Romeoville beats Hillcrest, starts living up to the hype

It wasn’t a normal victory for No. 7 Romeoville on Saturday in the Team Rose Classic at Mount Carmel.

This is the season the Spartans have been building towards for three years. On paper, Romeoville appears to have one of the area’s most talented teams. The Spartans took a huge first step towards earning all the hype by beating No. 15 Hillcrest 60-52.

“This was our first big test, playing another ranked team,” Romeoville coach Marc Howard said. “They stepped up and answered the bell. I’m proud of the team.”

The Spartans (7-0) trailed 15-5 early but then 6-7 senior Dontia Johnson started asserting himself. He scored 11 in the first half and finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

“That was one of my better games,” Johnson said. “I’m trying to always play hard and stay on the glass and be aggressive. That makes it easier for everyone else on the team.”

DeAndre Heckard added 15 points and Eddie Creal, a transfer from Joliet West, had 13 points and nine rebounds. Heckard, Creal, junior Mike Salter and Kahlil Blakney are all capable of putting up big scoring numbers, if Johnson develops consistency Romeville can reach another level.

“Everyone talks about [Johnson’s] inconsistent motor but he knows that in the big games, if we are going to take the next step and go where we want to go he has to contribute in a big way,” Howard said. “He’s working hard.”

Romeoville led 48-46 with two minutes to play when Hillcrest coach Don Houston was called for consecutive technical fouls and ejected, which essentially ended the game. The Spartans drained five of the six free throws that followed and led 53-46.

“I’m not going to put that on the officials,” Houston We had our opportunities. They killed us on the glass, you take that away and the game isn’t even in the officials’ hands.”

Heckard made 10 of 10 free throws in the final 1:30.

“I used to hold my breath when he shot free throws,” Howard said. “He’s come along way. He put the game away for us.”

Creal has added a major defensive backbone to Romeoville. At times last season the Spartans seemed to lose intensity.

“Creal is a tough kid,” Howard said. “He is demanding that everyone give that fight in the trenches on the defensive end.”

Robert Harvey led Hillcrest (8-2) with 22 points and five rebounds. He’s started the season red-hot.

“In the summer he has to talk a backseat to some other guys on his team,” Houston said. “That isn’t the case with us. He’s stepped up and is playing out of his mind.”

Romeoville faces its next major test on Wednesday against No. 8 Bolingbrook, its natural rival.

“It isn’t a rivalry until we make it a rivalry,” Howard said. “Bolingbrook has all the bragging rights we are just hoping to step in and make it a fun game.”