I was at the First Annual Etown Showdown at Northwestern University yesterday and had 3 close and tightly contested games.
#17 Stevenson(Lincolnshire) 35 #3 Loyola Academy 31: Not much scoring in this game and I ask is it a product of good defense, bad offense, or a need of a shot clock in high school basketball? I'll go with the later and thing is we could see this game AGAIN at the Hoffman Estates(Sears Centre) Supersectional. Personally I hope not but the game was still close with Stevenson holding the largest lead at 8 the beginning of the third quarter. Stevenson held leads of 20-14 at halftime and 28-22 at end of 3. Stevenson had some turnovers in the fourth quarter to allow Loyola Academy to within 2 points but Stevenson held on for the win. The Patriots were led by senior forward Robert Holmes Jr with 9 points and 10 rebounds. He was MVP for Stevenson. Loyola Academy was led by senior forward Jordan Kwiecinski's 7 points 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. He was MVP for Loyola Academy. Stevenson ups it's record to 18-4 while Loyola Academy takes it's second in state loss and drops to 23-3.
#7 Evanston Township 70 Sussex Hamilton(WI) 68 in 3 Overtimes: This was the homecoming for consensus Top 5 National prospect in Class of 2021 6'9" wing Patrick Baldwin who spent a lot of his childhood in Evanston. He was very good as usual tonight with 25 points 17 rebounds but junior guard Jaylin Gibson of Evanston made him work to get his 25 points. This game was tight all game long with a lot of lead changes. Evanston led 16-15 after first quarter and 34-27 at the half. Baldwin came out firing to start the third quarter with 8 points in the first four minutes of the quarter to give Sussex Hamilton a 42-41 lead at the end of the third quarter. Nip and tuck back and forth the rest of the game. Junior guard Blake Peters had a chance to win the game with a three at the buzzer which did not fall and it was 52 apiece. First overtime Gibson commits a charging foul with 1.8 seconds left in first overtime, Sussex Hamilton misses a half court attempt to send game into second overtime tied at 60. The second overtime Sussex Hamilton is protecting a two point lead when Peters strips Baldwin Jr and Evanston scores to tie the game at 62. Sussex Hamilton's JT Hoytink missed a three point shot off pass from Baldwin Jr a the second overtime buzzer. Third overtime Sussex Hamilton has the ball for the last shot with game tied, misses a two pointer and Evanston junior guard Daeshwan Hemphill is fouled with 3.3. seconds left. Hemphill hits two free throws for a 70-68 lead. Sussex Hamilton makes a full court pas to Baldwin Jr, who fumbles the ball and Gibson steals it to seal the game. Baldwin Jr was game MVP for Sussex Hamilton. He was supported by senior guard Carson Smith with 13 points followed by senior forward Lucas Finessy's 12 points. Junior guard Tanner Roesch and senior guard JT Hoytink each had 9 points. Evanston was led by game MVP junior guard Elijah Bull with 19 points 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Junior guards Jaylin Gibson had 15 points 5 rebounds 5 assists, Blake Peters 14 points 2 steals, Isaiah "Itchy" Holden 13 points 3 assists 2 steals. Evanston ups it's record to 23-3, while Sussex Hamilton falls to 15-2.
Girls Basketball rankings are from Illinois Insider: #1 Benet(Lisle) 75 #4 Evanston Township 71 2 Overtimes: Second overtime game of the three game event. This game was a back and forth affair with a lot of ties and lead changes. These teams showed they are amongst the top teams in the state. Benet plays 9 players extensively, while Evanston though they played 9 too, 7 of them play most of the minutes. Benet went out to a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Evanston started out slow, but got up to speed in the second quarter. Junior guard Rashelle Olatunbosun kept them in the game early with 8 points. Evanston started feeding their senior center Amber Gentile regularly to get back into the game during this time. They cut the lead to 26-24 at halftime. The second half was a see saw affair as Benet had a 43-39 lead at the end of the third quarter. Evanston held a three point lead when senior guard Kendall Holmes hit a three pointer with 17 seconds left to tie the game at 56 and send game into first overtime. The first overtime period Evanston's Gentile hit a follow up layup to give them a two point lead, Benet had possesion and Holmes was fouled driving to the basket with 1.5 seconds left. Holmes was injured on the play and had to come out so not allowed to shoot her free throws. Senior guard Allison Forney came off the bench and hit two huge free throws to tie the game at 63 and send it into a second overtime. Third overtime Holmes put the game away with a big time three point shot with 21 seconds to go, Evanston had posession but missed their opportunity, Benet got the rebound and junior guard Molly Sheehan was fouled and hit two free throws to clinch the game. Benet was led by senior guard Kendall Holmes 23 points and 5 rebounds, followed by senior forward Brooke Schramek's 14 points 7 rebounds, junior guard Kendall Moriarity's 13 points 5 rebounds. Special mention senior guard Ashley Berry who's 5'7" had 12 rebounds and 3 assists. She's one of the best rebounding guards I've seen in high school basketball. Evanston was led by junior guard Rashele Olatunbosun's 20 points 5 rebounds, followed by senior center Amber Gentile's double double 20 points 10 rebounds. Senior guard Kayla Henning had 10 points, along with senior guard Jayla Turchin's 9 points and 10 rebounds. Benet ups it's record to 24-3, while Evanston drops to 22-4.
Conclusion: I saw 5 overtimes tonight in the last two games. I was at a two overtime game last night between Rolling Meadows and Buffalo Grove: https://tim1coleman.wixsite.com/website/home/rolling-meadows-93-buffalo-grove-83-in-double-overtime. That's 7 OVERTIMES IN TWO DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say I was entertained all weekend. I also thank Evanston Athletic Director Chris Livitino for running a great event in a great facility. This was the first time I was in the new Welsh-Ryan Arena, and the seats were very nice and comfortable. See you next year God willing.
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