Michael O’Brien’s holiday tournament notebook: Dec. 27, 2016

Here you go, I did my best to at least give a thought on everything. I will be at Pontiac bright and early tomorrow.

PROVISO WEST

First round

Bogan 78, Lincoln-Way West 61: I had no idea Jerome Bynum was at Bogan. This was his first game playing from the Bengals, the senior guard was at Evanston last year, he is Will Bynum’s cousin. He’s a major big difference-maker for them. Bogan has size and talent, but it didn’t have any experience. Bynum scored 17 points and dished off five assists. He really elevates the Bengals this season. Bogan did a nice job containing L-W star Marco Pettinato, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He was 4-for-16 from the field.

Fenwick 60, Providence-St. Mel 31: Dominant performance by the Friars. Jacob Keller had 11. AJ Nixon and freshman DJ Steward each scored 10. Fenwick only turned the ball over nine times, extra impressive since 13 guys played. Knights big man Taeyon Neal had eight points and five rebounds. He drained a left-handed hook shot in the post in the third quarter (he’s a righty). So, so much potential there. St. Mel has a lot of talented underclassmen, if they can keep them all the future is very bright.

New Trier 50, Downers Grove North 40: Minor upset. Aaron Peltz had 15 for the Trevians, Andrew Kirkpatrick added 12. The Trevians shot 10-for-19 from three-point range. Downers was just 4-for-25. Bryan Jakobsze led the Trojans with 13 points and four assists.

Young 73, Morton 42: The Dolphins have really impressed me this season. Today they were scoring with style. Young can win this tournament. The Mustangs have some talent and play hard, but they couldn’t stay close for long. Javon Freeman scored 12, he’s really added a lot to Young. Lucas Williamson scored 13 and Craig Beaudion had 10. Sophomore Detalian Brown led Morton with 15. Young will play New Trier in the quarterfinals.

Hillcrest 74, Proviso East 57: Something is obviously not clicking with the Pirates. The talent is there but isn’t working well together. Proviso East coach Donnie Boyce was as rah rah as I’ve seen him, but the motivation wasn’t really working. Marcus Garrett attacked the basket continually and finished with 33 points. He was 9-for-15 from the field. Robert Harvey had 15 points and eight rebounds and Jalen Hughes scored 11. Quinlan Bennett led Proviso East with 17 points.

Morgan Park 83, Von Steuben 46: Decent first half in this one, then a running clock by the fourth quarter. Lenell Henry had 21 points, 14 rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 for the Mustangs. Ralphy Cruz led the Panthers with 18 points. Morgan Park was just way too tall for Von, won 46-24 on the boards. The Mustangs are developing some really nice depth, something we haven’t seen yet from Simeon and Curie.

Larkin 64, St. Joseph 58: Read all about it.

Uplift 83, Proviso West 49: Some people (me included) thought this could possibly be kinda close. Wrong. The Titans put on a show. Markese Jacobs had 22 points and five assists, Demarius Jacobs scored 20.

HINSDALE CENTRAL

First round

Lincoln Park 62, St. Charles East 44: It didn’t take long for the first upset of the day. Anyone that has actually seen Lincoln Park play in person over the past couple years won’t be totally shocked by this. The pieces are there. Alec Brent led the way with 20 points. Hamza Gogobija, a long and very athletic player, added 18 points and seven rebounds. This is a massive win for Lincoln Park. I saw St. Charles East last week and was very impressed, they are a Super 25 caliber team. Justin Hardy led the Fighting Saints with 22 points and six rebounds.

Marian Catholic 65, Urban Prep-Englewood 64: Chase Adams scored 23, including some crucial buckets at the end. He also had seven assists. Crucial win for the Spartans, this would have been a really disappointing loss. Chris White added 10 points for Marian. On the flip side, what an impressive showing by UP-Englewood. They didn’t pull it out, but this should open some eyes around the area. Davonte Williams led them with 21 points and Fred Cleveland II scored 11.

Westinghouse 42, Maine South 33: Coreyoun Rushin is a fun player to watch. Check him out if you haven’t. Very athletic, very active. He scored 23. Dexter Reed added seven points and four boards.

Bolingbrook 78, Glenbrook North 45: The Spartans hung around for about a quarter. Big performance from Malik Binns with 21 points, eight rebounds. Joseph Yesufu scored 13, Kaleb Thornton had 11 points and six assists.

Rockford Auburn 84, Richards 63: Heard that this one wasn’t very easy on the eyes. Jaylan Catledge led the Bulldogs with 18.

Homewood Flossmoor 53, St Viator 38: The Lions are a dangerous team, but H-F handled the challenge well. Jeffery Boyd scored 11 and Jarrett Trimble added 13 points. The Vikings are a major threat to win the tournament.

