PHI State Playoff Notebook: March 3
The playoffs are off and running. PrepHoops Illinois has you covered with our state wide notebook from Tuesday night’s games. Here is what happened diving into 20+ games on “Super Tuesday”! 4A West Aurora defeats Waubonsie Valley 47-41 We…
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Continue ReadingThe playoffs are off and running. PrepHoops Illinois has you covered with our state wide notebook from Tuesday night’s games. Here is what happened diving into 20+ games on “Super Tuesday”!
4A
West Aurora defeats Waubonsie Valley 47-41
We watched this one on Tuesday. It was the #3/#14 upset of the night. It was played on West Aurora’s home floor and Kelvin Balfour came up huge with 17 points. One of the better unsigned senior forwards Marcus Skeete had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Highland Park over Lake Forest 33-32
This #8/#9 game was certainly close, but not too much fun to watch with it being 13-13 at the half. Lake Forest freshman Asa Thomas showed a lot of upside with his length, size, and shooting on the perimeter. He had 11 points. Highland Park made the key plays late to win 33-32. Val Oplchenski is a tough post that went for 11 points and Billy Rudman hit the key three in the fourth quarter.
Collinsville knocks off Granite City 60-44
The Kahoks are expected to be in this tournament for the long run and they opened with a 16 point victory on Tuesday night. They were led by SIU-Edwardsville commit Ray’Sean Taylor who had 22 points. Uncommitted senior post Keydrian Jones contributed 18 points.
Marian Catholic takes down TF South 68-44
It is a tough road for Marian Catholic, but they are off to a good start with a comfortable win over a quality TF South squad. Yemi Elutilo led the way with 19 point. Iowa commit Ahron Ulis went for 18 points and Western Illinois signee Elijah Jones had 13 points.
Buffalo Grove cruises to win over Hersey 83-69
Sophomore Kam Craft went off! The high scoring 2022 continues to post big numbers including 37 points on Tuesday night
Mundelein blows out Wheeling 82-38
Trey Baker went off for 42 points in a monster performance including 12 three pointers! Sometimes gets over shadowed by his D1 juniors, but this kid can play!
Curie over Argo 68-34
This was obviously very expected, but the bigger news to watch could be the commitment of Curie’s Ramean Hinton who is signed with SEMO who fired their coach on Tuesday. He had 13 points.
Maine West drops Rolling Meadows
The top prospect in the state is out in the first round. Max Christie went for 33 points, but it wasn’t quite enough as Jared Pearson had 21.
O’Fallon defeats Alton 63-52
The Panthers look strong in a win over their conference rival. Shaun Riley had 14 points and sophomore point guard Caleb Burton went for 13 points. For Alton Ky’Lun Rivers had 18 points in the loss.
Bolingbrook kicks off with 80-61 win over Plainfield East
We expect the Raiders to be in this tournament for a while and they start off strong behind their super star Elon commit Darius Burford!
3A
Carbondale over Olney 46-44
We have seen both of these teams in recent weeks and it was an even matchup. Carbondale got the win with 10 points from both James Baltz and Davaris Macklin. Olney was led by junior Braden Flanagan who had 25 points while sophomore Chase Travis went for 12 points.
Herrin shocks Mt. Vernon 62-61
Wow! Mt. Vernon was a team we thought preseason would have a chance to make a run in March and they lose in the first game. Luke LeQuatte sealed the deal at the free throw line!
Oak Forest over Brooks 65-54
Despite a couple of recent losses to state powerhouses those games will only help Oak Forest in this tournament. They start off with a win over Brooks 65-54 where their stars shined with Jayson Kent recording 24 points and Robbie Avila getting 19 points.
Peoria Notre Dame kicks off run with 50-35 win over Washington
It could be a deep playoff run for Peoria Notre Dame in 3A. They are off to a good start with a 15 point win including 23 points from 2021 point guard Noah Reynolds.
St. Viator over Grayslake North 58-43
William and Mary commit Connor Kochera drops 31 points in a win. Such a good mid-major player!
Geneso defeats Dixon 62-45
The state’s #5 senior Isaiah Rivera had a monster showing to open the playoffs with 36 points on 15-22 shooting along with 22 rebounds in the win. Colorado State is getting a good one!
2A
Sterling Newman Catholic defeats El Paso Gridley 65-53
A couple of quality 2020 posts were battled in this one. Illinois-Springfield commit Jack Weber had 19 points for El Paso Gridley. It wasn’t quite enough though as Devon House led Sterling Newman with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Nashville impresses in 49-22 win over Benton
The Hornets are in the Sweet 16 with a win where they had a balanced attack including 11 points from McKendree commit Carson Parker along with 12 points from Buzz Ritzel.
1A
Central A&M rolls 71-56 over Altamont
Our pick in 1A continues to look impressive. Their star Connor Heaton had 33 points while power forward Griffin Andricks chipped in 21.
Fenger defeats Yorkville Christian
The exciting 1A scoring Yorkville Christian squad is out in the sectionals. Micah Schnyders had 20 points in the loss.
Woodlawn defeats Coben 57-53
Two of my favorite players to watch in southern Illinois battled in small school sectionals as Blake McKay and Woodlawn knocked off Noah Franklin and Cobden.
Roanoke Benson over Mt. Pulaski 46-27
This squad keeps rolling along in their phenomenal season. Star junior Luke Braman had 14 points!