Too easy for DePaul College Prep (Chicago) who won this game early. Evanston Township had to endure a back and forth lead changing game, but leaned on their defense to advance to 3rd state finals in 7 years. Top performances in state last night.
DePaul College Prep (Chicago) 68 Kaneland 28:
Kaneland came in with a 31 game winning streak. They had only lost once all year early in the season to McHenry. DePaul Prep did not care. They've won two straight state titles (one in 2A, and the latest in 3A) and had plenty of experience on college floors. Kaneland with their junior laden team had not and you could tell right away. This is the fourth straight trip to the State Finals for DePaul College Prep (Chicago).
First quarter:
It was 10-0 DePaul Prep right away before Kaneland called a timeout. It did not stop the onslught as senior Gus Donohue came off the bench and hit two straight threes. DePaul Prep shot 9 for 13 from the floor in the quarter, while Kaneland was 0 for 8 with just three free throws to show for their scoring. DePaul Prep led 21-3 after one quarter. Game over.
Second quarter:
More of the same as Kaneland had a hard time scoring on DePaul Prep's pack line defense. Everytime they thouhgt they had a driving line, DePaul Prep had two guys there waiting. They also recover well in the defense, meanwhile they kept hitting shots. DePaul Prep shot 7 for 9 from the field for the quarter. Kaneland was 4 for 11 from the floor. DePaul Prep outscored Kaneland 22-9 in the quarter for a 43-12 halftime lead.
Third quarter:
DePaul Prep stayed hot from the floor shooting 6 for 9 for the quarter while Kaneland did warm up a bit shooting 4 for 10 from the floor. Senior Freddy Hassan of Kaneland had 5 points in the quarter. DePaul Prep outscored Kaneland 17-10 in the quarter for a 60-22 lead precipitatng a running clock.
Fourth quarter:
Reserves played most of the quarter with DePaul Prep outscoring Kaneland 8-6 in the quarter for final margin. DePaul Prep shot 79% from the floor for the game.
Top performers:
DePaul College Prep (Chicago):
Junior Rykan Woo 14 points 4 rebounds
Junior Rashaun Porter 11 points 4 rebounds 3 steals 1 block
Senior Makai Kvamme 10 points 5 assists 1 steal (Western Illinois commit)
Junior AJ Chambers 10 points 4 assists 2 steals
Senior Gus Donohue 9 points
Kaneland:
Senior Freddy Hassan 11 points 8 rebounds
Sophomore Jeffrey Hassan 7 points
Junior Marshawn Cocroft 6 points
DePaul College Prep (Chicago) advances to Class 3A Semifinal vs Glenwood (Chatham) with a 31-4 record.
Kaneland ends season with 32-2 record.
Evanston Township 47 Glenbard West 43:
Nip and tuck game the entire way. Evanston took the lead early in the fourth quarter and hung on with big time late free throw shooting by seniors Theo Rocca, Kaidan Chatham, and Ian Peters who combined 7 for 8 shooting in last minute of the game.
First quarter:
Glenbard West looked like they were going to run away with it getting out to a 10-2 lead on turnovers and breakaway layups in their 1-3-1 zone defense. Timeout Evanston. Wildkits got it together and had a monster halfcourt defense, cut down the turnovers, and scored a few baskets. Senior Logan Glover was unstoppable early with 6 points in the quarter. Junior Josh Abushanab also had 6 in the quarter. Senior Theo Rocca for Evanston kept pace with 7 points in the quarter. Glenbard West led 15-12 after one quarter.
Second quarter:
Evanston really put the clamps down on Glenbard West on the dfensvie end. Key three pointers by senior Jayden Rodriguez and freshman Ben Ojala gave Evanston a lead. Glenbard West shot 2 for 8 for the quarter but was behind only 25-22 at halftime.
Third quarter:
Abushanab of Glenbard West came alive. He played in this arena last year for Glenbard North (Carol Stream) in Supersectional vs New Trier (Winnetka) which they lost in overtime. He treid his best in the quarter to put the team on his back and carry them to their second state finals in four years. He was aggressive in attacking the basket, drawing fouls and scoring. He had 8 of his 16 points in the quarter. Had as many points as Evanston's team did in the quarter with 8. Glenbard West scored 13 in the quarter to take a 35-33 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter:
Ojala hit an early three in the quarter to give Evanston a 36-35 lead which they would never relinquish, but the lead never got higher than 6 points. Evanston clamped down and made life more miserable for Glenbard West whom only scored 10 points in the quarter. They forced four turnovers with one being an offensive foul on Northwestern football commit senior Mike O'Connell which was a huge play. Theo Rocca made four free throws in a row to seal the game. Senior Teyion Oriental shot a late three that missed, Evanston got the rebound, buzzer sounded and they move onto the state final four.
Additional notes:
Sophomore Vito Rocca was huge with his positional defense in the paint, senior Ian Peters with his pressure perimeter defense, and Kaidan Chatham with his huge defensive rebounds in traffic, also did a great job shutting down junior sensation TJ Williams of Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn)
Top performers:
Evanston Township:
Senior Theo Rocca game high 17 points 2 steals 1 block (Washington University St Louis commit)
Freshman Ben Ojala 8 points 3 rebounds 2 steals (off bench)
Senior Kaidan Chatham 7 points 10 rebounds 4 assists
Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn):
Junior Josh Abushanab 16 points 1 steal
Senior Teyion Oriental 9 points
Senior Logan Glover 8 points 5 rebounds 1 steal
Evanston Township advances to Class 4A semifinals against Benet Academy (Lisle) with a 30-5 record.
Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn) finishes seaosn with a 28-6 record.
Top performances in state:
Dierre Hill Jr, Althoff (Belleville) 21 points (Oregon football commit)
Justin Helm of Chatham (Glenwood) with game winning basket
Dietrich Richardson, Manual (Peoria) 18 points 5 rebounds 1 steal 1 block (Bradley commit)
Al Brooks Jr, Rich Township (Richton Park) 27 points 15 rebounds (double/double)
Jameson Coulter Jr, Rich Township (Richton Park) 17 points (junior)
Jayden Williams, Rich Township (Richton Park) 15 points (junior)
Amari Edwards, Kenwood Academy (Chicago) 23 points
Damari Stephens, Kenwood Academy (Chicago) 15 points (sophomore)
Devin Cleveland, Kenwood Academy (Chicago) 14 points (sophomore)
Marcos Gonzales, Brother Rice (Chicago) 21 points (Citadel commit)
Jack Weigus, Brother Rice (Chicago) 19 points
Ian Militec, Rolling Meadows 21 points (Marquette commit)
Zach Ashburn, Warren Township (Gurnee) 14 points 10 rebounds (double/double)
Jaxson Davis, Warren Township (Gurnee) 14 points (sophomore)
Jayden Wright, Benet Academy (Lisle) 21 points (15 FT) (junior)
Blake Fagbemi, Benet Academy (Lisle) 16 points (Truman State commit)
Trae Brickner, Christian (Peoria) 26 points (6 3PT)
RJ McPartlin, St Patrick (Chicago) 14 points 8 rebounds
Noah Mister, Mount Carmel (Chicago) 22 points (junior)
Parker Krogman, Eastland (Lanark) 16 points
Tyjuan Hunter, Hope Academy (Chicago) 26 points (junior)
Comments