CPS Final Four Notebook

<p>Thursday night in Chicago the four best CPS teams played for a spot in the city championship on Saturday. Here is a recap from both games in <strong>CPS Final Four Notebook!</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Curie vs Simeon</strong></p> <p>The first game of the night was the third time these two teams met this season. Simeon won the first two matchups, but Curie was set on making sure third times a charm. The Condors made it a mission to attack Simeon inside and that’s just what 2023 forwards [player_tooltip player_id="1148119" first="Jeremy" last="Harrington"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1056104" first="Chikasi" last="Ofoma"] did. Harrington carved out space inside finishing with both hands around the rim mostly off missed shots as he pulled in 14 boards while working down low. Jeremy also was able to step out and hit a 15 footer and a three when Simeon defenders sat back to protect the paint. Chikasi was another beast in the paint. Making all of his post touches count Ofoma searched for contact before going up to score almost every time. He converted several and-1 plays putting most of the Wolverines in some foul trouble. Both forwards played a pivotal part in keeping Curie on top. While being down most of the game due to a slow start or lack of interest Simeon made a run behind senior guards [player_tooltip player_id="771517" first="Jaylen" last="Drane"] and [player_tooltip player_id="925193" first="Avyion" last="Morris"] in the beginning of the 4th quarter. Drane hit a pair of three pointers and forced some turnovers in the backcourt to shrink Curie’s lead to single digits.  Morris who sat most of the third due to foul trouble applied his intense ball pressure to cause all types of trouble for Condor guards. Aviyon like Drane hit big shots when it counted. But in the end their heroic effort fell short as Curie forced Drane into a tough shot that he would miss and seal a spot in the championship game for the Condors. </p> <p>Final: Curie 71 Simeon 64</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kenwood vs Whitney Young </strong></p> <p>Before this game started I thought how fun It would have been if we had Kenwood with JJ Taylor vs Whitney Young with Amari Bailey in this final 4 game, but that would have eliminated the great Sierra Canyon and Donda games from the previous week so forget it. This rematch from the Proviso West Holiday Tournament was exciting to the final horn. Young led most of the way with consistent efforts from [player_tooltip player_id="863585" first="Xavier" last="Amos"] and [player_tooltip player_id="771516" first="AJ" last="Casey"]. Amos found soft spots in Kenwood zone defense making easy shots and attacking the rim when the opportunity presented itself. Casey was huge for the Dolphins by keeping plays alive and making extra effort plays to keep his team on top. The biggest was a tip dunk off one of his teammates misses in the 4th quarter.  The Broncos were right there led by senior [player_tooltip player_id="1210369" first="Trey" last="Pettigrew"] who made some pretty good plays off the dribble in the lane his ability to get downhill and put pressure on Young’s guards was key. Trey hit a few deep college threes in catch and shoot situations as well showing he can play off the ball.  The other bright spot for Kenwood was [player_tooltip player_id="939069" first="Davius" last="Loury"]. The top 5 junior chased down key rebounds that he converted into points to keep the Broncos within reach of Young’s lead. In the end [player_tooltip player_id="771516" first="AJ" last="Casey"] was able to get to the free-throw line and seal the victory for Young where they will face Curie Saturday night for the CPS Championship.</p> <p>Final: Young 56 Kenwood 52</p>