Curie holds off improving Corliss, but Mike Oliver disappointed with effort

Curie coach Mike Oliver walked onto the court after another win Tuesday, thanked the refs and smiled at fans.

But he was not happy.

“My guys just came out here to go through the motions,” Oliver said. “They’re just so relaxed, they didn’t defend like we normally do, they just thought they were going to walk out there and win the game, just because we’re playing Corliss. That’s a good team … and our guys are just sleepwalking like we already won something. Apparently we’ve lost our total focus on how to play the right way.”

Moments earlier, Oliver’s No. 1 ranked Condors held off a surging Corliss team 80-69, but they played the visiting Trojans only evenly after jumping out to a 15-6 lead early.

Corliss, which came in fresh off an eye-opening upset of Simeon and a 43-point demolition of Aurora Christian, even cut the deficit to as little as seven points with a minute to play.

“I’m just disappointed in how they approached the game: the effort wasn’t there, the defense wasn’t there,” Oliver added. “You can’t have these type of games going into the playoff. Bad habits don’t go away.”

Offensively, Curie’s stars showed up per usual on the scoresheet. DaJaun Gordon scored 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting, Ramean Hinton tallied 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and the team altogether shot at a sparkling 55 percent clip. Sharpshooter Damari Nixon drained in 17 points as well, and Oliver singled him out as the one player who “came to play.”

But defensively, the Condors (22-1, 8-0 Red South/Central) struggled.

“We came in thinking that they were a weak team, but they’re really good, one of the best in the state,” Gordon said. “Probably the best team that we’ve competed against this year.”

Corliss (10-6, 4-5) did fairly well to break an aggressive midcourt press, especially in the second half, and produced good looks from the midrange. When the open shots didn’t fall, 6-9 center Joseph Doyle (13 points, 16 rebounds) was there to clean things up.

PHOTO GALLERY

On his drive to the basket, Corliss’s Leondre Townsen (2) fends off Curie’s Ramean Hinton (23) in their 80-69 loss in Chicago, Tuesday January 22, 2019. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

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Corliss’s Mark Lewis Jr. (4) is stopped by Curie’s Damari Nixon (2) and Dajuan Gordon (3) during their 80-69 loss in Chicago, Tuesday January 22, 2019. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

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Curie’s Ramean Hinton (23) blocks the shot of Corliss’s Joseph Doyle (22) in their 80-69 win in Chicago, Tuesday January 22, 2019. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

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Curie’s Justin Harmon (24) loses control of ball against Corliss in their 80-69 victory in Chicago, Tuesday January 22, 2019. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

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Corliss’s Leondre Townsen (2) shoots over Curie’s Dajuan Gordon (3) during their 80-69 loss in Chicago, Tuesday January 22, 2019. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

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Corliss’s Joseph Doyle (22) dunks against Curie during their 80-69 loss in Chicago, Tuesday January 22, 2019. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

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Corliss, overall, looked like a team finding their groove at the right time of the season.

“We knew coming in, at the beginning of the year, that we could beat some big teams,” Trojans coach Harvey Jones said. “Simeon is a great program. We wanted Curie — we felt that we could beat Curie. Every day, I tell my guys that we’re going to lace up and we’re going to fight, and they came out and fought. Curie was just the better team today.”

Senior guard Leondre Townsen led Corliss with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, less than a week after dropping 27 against Simeon.

He’s a Julian transfer who has given this Trojans team, which graduated a number of seniors last spring and began this year 1-4, a dynamic weapon alongside fellow senior Dhashon Dyson (21 points).

“We rotated the ball much, everybody was just scoring and playing great,” Townsen said. “My team is just opening up shots for me, getting me energized and ready for the game.”

Curie, meanwhile, has one conference matchup remaining — at home against Harlan on Thursday — before the city playoffs begin.

Oliver is hoping that can generate a major turnaround in team psyche after Tuesday’s relatively narrow victory.

“If they don’t start playing hard and getting better and taking this seriously, they’re going to have an early accident in the playoff,” Oliver said. “All that success early in the season don’t mean anything. You’ve got to continue to approach every game like there’s another team just as good as Simeon, Morgan Park or Bogan.”