Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Dec. 7, 2018

A huge thank you to Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich, AD Jim Lindeman and Max Christie. They couldn’t have been more accommodating tonight, an extra special feat since they were about to play a big conference game.

We had some technical difficulties with the live stream, but I’ll get the video up tomorrow and I’m also thinking about incorporating the audio into next week’s episode of No Shot Clock.

As the live feed was dying, Christie was telling everyone that he does not plan to leave Rolling Meadows. That’s the question I’m most often asked about him. People seem shocked that a great high school basketball player might actually stay at his school, which is not a traditional powerhouse.

Christie had a lot of good things to say about the school and the community. He addressed it in a Daily Herald article right before the season as well. It is time to put that question to bed.

Things did not go the Mustangs’ way tonight. Buffalo Grove was a step quicker and tougher throughout the game. Christie played very well and Bison freshman Kam Craft lived up to his hype as well. It’s great to see high school basketball talent returning to the Mid-Suburban League.

Read all about Buffalo Grove’s win over Rolling Meadows.

Two huge days of basketball coming up in the Team Rose Shootout at Mount Carmel. I’ll be doing live notebooks all day/night Saturday and Sunday. Joe Henricksen did a full preview, read it here.

Friday’s top games

No. 3 Bloom 54, Rich Central 45: The Blazing Trojans will be undefeated heading into tomorrow’s showdown against Morgan Park. Martice Mitchell scored 20 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Dante Maddox scored 16.

No. 11 Leo 75, De La Salle 59: That is six consecutive wins for the Lions. Fred Cleveland Jr. had 24 points, five assists and three steals. DaChaun Anderson had a monster night with 16 points and 17 rebounds, his brother Kendale grabbed 14 boards.

Stevenson 59, Zion-Benton 38: It looked like the Zee-Bees might be creeping into the Super 25 this week. Stevenson, without Matt Ambrose, put an end to that. Impressive win.

No. 19 Waukegan 87, Mundelein 77: This would have been a solid game to see tonight. Andre White Jr. had 24 points and Jaylin Cunningham had 23 points and 12 boards. Bryant Brown scored 22 and grabbed eight rebounds. The Bulldogs were 20 of 21 from the free-throw line. The young Mustangs were led by soph Scottie Ebube with 26 points and soph Conor Enright with 22.

Rancho Christian (CA) 79, No. 9 Simeon 59: I was sitting next to Scott Burgess when Robert Smith sent over the score. Burgess says Rancho Christian is loaded, that the players were all basically on one of the best club teams in the country. Antonio Reeves led the Wolverines with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Kejuan Clements added 20 points and 7 assists.

Conant 59, Palatine 45: Raj Mittal led the Cougars to the win with 15 points and Devon Ellis added 14. MSL folks have been talking a lot about Palatine soph Julian Campbell, another in the growing list of young talents in that league. He scored 21.

Hinsdale South 56, Hinsdale Central 46: Rivalry win. Billy Durkin had 19 and Aaron Tims scored 13.

Payton 56, Schurz 42: Massive game in the White-North. The Public League schedule is strange, so some of the most important games of the season have taken place this week. Ryan Trotter led the Grizzlies with 17 points. Football star Zach Anderson apparently plays hoops too. He and Freddy Martin led a strong team defensive effort.

No. 7 Evanston 54, Maine South 52 OT: Tony Lavorato and his gutty Hawks almost took down the Wildkits. Ryan Brost made four big free throws to seal the win.

Cedar Falls (IA) 71, No. 5 Bolingbrook 64: The Raiders lose their first game of the season.

Orr 68, Prosser 60 OT: Greg Outlaw is off to an outstanding start. He had 21 points and eight boards in this one. Encouraging score for the Falcons though.

Romeoville 44, Joliet Central 42 OT: A second overtime loss to the Spartans this season? Did I read the right? Thanks to the magic of Twitter I was actually able to see the final game-winning three-point attempt by the Steelmen.

St. Laurence 75, St. Rita 65: The Vikings get a very nice win. Jeremiah Williams scored 28.

Providence-St. Mel 78, No. 17 Brother Rice 72: Rough week for the Crusaders. Things don’t get any easier this weekend against Markese Jacobs and Uplift.

Lincoln Park 58, Crane 37: Also a rough week for the Cougars. The Lions get a win on the road. Joe Tamatekou had 14 points and 13 boards and Ish Habib scored 10.

No. 6 Curie 87, Eduprize (AZ) 72: The Condors beat an Arizona squad led by Morgan Park transfer Shon Robinson. Justin Harmon scored 21 and DaJuan Gordon added 19 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

No. 1 Young 65, Palotti (MD) 63: Myles Baker hit the game-winner. He finished with 15 points. DJ Steward scored 20 and Tyler Beard had 13.

Lane 56, No. 23 Uplift 50: What a week for the Indians. First they take down North Lawndale and now the Titans. Jimmy Mulvaney scored 14 and hit two big free throws to ice the win.

No. 12 Oswego East 68, Plainfield East 54: Huge conference win for the Wolves heading into tomorrow’s showdown against St. Viator. Sam Shultz, a really intriguing 6-8 junior, had 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Marshall 80, North Lawndale 77: It’s time to find something out about the Commandos. They’ve been flying too far under the radar for two years.

Hillcrest 66, Richards 58: The Hawks grab the key conference win but the score shows that all this talk about keeping an eye on Richards this season is true.

Friday’s full scoreboard