Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Dec. 6, 2015

An excellent day in Norridge at the Ridgewood Shootout. Three close, fun games.

The top story was Lincoln Park. I mentioned them last week after they beat Loyola and drubbed New Trier. The Lions gave Notre Dame everything it could handle before losing 76-71 in overtime.

Marco Lewis is a tiny but effective point guard. Senior Jalen Louie (20 points, 11 rebounds) was a load. He’s a strong, tough athlete. The best college prospect is probably 6-6 junior Hamza Gocobija (19 points, six rebounds). Ibrahim Dosunmu, a 6-6 junior, had a rough shooting game but still scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

“They have a good combination, a couple good guys inside and guys that can shoot it,” Notre Dame coach Tom Les said. “They are disciplined and they play hard. That’s a good basketball team.”

I spoke with Gocobija after the game. You know a program is in a turnaround year when players tell you things are good because “everyone is coming to practice.”

Notre Dame senior Ammar Becar was an absolute monster. If you listen to No Shot Clock you know that I’m a big believer in his talent. He scored 33 points (six in overtime) and shot 13-for-19. These weren’t easy rebounds and put-backs either, they were mainly mid-range fadeaway jumpers.

“That was just one of those days,” Becar said. “I give all credit to my team for finding me in the spots I feel most comfortable and credit to Matt Stritzel for spreading the floor, which opened things up for me.”

Stritzel, the point guard, scored 25 and grabbed five rebounds. Jeameril Wilson, who received a lot of preseason hype, managed just four points and six rebounds. He hit two huge free throws in overtime.

“He hasn’t played with enough confidence so far this season,” Les said.

Overall it was a solid performance from Notre Dame. The Dons are long and have talent, but they are far from a finished product.

“Some of my seniors have to play a little better, a little more determined,” Les said. “We are finding ways to win, in spurts we play pretty good.”

***

St. Patrick upset St. Charles East 51-47 in the second game. The Saints were without Justin Hardy (concussion) for the entire game and James McQuillan was injured and left the game in the first half.

Even so, it is a really nice win for the Shamrocks. It’s a new group for coach Mike Bailey and there is more talent in the program than I realized. Junior guard Laurence Merritt and senior Sean Ek had 12 points. Merritt is one to keep an eye on.

“Merritt is a good player, he can shoot it,” Bailey said. “He’s a little tougher than he looks, not as tough as I’d want him to be.”

Colleges will also be interested in 6-6 junior Ayo Ajayi, who recently moved to Chicago from Toronto. He’s raw, but promising. He scored nine and grabbed seven rebounds.

***

St. Laurence beat Ridgewood 47-44. Jim Maley has the Vikings competitive. They played a nice game against Riverside-Brookfield last week, and that was without Willie Walton IV, who was their top player on Sunday. Walton had 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. He’s just back from the football team.

Ridgewood kept things close throughout. Brett Risley (14 points) drained a three-pointer with a minute to play to give St. Laurence the lead and hit two free-throws with 28 seconds to play to seal the win.

“We just trusted each other and the coach’s plays,” Walton said. “We knew they were a good shooting team and we would have to play defense from the start.”

Alex Rice and Zach Rzewnicki each scored 14 points for the Rebels.