop Spaulding from Maryland and St. Ignatius of Cleveland, Ohio.

Kenwood jumped out to a 43-33 first half lead. Both teams were scoring. It just seems like every player on Kenwood scored at will.

Even so, last year’s game at Lane against Whitney Young came to mind at the half. The Champions were hanging around in striking distance with the kind of energy of a team that expects to win. That’s what happened last year with the Champions upset Whitney Young 67-51. The energy in the room was very similar.

Lane erased the deficit in the third taking a 51-50 lead with 3:09 left in the quarter powered by two early three-point shots by forward Zach Mazanowski. Mazanowski finished with a career high 31 points against the No. 1 team.

Lane Tech head coach Nick LoGalbo gushed about the senior’s performance. “He’s put in the work. He shows. He’s a division one player. I have been saying it to everyone who will listen. We’ve got guys looking at him now but they better get on him soon. Someone is going to be really lucky to get him,” said LoGalbo.

Eye popping as 31 points is at the high school level, the other Champions contributed at a high level. Senior center Dalton Scantlebury scored 17 points and dominated the paint much of the game. Senior forward Andrew Bartolai added 13 points. It was the Champions highest point total of the season against the best team in the state.

Kenwood was just too good. At one point, they Broncos spread the floor and slowed the tempo down a little. Sophomore shooting guard Devin Cleveland worked the ball into the lane, left then right and pulled up for a jumper that was nothing but net. A Whitney Young type upset was not going to happen against this group.

Kenwood senior center Aleks Alston had 25 points. Cleveland had 24. Transfer from Phillips point guard Amari Edwards had 11. TJ Seals and 10 and Demari Stephens had 11 points. The Champions could not stop the whole team in fourth quarter. The Broncos rallied for the seven- point win and possession of the first place in the Red Shield.

Mazanowski did not quite know his point total after the game, a career high 31 points. “We played phenomenal as a team. Dalton had 17 or 18 himself. All around it was a good game for us,” Zach Mazanowski said.