Parham Perspective: Chipotle Classic Quarterfinals

<p>As the season winds down for all the non CPS schools. Former Fenwick/New Trier coach Rick Malnati assembled eight of the better teams available from the Chicago area for a two day tournament. On Friday all eight teams played at St. Patrick’s High School to kick the event off. Here is a recap of the games in <strong>Parham Perspective: Chipotle Classic Quarterfinals</strong>!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(1) Simeon vs (8) St. Pat’s </strong></p> <p>The first game of the event was only close during the opening inbound play.  As the host school turned the ball over which led to an Isiah Barnes dunk and after that Simeon went on an 8 - 0 run before Pat’s scored a point. The Simeon guards [player_tooltip player_id="925193" first="Avyion" last="Morris"] and [player_tooltip player_id="771517" first="Jaylen" last="Drane"] sliced and diced the Shamrocks 1-3-1 zone defense easily finding teammates on the perimeter and their big men inside. Both [player_tooltip player_id="821782" first="Dylan" last="Ingram"] and [player_tooltip player_id="821783" first="Phillip" last="Holmes"] did damage around the bucket cleaning up missed shots and finding soft spots for easy layups. The Wolverines won the game by double digits 57 - 38 and the first spot in the semifinals tomorrow. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><em>Player of the Game</em></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="920941" first="Isaiah" last="Barnes"] (Michigan commit) led his team with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Very active around the rim and perimeter finding open spots making the defense pay. He has found his role with this loaded Simeon squad.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(4) Niles Notre Dame vs (5) Evanston</strong></p> <p>In what was the best first round game on paper and on the court. These two teams had some stories going into this matchup. The biggest story still looming was Notre Dame star [player_tooltip player_id="765153" first="Louis" last="Lesmond"] transfer from Evanston to Niles after his sophomore season with the Wildkits. In the game Notre Dame jumped out to a double digit lead for most of the game.  [player_tooltip player_id="765152" first="Troy" last="D’Amico"] and Lesmond were quite a scoring punch as Lesmond made a couple threes and some nice emphatic dunks. Troy kept plays alive off missed shots with put backs and even got a few touches with strong back to the basket moves. [player_tooltip player_id="920940" first="Anthony" last="Sayles"] the other top ranked player for Notre Dame played though an ankle injury for majority of the game so it limited his efforts even with the lead. But like most Evanston games you can never count them out. [player_tooltip player_id="821736" first="Blake" last="Peters"] the team’s leading scorer was hounded by Lesmond for majority of the game which open up things for [player_tooltip player_id="821804" first="Elijah" last="Bull"].  Bull led the teams comeback in the fourth quarter with strong drives to the rim and two big pull up three pointers to keep the game close. Evanston also had a big second half defensive effort from their two big men in 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="652731" first="Ola" last="Ajiboye"] and 2023 Prince Adams as both players used their length to stop Niles Notre Dame scoring on the inside. Down the stretch Norte Dame sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="939079" first="Sonny" last="Williams"] took some ill-advised shots that the Wildkits took advantage of and tied the game at the end of regulation. In the overtime Both teams would exchange baskets. Notre Dame would take a four point lead under a min.  Senior [player_tooltip player_id="821777" first="Isaiah" last="Holden"] hit a three pointer to trim Notre Dame’s lead to a single point. With the lead and 16 seconds on the clock D’Amico threw a long pass up the court which was intercepted by an Evanston player.  As the time wound down Peters got the ball and hit a three to win the game as time expires. By now we are all aware of Blake’s buzzer beaters. Evanston moves to the semis to play Simeon. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><em>Player of the Game</em></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="821736" first="Blake" last="Peters"] comes through again for the Wildkits and I’m sure someone calls him Captin Clutch. After a struggle to score for most of the game Blake is always ready to make game winning shots. He finished with 12 points.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(2) Whitney Young vs (7) DePaul Prep</strong></p> <p>The Dolphins came into this game heavy favorites but as most of the city knows you can never take DePaul Prep too lightly. The Rams to me were ranked too low for this event because of two bad losses. They have the talent and it showed early. [player_tooltip player_id="814694" first="TY" last="Johnson"] and company were undersized in this one but it didn’t stop how hard they played. The Rams jumped to an 8-0 lead in this game as they used speed and outside shots to jump out early on Whitney Young.  Young slowly got back in the game with scoring from its big front line of [player_tooltip player_id="920942" first="Grant" last="Newell"] and [player_tooltip player_id="771516" first="AJ" last="Casey"] using  their size at times to counter the speed of the Rams. Young would take a one point lead before DePaul would make another run from Johnson and [player_tooltip player_id="920949" first="Brian" last="Mathews"]. Brian was big at using his wide frame to keep the Whitney Young frontcourt off the boards and giving his team extra opportunities on the offensive side. DePaul did open up a lead again with a strong scoring effort from Johnson and DePaul didn’t look back. DePaul won 55-43 over Young. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><em>Player of the Game</em></strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="814694" first="TY" last="Johnson"] was just fantastic from start to end. The Loyola commit got to the rim and challenged the bigs of Young at the cup. When he was off the ball he worked off his teammates and made big shots. TY had a huge night finishing with 32 points and a spot in the semifinals game Saturday afternoon. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>(3) Mundelein vs (6) Fenwick </strong></p> <p>In the last game of the night Mundelein was shorthanded with an injury to Drake signee [player_tooltip player_id="920946" first="Conor" last="Enright"] and Southern Illinois commit big man [player_tooltip player_id="765154" first="Scottie" last="Ebube"] was in foul trouble early. Fenwick would take full advantage.  Mundelein started out with strong back court play from [player_tooltip player_id="796148" first="Trey" last="Baker"] and Jack Bikus early on. Spreading out Fenwick and getting in the lane at times for layups.  The Friars had trouble making shots early on so Mundelein took an early lead. After Ebube picked up his second foul [player_tooltip player_id="529051" first="Bryce" last="Hopkins"] would go work. With nobody able to keep him off the boards Hopkins forced his hand and overpowered the smaller Mustang defenders.  Mundelein tried to keep him in the game but Bryce was too much to handle. Fenwick would win 60-51 and will face DePaul in a rematch from last week’s Catholic League meeting. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><em>Player of the Game</em></strong></p> <p>Hopkins played as if there was no tomorrow.  He put so much pressure on Mundelein by scoring from inside and out. Bryce went out of his way to track down rebounds to keep possessions alive for his team. Just an all-out superman effort from the Kentucky commit.  Bryce finished with 31 points and 8 boards. A semifinals rematch with [player_tooltip player_id="814694" first="TY" last="Johnson"] should be a good one Saturday afternoon. </p>