Chicago Catholic League Blue has shown it's toughness all year in knockdown drag out affairs. We will have another on here in Champaign. DePaul Prep won 41-38 at home late in the regular season. Here we go rankings are Big Tim's:
#6 Mount Carmel (Chicago) 65 Mount Zion 49: Game was real competitive in the first half as the teams were tied at 30. Mount Carmel's Northwestern commit Angelo Ciaravino had 2 early fouls and had to go to the bench. Junior Grant Best stepped up with the scoring with 12 of his 14 point in that stanza. Senior Lee Marks III came off the bench after being out for a number of weeks and gave them a lift on both ends. Second half the play of sophomore point guard Noah Mister getting where he wanted on the court though his three was not falling. He made some nice passes to set up teammates for layups. Mount Zion sophomore JC Anderson dominated the first half in the paint area with 16 points. He's a big time division one football recruit at tight end with multiple offers. Coincidence he was playing against a team known as a football school. He was held to 1 point in the second half as Mount Carmel made a defensive adjustment. Mount Zion led 17-16 at end of 1, but game was tied at 30 at halftime. Third quarter told the story as Mount Carmel outscored Mount Zion 20-10 to take a 50-40 lead into the fourth quarter. Mount Carmel advances to title game against Chicago Catholic League foe DePaul College Prep with a 32-5 record. Mount Zion plays Richwoods (Peoria) in third place game with a 35-2 record.
Top performers for Mount Carmel (Chicago):
Grant Best, 6'2" junior guard: He took care of the offense early with 12 points on a variety of mid range shots, was 3/3 from three and getting to free throw line. Stat line 14 points 5 rebounds 3 assists and 2 steals.
Noah Mister, 6'0" sophomore point guard: Controlled the tempo and set up teammates for easy layups. Stat line: 10 points 2 rebounds 6 assists and 1 block.
Cameron Thomas, 6'3" junior guard: He hit a couple of threes at key times and attacked the basket to score. Stat line: 14 points 6 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal.
Angelo Ciaravino, 6'6" senior wing: Northwestern commit overcome early foul trouble and hit some baskets in the second half. Stat line: 13 points 2 rebounds 1 assist and 1 block.
Top performers for Mount Zion:
JC Anderson, 6'7" sophomore forward: Dominated the first half but was double teamed in the second half. Hit the glass and had a few assists. Stat line: 17 points 8 rebounds 3 assists and 2 blocks.
Lyncoln Koester, 6'3" junior guard: Did not have his best shooting game but was aggressive hunting his shot. Stat line: 13 points 1 rebound and 5 assists.
#2 DePaul College Prep (Chicago) 52 Richwoods (Peoria) 41: Pack line defense limited Rutgers commit Lathan Sommerville just enough on the interior to keep control most of the game. Richwoods did get to within two a couple of times, change the tempo for part of the third quarter to get back in it. DePaul College Prep put the clamps down defensively in the fourth quarter to pull away. Junior Makai Kvamme of DePaul Prep controlled the tempo and made some tough high backboard runners over Sommerville to keep Richwoods at bay. DePaul College Prep led pretty much the entire game. They led 8-5 at end of first quarter, sophomore Rashaun Porter hit a layup right before half-time buzzer for a 20-14 lead. Though Richwoods change the tempo with pressure, it was 12-12 for the third quarter and DePaul Prep still led 32-26 at the end of it. A couple of steals and runouts in the fourth quarter by DePaul Prep put the game away at the fourth quarter media timeout with 3:56 left. DePaul College Prep will play Chicago Catholic League rival Mount Carmel (Chicago) in the title game for chance at repeat title. Won Class 2A last season. They will have a 34-2 record. Richwoods (Peoria) will play Mount Zion in third place game tonight with a 29-5 record.
Top performers for DePaul College Prep (Chicago):
Makai Kvamme, 6'2" junior point guard: Controlled the tempo to a tune of 15 points 3 rebounds 6 assists 3 steals and 1 block.
PJ Chambers, 6'2" point guard: Was solid as usual in all phases. Hit a couple of big threes at key times in the game. Stat line: 15 points 2 rebounds and 2 steals.
Rashaun Porter, 6'6" sophomore forward: Did a great job as a press breaker and hitting the glass. Stat line: 10 points 6 rebounds and 1 steal.
Top performers for Richwoods (Peoria):
Lathan Sommerville, 6'10" senior forward: Pack line defense kept him from going nuclear in this game, but he had a steady burn of nice plays. Stat line: 18 points 3 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Daquan Little, 6'0" senior guard: Hit a couple of threes in first half to try and get some space for Sommerville to operate inside. Stat line: 10 points 2 rebounds and 1 assist .