Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Feb. 5, 2019

Wow, I was very impressed by Corliss tonight. The Trojans have all the pieces necessary to make a really deep run in the Class 2A state tournament. They’ve knocked off Simeon already this season, so it is possible they make a deep run in the Public League playoffs as well.

Seniors Dhashon Dyson, Leondre Townsen and Joseph Doyle are all good enough to play college basketball. Juniors Jamario Minnefield and Jadon Williams are hard-nosed and promising.

All five of those players are transfers, so it isn’t surprising that it took Corliss a little while to figure things out. Doyle is 6-9 and a real difference maker, there just are not many players with his length in the city.

Read all about Corliss’ win against Westinghouse.

Ben Pope was at Uplift’s win against Lindblom, which has really hit a rough patch late in the season. Read that one here.

Most of the games outside of the Public League playoffs were postponed due to weather. The playoff bracket is here.

Tuesday’s top games

Young 90, Taft 68: Junior Tyler Beard has been making his presence known for the past month and he doesn’t appear to have peaked yet. He scored 40. Chino Garcia led the Eagles with 19 points.

Payton 56, Hyde Park 49: The Grizzlies were down by 12 at halftime but fought back to win. Jabari Chiphe, who just does not get talked about enough, scored 21 (19 in the second half). Ronan Prugh added 14 and Ryan Trotter scored 10.

Lane 37, Prosser 34: This is the lowest total score I can remember in a Public League playoff game. I just watched Westinghouse score 39 points in the fourth quarter against Corliss. Johnny Colombo led the Indians with 13 points and six rebounds. Big man Vuk Djuric broke the tie with a free throw and Rashad Harries picked off a big steal to seal the win.

Simeon 108, Ag. Science 36: Antonio Reeves’ recruitment is heating up. The senior scored 40 and grabbed eight rebounds. Kejuan Clements scored 16 and Ahamad Bynum added 20 points. That seems fairly big for the Wolverines, they need to get him going. Freshman AJ Casey had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Morgan Park 80, King 54: The Mustangs cruise. Adam Miller scored 23.

Vocational 47, Harlan 41: The Cavaliers squeak by. Harlan’s Shareef Robinson led all scorers with 21 points.

Lincoln Park 69, Collins 63: The Lions continue to play close games. The super sophomores led the way again. Julio Montes scored 23 and Ismail Habib had 17.

Curie 93, Fenger 62: Easy win for the Condors. DaJuan Gordon had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Justin Harmon added 19 points and seven rebounds and Trevon Hamilton had 14 points and 10 assists.

Marshall 77, Brooks 63: The Commandos handle the challenge from the White-South.

Kenwood 75, UP-Englewood 44: Rowland McCoy led the Broncos with 23 points. Kenwood probably didn’t have the regular season it hoped for, but I still really like the potential this team has.

Farragut 69, Schurz 51: Another balanced effort from the Admirals. Aaron Strong celebrated his first D1 scholarship offer by scored 20 and dishing off six assists. Johnathan Jones added 17 points and seven rebounds.

Orr 78, Clark 46: This margin of victory is a good sign for the Orr. The Spartans have looked a bit disjointed lately and I thought this one might be close. Greg Outlaw, who should be getting a lot more college attention, scored 20.

North Lawndale 63, Crane 49: Senior Demetrius Douglas scored 21 and grabbed 13 rebounds. Zion Washington, one of the city’s few rim protectors, had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocks. Robert Hobbs led Crane with 23 points and 17 rebounds.

Bogan 86, Dunbar 57: The Bengals hold off the Mightymen. Jordan Booker had 24 points and Rashaun Agee added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Thornton 48, Thornwood 41: The Wildcats are one of those teams just outside the Super 25. This win is huge. Brandon Hall led the way with 17.

St. Rita 50, Providence 42: Same with the Mustangs. They are just outside the rankings and play a ton of good teams over the next few weeks, so they can prove a lot. Jeremiah Oden had 21 points and nine rebounds and Javon Cooley added 20.

Riverside Brookfield 70, Oak Lawn 48: Wow, a dominant win for the Bulldogs, who are now 21-4. Zach Vaia scored 20 and Andrew Veon added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Hillcrest 76, TF South 65: Dylan West scored 28 as the Hawks fended off the upstart Rebels.

TUESDAY’S FULL SCOREBOARD