Hinsdale Central 47, Stevenson 42: Jack Hoiberg, the son of Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg, led the upset bid with 11 points. It appears the sluggish loss I saw the Patriots produce at home to Prospect wasn’t a one-off. Justin Smith scored 18 for Stevenson.

DePaul Prep 74, Crete-Monee 69: A really nice win for a young DePaul team. Sophomore Perry Cowan scored 28 and Elliot Sieger had 22. Dwayne Rose led Crete with 31.

YORK

Second round

Wheaton North 50, Minooka 28: Surprised by the margin in this one, I expected the Indians to keep it close. Luke Anthony led the Falcons with 18 points.

Conant 53, Hinsdale South 46: Jimmy Sotos did a bit of everything with 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Ryan Davis added 13 points and eight boards. The Cougars are on a bit of a roll now. Nick Perry, a transfer from Homewood-Flossmoor, led the Hornets with 14 points.

Highland Park 66, De La Salle 59: Ziv Tal scored 21 points. This one is an upset. Maybe I should have gone to York today.

Brother Rice 37, Sandburg 32: Looks like it was the Josh Niego show, he had 18 points and no one else hit double-digits.

Downers Grove South 72, Naperville North 67: A nice win for the Mustangs. Mitch Lewis scored 18, Chris Johnson 16.

Providence 57, St. Ignatius 49: The Celtics are rolling. Michael Drew scored 21.

Highland Park 66, De La Salle 59: Didn’t think the Meteors would make a deep run, but didn’t think they would lose here. Ziv Tal scored 21.

St. Laurence 53, Stagg 49 OT: A genuine upset.

St. Patrick 85, Schaumburg 47: The Shamrocks might be the best team I haven’t seen yet. People have been raving. The usual crew did damage, Xavier Pinson, Alton Thompson and Laurence Merritt.

BLOOMINGTON

First round

Zion-Benton 68, Thornwood 61: A nice start to the day for the Zee-Bees, who have to head all the way back to Algonquin and play in the Jacobs Tournament tonight.

Wheaton-Warrenville South 51, Springfield 48: Dillon Durrett with a big game to keep the Tigers unbeaten. Durrett had 19 points. Drew Healy added 11. Jake Healey drained the game-winning three-pointer.

Mahomet-Seymour 53, North Chicago 48: A disappointing first round exit for the Warhawks. Ishaun Walker scored 16, Simeon Henton was held to just 11.

North Lawndale 75, Plainfield South 40: A dominant start for the Phoenix, they could win the tournament. Martrell Barnes led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Joliet Central 50, Normal 43: Steelmen beat Ironmen. Talk about two terrific nicknames. The State Farm tournament website is a total disaster and no one tweeted any highlights so all you get is my rambling about metal men.

WHEELING

First round

Deerfield 43, Buffalo Grove 40: Ben Bizar led Deerfield with 10 points, Colin Calcagno scored 13 for the Bison.

Fremd 72, Vernon Hills 40: The Vikings continue to demolish lesser opponents. Kyle Sliwa led all scorers with 20 points. Shaan Patel had eight boards for Fremd. Chris Mariella led Vernon Hills with 14.

Libertyville 48, Maine West 47: Drew Peterson blocked a shot at the buzzer to secure the win for the Wildcats. He scored 14, as did teammate Harrison Bach. Julilan Dones led Maine West with 11 points.

Niles North 83, Perspectives 60: A nice game from Damaria Franklin with 19 points and six rebounds. The Vikings were in control from the tip.

Waukegan 56, Glenbrook South 49: The Bulldogs trailed for awhile in this one, needed a third quarter comeback to win. Carson Newsome scored 24. George Arvanitis led Glenbrook South with 16.

Prospect 68, Naperville Central 40: The Knights are one of the best teams not in the Super 25. Frankie Mack scored 27.

Wheeling 49, Clemente 38: It was a very good day around the state for Public League teams, but the Wildcats couldn’t get past the tournament hosts.

Notre Dame 56, Dundee-Crown 39: This tournament is a great chance for the Dons to get some recognition. They are better than most of the field and could go all the way. Jeameril Wilson scored 11.

RICH SOUTH

Quarterfinals

Hope Academy 60, Romeoville 58: The small school is into the semis. Jordan Doss had 25 points.

Michigan City, Ind. 58, Marshall 54: Johnsal Harris and Jarvae Tate each had 16 for the Commandos in the loss.

Butler 65, Rich South 49: This is the biggest win in Noble basketball history. Teon Nesbitt scored 26 and Marvin Nesbitt added 10 points and 10 boards.

Thornton 78, Gary Bowman, Ind. 70: Things obviously aren’t going really smooth with Alonzo Verge in Harvey this season. He didn’t play yesterday. But when he does play he’s that guy we love to watch. The senior scored 33 and had eight assists. Orlando Allen Jr. scored 21.