Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Jan. 19, 2019

The snow defeated me today. I was able to get my car out of the parking spot but not out of the alley, despite nearly two hours of shoveling. So I did not get to Evanston for the War on the Shore.

Luckily Evanston does a fantastic broadcast on YouTube so I was able to watch the Wildkits take on Bolingbrook in the last game of the event.

The Raiders pulled out a 70-66 win despite a rash of fourth quarter turnovers. It was a wild finish. Evanston missed several crucial free throws in the final minutes.

Junior guard Darius Burford continued his terrific run with 20 points and Tyler Cochran scored 13. Lance Jones led the Wildkits with 19 and Blake Peters had 16.

Bolingbrook beat Joliet Central, Homewood-Flossmoor and Evanston this week. Next up is Morgan Park on Monday at Fenwick. That game will be broadcast on the UToo.

Tonight’s photo is from the Chelby Frazier Classic. I didn’t realize until this morning that the shootout at Thornwood was in Chelby’s honor or I probably would have planned to be there instead of at Evanston. It is wonderful that the south suburbs pulled this event together in his name. He would have been on my case on Twitter all week to come to Thornwood and cover it.

There were four games: Thornridge beat Harlan 55-44, Thornton beat Ag. Science 74-44 and Rich Central knocked off Hyde Park 88-86. The Thunderbirds pulled out a 61-58 win against Southland Prep.

Saturday’s top games

Hillcrest 77, No. 22 Oak Park 74: Two good teams that have had rollercoaster seasons. Fittingly, this game was up and down. The Hawks trailed by 21 in the second half. Big man Dylan West led the way with 27 points.

St. Frances (MD) 70, No. 8 Simeon 65: Another loss for the Wolverines, who were beaten by Corliss on Thursday. Simeon coach Robert Smith, who originally thought he was only going to miss two games, is still not back coaching. Star sophomore Ahamad Bynum is out again, his ankle has not fully healed. Antonio Reeves led the Wolverines with 32 points.

St. Viator 38, No. 20 Loyola 29: The Ramblers have lost two of three games since joining the rankings over the weekend. Connor Kochera had 16 points and Jeremiah Hernandez had 15 for the Lions.

Waubonsie Valley 43, Lyons 41: The Warriors won two games today and are now 17-2. Clearly a team I need to see.

St. Patrick 61, Wheeling 46: Austin Freeman with another big game. The senior scored 27 and sophomore Caleb Corro added 13. The Shamrocks are just 11-10 this season, but I like what I’ve seen from them and they are in a very winnable Class 3A sectional.

Lindblom 61, Belvidere North 56: The Eagles win in Rockford. Junior Marshun Williams had 21 points and seven rebounds and senior guard Shamar Pumphrey did a bit of everything with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. They are 17-2.

No. 4 Morgan Park 88, Baltimore Patterson 77 OT: The Red-South/Central earns a split in Baltimore thanks to the Mustangs. Adam Miller is on fire. The junior scored 34.

TF South 69, Batavia 49: Dominant win for the Rebels. Elijah Steward scored 20 and Andrew Stewart had 12.

Joliet Central 53, Huntley 40: The Steelmen advance at Wheaton-Warrenville South. They are playing a close game against a very good Rockford East team as I write this.

No. 14 New Trier 37, No. 10 DePaul Prep 35: Two consecutive losses for the Rams, who have hit a January rough patch. Ciaran Brayboy had 11 points. Perry Cowan led the Rams with 19.

No. 23 Waukegan 60, Zion-Benton 51: Watched a bit of this one online too, it is one of the area’s best rivalries. The gym was packed up in Zion, despite the snowstorm (I have no idea if it snowed way up north or not). Andre White Jr. had 26 points and seven assists. Ja’Veon Taylor added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Romeoville 70, St. Charles East 53: Not only a nice win for the Spartans but for the entire Southwest Prairie, which hasn’t had the best non-conference record this season (in big games at least).

North Lawndale 53, Gary West Side 49: The Phoenix have played well this week. Demetrius Douglas led with 19 points, six rebounds and four steals.

SATURDAY’S FULL SCOREBOARD