The tenth annual War On The Shore had some entertaining games yesterday. The three game set was just right and players stepped up for every team in the Showcase. Proceeds went to the Danny Did Foundation to bring awareness to epilepsy. Here's the link to the site: https://www.dannydid.org/. Here's the review of the games:
New Trier(Winnetka) 59 Oak Lawn 48: The host Trevians staked out to an early 17-12 lead in the first quarter led by senior forward Emmett Burnside until foul trouble and three early fouls sent him to the bench. The second quarter junior center Jackson Schmelter just housed things on the interior with all 12 of his points in the first half to stake the Trevians to a 37-24 halftime lead. Oak Lawn started the second half with an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 2 points led by senior forward Scott Maloney's 6 points during that run. New Trier changed their defense from a man to man to a zone in the fourth quarter, and the game changed for good. New Trier took the lead back to 13 and cruised to an 11 point win. New Trier played 11 players in the first quarter alone and showed some depth. Senior guard John Carragher led the Trevians with 14 points, Schmeleter 12, senior Emmett Burnside had 10 along with junior Ian Burns. Oak Lawn was led by senior guard Sami Osmani with 14 points followed by senior guards Trey Ward and Maloney with 11 apiece. New Trier ups it's record to 11-9 while Oak Lawn drops to 15-5.
#6 Homewood Flossmoor 51 #8 Loyola Academy(Wilmette) 46: Homewood Flossmoor led this game from start to finish but Loyola made kept within striking range the whole game. The first half was back and forth with a contrast of styles, Homewood Flossmoor speeding up the game with turnovers, while Loyola Academy ran it's half court offense against a zone defense of the Vikings. Senior forward RJ Ogom and senior guard Brandon Brewer controlled proceedings in the first half, as they led 24-20 at the half. Homewood Flossmoor came out of halftime with a 10-2 run to start the third with a timeout by Loyola. Senior forward Bennett Kwiecinski started doing work scoring and on the the glass to bring the Ramblers back into the game. Homewood Flossmoor ended the third quarter with a 39-32 lead. No one had scored 50 points on Loyola all season, and it looked like they would easily surpass that total. The fourth quarter started and Loyola went into a 1-3-1 zone defense which slowed the Vikings down. Loyola cut the lead to 3 points in the last minute, and has a chance to tie the game but senior guard Matt Enghauser's three point attempt came up way short, and Homewood Flossmoor grabbed the rebound but turned it over again. Loyola attempted another three pointer that came up short, Homewood Flossmoor grabbed the rebound and scored on a breakaway layup for the final 5 point margin, and went over 50 points in the process. Ogom led Homewood Flossmoor with 13 points followed by senior guard Julian Gatewood's 12 off the bench. Loyola Academy which suffered their first loss to an Illinois team was led by Bennett Kwiecinski's 13 points and 11 rebounds followed by his twin brother Jordan Kwiecinski's 11 points. Homewood Flossmoor ups it's record to 15-2, while Loyola Academy drops to 19-2.
#1 Evanston Township 74 Hillcrest(Country Club Hills) 69: As good as the Homewood Flossmoor-Loyola Academy game was, this one was even better. Hillcrest guard play has been inconsistent all year, but they were on their game in this one. Hillcrest was getting downhill off the dribble consistently throughout the first three quarters of the game. Lots of back and forth with turnovers, speeding down the court for layups, put backs, and three point shots by both teams. Evanston had a 33-29 halftime lead but Hillcrest started out the third quarter with a 13-3 run to take a 6 point lead in the middle of the third quarter. Evanston was not hitting their three pointers and was getting beat off the dribble and on the glass at this point. It looked like their undefeated season was going to end at this point. The fourth quarter started and Hillcrest had a seven point lead, and junior guard Mar'Keise "Bucky" Irving was controlling the game. Then with 5 minutes to go in the game Hillcrest junior point guard Kenton Wright fouled out of the game. At this point as they say pressure burst pipes and the Wildkits turned up the pressure. Four consecutive turnovers by the Hawks and a big three pointer from the corner by junior point guard Isaiah "Itchy" Holden, who had a great all around game, tied the game going down the stretch. Evanston outscored Hillcrest 17-5 once Wright fouled out. Evanston hit 14 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter, with junior guard Jaylin Gibson going 8 for 8 to close the game. Gibson led Evanston with 22 points 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Junior guard Blake Peters had 18 points, Holden had 14 points 5 assists and 4 steals. Junior guard Daeshawn Hemphill and sophomore guard Ryan Bost had 9 points each. Hillcrest was led by Irving with 19 points followed by junior forwards Julius Rollins 14, Jakobi Heady 13, and junior point guard Kenton Wright's 9 before fouling out. Evanston Township ups it's record to 18-0 and will keep the #1 ranking for now. Hillcrest drops to 12-7 but looks like it's turning the corner.
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