Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Feb. 3, 2018

SHARE Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Feb. 3, 2018
OB_CST_020418_913_74014527.jpg

Oswego East’s Kamron Battle (23) works to get around Aurora Christian’s Will Wolfe, February 3, 2018. | Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times.

Aurora Christian was definitely more talented than I expected it to be. Jake Wolfe is a star lead guard and his brother Will (just a sophomore) is already a really good high school player and is likely a very intriguing prospect for colleges. He has size and can really shoot it.

Really fun game overall, had a nice flow to it and was a joy to watch. Oswego East was interesting, they having a very nice season with a lot of young players. I think the Wolves are a decent candidate for a preseason ranking next season.

Read all about Aurora Christian’s win against Oswego East. The Eagles are still undefeated.

I caught the second half of Naperville North’s comeback win over East Aurora. Chris Johnson didn’t play for the Huskies, who struggled against the Tomcats’ press. Jack Hill led Naperville North with 22 points and Tom Welch scored 19.

Tonight’s top games

Riverside-Brookfield 67, Fenwick 65: Didn’t see this one coming, but that is just the way this season is going. Riverside-Brookfield started out the season 1-5 and are now 15-9. Ryan Cicenas led the way with 16 points. Junior Zach Vaia made the game-winner with two seconds left. Vaia finished with 14 points and nine assists.

Momence 50, Cissna Park 44: MOMENCE WATCH. The Redskins win the SVC championship. Lamar Lillard scored 17 points and Lamarius Lillard added 13. For a minute this morning I thought I was going to get a chance to head to Momence on Tuesday, then I realized it was the first round of the Public League playoffs.

Curie 79, Chaminade 71: Great win for the Condors. If you’ve seen Curie this season you’ve probably been really intrigued by Dajuan Gordon. He scored 22 and grabbed 11 rebounds. Maurice Commander had 14 points, five assists and four steals.

Springfield Lanphier 62, Bolingbrook 56: The Raiders rough spell continues. Joseph Yesufu and Tyler Cochran each scored 21 in the loss.

Belleville West 78, Webster Groves (MO) 67: Always worthwhile to keep updated on the state’s top junior. Looks like EJ Liddell put on a show with 33 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

Evanston 81, Oak Park-River Forest 66: Dominant win for the Wildkits. Ryan Bost scored 24 and Jaheim Holden had 18.

West Aurora 63, Oswego 51: Quite a night for Jared Crutcher. The Blackhawks’ big man posted a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Lake Zurich 58, Waukegan 54: JR Cison led the Bears with 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Bryant Brown continues to post huge numbers for Waukegan. He had 30 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.

St. Joseph 55, St. Charles North 47: Haven’t talked much about the Chargers this season, this is a really solid win for them. Jalen Boyd scored 20.

Maine South 50, Palatine 30: Essam Hamwi scored 28 and tied a school record with eight three-pointers.

Libertyville 62, Warren 43: Drew Peterson scored 19. The Wildcats are in first place in the North Suburban.

Leo 37, Nazareth 32: The Lions squeak by and keep the winning streak intact. Fred Cleveland had 19 points and four assists.

St. Charles East 67, Galesburg 41: The Fighting Saints drained 12 three-pointers and have now won four consecutive games.


The Latest
Despite getting into foul trouble, which limited him to just six minutes in the second half, Shannon finished with 29 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Cowboy hats, bell-bottoms and boots were on full display Thursday night as fans lined up for the first of his three sold-out shows.
The incident occurred about 3:40 p.m. near Minooka. The horse was successfully placed back into the trailer, and the highway reopened about 40 minutes later. No injuries were reported.
The Hawks conceded the game’s only two goals within the first seven minutes and were shut out for the 12th time this season in a 2-0 defeat Thursday.