Around the State: December 27

Our staff was covering and evaluating games all day on Friday.  We wanted to keep you up to date on what we didn't see as well in Around the State: December 27!   Seth Cheney had 11 points and Kelchi Enyia notched 13 points in Providence Catholic's consolation win over Northside College Prep 56-46.   Carlyle knocked off Trico at the Pinckneyville Tournament 63-22 to advance to next round.  Jacob Ruscher led the way with 22 points.  Hayden Huels contributed 13 points. Senior big man [player_tooltip player_id='2723851' first='Matthew' last='Guthrie'] had 7 points and 7 rebounds.   Wauconda picked up a consolation victory over Maine West 73-44. Leo Brinas had 16 points for Wheeling along with 14 points out of Alex Ortega. Sophomore Davion Tate for Maine West had 11 points.   Highland Park topped Andrew 53-49.  Alex Krister had a big game of 15 points while Hayden Kach had 13 points as well.  Ryan Dinnon led Andrew with 16 points in the loss.   Freshman phenom DeAndre Higgs had a double double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for Thornton in their 55-36 win over Westinghouse.  Jeremey Blanco-Rios chipped in 14 points for Thornton.   Glenbard West won over Riverside Brookfield 66-55.  [player_tooltip player_id='1552408' first='TJ' last='Williams'] had a big game with 25 points.  [player_tooltip player_id='2415420' first='Danny' last='Loftus'] dropped 19 points for RB.   Downers Grove South bounced back on Friday with a 68-47 win over Wheaton North.  Star 2026 wing [player_tooltip player_id='2323275' first='Adam' last='Flowers'] had 26 points while Wyatt Wawro notched 20.   Triad won their opener at Collinsville 45-29 with Oklahoma State baseball commit [player_tooltip player_id='1766468' first='Drew' last='Winslow'] leading the way with 15 points and 8 rebounds over Decatur Eisenhower.   Top 5 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1552438' first='Mason' last='Lockett IV'] had 21 points in Oswego East consolation win over St. Charles East 49-37.   In a very good quarterfinal at Pekin it was Mt. Zion over Lanphier 61-55.  Illinois Springfield commit [player_tooltip player_id='1545145' first='Lyncoln' last='Koester'] had 26 points while big man [player_tooltip player_id='2323267' first='JC' last='Anderson'] went for 19 points.  Jaiquan Holman had 22 points for Lanphier.   Moline took care of business in the next quarter at Pekin going 71-44 over Lake Park.  [player_tooltip player_id='1545132' first='Treyvon' last='Taylor'] had 17 points and [player_tooltip player_id='2455383' first='Brady' last='Welch'] notched 16.   Oregon football commit [player_tooltip player_id='2105165' first='Dierre' last='Hill'] Jr drops 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 dimes in an opening win for Althoff at Collinsville 71-53.   Top 2027 post [player_tooltip player_id='2125634' first='Hayden' last='Schroeder'] went 19-22 from the field for 41 points in a win over St. Rita!  That is a wow performance!   St. Laurence knocked off Lemont it a consolation game of highly ranked teams.  [player_tooltip player_id='2323617' first='Markese' last='Peoples'] led 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 steals.  [player_tooltip player_id='1766462' first='Zerrick' last='Johnson'] had 18 points.  [player_tooltip player_id='2105174' first='Matas' last='Gaidukevicius'] went for 21 for Lemont.  [player_tooltip player_id='1552393' first='Gabriel' last='Sularski'] had 16 points.   Mt. Carmel continues to roll at Pekin into the semis with a 64-39 win over Pekin.  [player_tooltip player_id='1845357' first='Noah' last='Mister'] had 19 points.  The other two stars [player_tooltip player_id='1385307' first='Cameron' last='Thomas'] (14) and [player_tooltip player_id='2105179' first='Grant' last='Best'] (12) were right there with him.  Ben Walraven had 11 points for Pekin.   Big game for sharp shooter [player_tooltip player_id='1295579' first='Jax' last='Abalos'] scoring 26 points for Batavia in their 53-42 win over Glenbard East.  Devin Kraft had 15 points.   Morton won over Hersey at Pekin with a 63-44 victory.  [player_tooltip player_id='2734458' first='Alex' last='McKie'] had 19 points while their star [player_tooltip player_id='1232827' first='Wes' last='Gudeman'] scored 18.  [player_tooltip player_id='2416503' first='Charlie' last='Pomis'] was tops for Hersey with 10 points.   Jones beat Maine East 56-54.  [player_tooltip player_id='2617346' first='Aaron' last='Laroche-Dogbe'] had 16 points while Blake Adeeyo (16) and [player_tooltip player_id='2859722' first='Stone' last='Cull'] (11) each contributed.   Momence got the win over Grant Park at the Kankakee tournament.  Nick Charbonneau went for 19 points.  D'Angelo Hundley had 13 points while Eric Castillo had 12.   Bismark-Henning Rossville-Alvin won 74-32 over Providence Cristo in Indiana.  [player_tooltip player_id='2815668' first='Micah' last='Stanford'] went for 26 points and str [player_tooltip player_id='1845359' first='Keison' last='Peoples'] had 15 points.   Dyett picked up a big win at Centralia over Mt. Vernon 48-42.  Devon Shelton had 13 points.  [player_tooltip player_id='2438957' first='Jacob' last='Johnson'] went for 10 points and [player_tooltip player_id='2438037' first='Jayden' last='McKinnon'] had 9.   Rich Township advances at The Dipper easily over Bishop Noll 89-46.  [player_tooltip player_id='1845352' first='Jamson' last='Coulter'] had 23 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1766460' first='Al' last='Brooks'] Jr dropped 18 points.   Kenwood also advanced at The Dipper with a 92-74 win over Evergreen Park.  [player_tooltip player_id='2125612' first='Devin' last='Cleveland'] dropped 34 points and [player_tooltip player_id='1385283' first='Aleks' last='Alston'] notched 25 points.   Brother Rice keeps moving along as one of the favorites at Hinsdale Central with a 75-59 win over Maine South.  [player_tooltip player_id='1545120' first='Marcos' last='Gonzales'] had 23 points with [player_tooltip player_id='2538898' first='Jack' last='Weigus'] going for 19 points.  [player_tooltip player_id='1883952' first='Panayiotis' last='Sotos'] had 21 points while RicoAntonio D'Alessandro scored 16.   Rolling Meadows put on a show against Wheaton St. Francis winning in their quarterfinal at York 55-23.  Marquette commit [player_tooltip player_id='1385299' first='Ian' last='Miletic'] had 18 points.  [player_tooltip player_id='1819713' first='Niko' last='Quaranta'] went for 13 points.   Waltonville 2027 post [player_tooltip player_id='2383402' first='Jagger' last='Mayville'] had 21 points in their 75-37 win.   Fenwick continues to impress and has a chance to make a run at the title game in the bottom part of the bracket at York after winning 53-35 over Conant.  [player_tooltip player_id='2105305' first='Dominick' last='Ducree'] had 12 points.  [player_tooltip player_id='1598778' first='Ty' last='Macariola'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2724288' first='Nathaniel' last='Marshall'] went for 10 points each.   Evanston advanced over a tough Alton team 61-53 at Centralia.  Sharp shooting senior [player_tooltip player_id='2321433' first='Theo' last='Rocca'] had 21 points.  Hassan Elliott had 13 points while star junior [player_tooltip player_id='2376270' first='Semaj' last='Stampley'] notched 11.   Addison Trail 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1977254' first='Luke' last='Smith'] recorded his 2,000 career point in their game on Friday.   Moline won over Mt. Zion in a battle of central powers to advance to the Pekin finals.  The young backcourt stepped up as [player_tooltip player_id='2455383' first='Brady' last='Welch'] had 20 and [player_tooltip player_id='2455389' first='Arthur' last='Abbey'] went for 16.  Their senior stars of [player_tooltip player_id='1545138' first='Braden' last='Freeman'] (18 points) and [player_tooltip player_id='1545132' first='Treyvon' last='Taylor'] (13 points and 7 rebounds) were the backbone of the win.  Monster game for football superstar 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2323267' first='JC' last='Anderson'] with 24 points and 14 rebounds.  Illinois-Springfield signee [player_tooltip player_id='1545145' first='Lyncoln' last='Koester'] had 14 points.   In the second quarterfinal at Hinsdale Central it was Lane Tech over Rockford Auburn 67-60.  [player_tooltip player_id='1545128' first='Dalton' last='Scantlebury'] had 25 points.  [player_tooltip player_id='2300370' first='Zach' last='Mazanowski'] went for 19 points and [player_tooltip player_id='2433607' first='Brayden' last='Rosenkrantz'] had 11 points.  Rockford Auburn star 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1845353' first='Amir' last='Danforth'] had 24 points in the loss.   Columbia topped Riverview Gardens 78-36 behind 29 points and 11 rebounds from Bellarmine commit [player_tooltip player_id='1568153' first='Sam' last='Donald'].  Top 20 2026 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='1790001' first='Eddie' last='Smajic'] had 15 points.   Peoria Christian advances to the semis of their tournament 69-55 over Monmouth-Roseville.  [player_tooltip player_id='1598753' first='Malachi' last='Persinger'] scored 23 points and had 8 assists.   Bolingbrook left no doubt against Glenbrook South 71-39.  Super soph [player_tooltip player_id='2323624' first='Davion' last='Thompson'] had 33 points including 8 triples.  [player_tooltip player_id='1598711' first='Hudson' last='Fuller'] is a highly ranked sophomore in his own right who had 12 points for GBS.   Metamora got their second scare of the tournament at Jack Tosh as they were down pretty big at the half to Palatine.  They had a big second half to win 63-55.  Bradley commit [player_tooltip player_id='1545146' first='Matthew' last='Zobrist'] did what player of the year candidates do as he had 21 points and 8 dimes.  Point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2321401' first='Ashton' last='Grieves'] shot it well scoring 20 points on 5-9 from deep.   Whitney Young bounced back on Friday with a 60-42 win over Clark behind their senior trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1545124' first='Damajay' last='Richardson'] (19 points), [player_tooltip player_id='1552473' first='Alijah' last='Little'] (16 points), and [player_tooltip player_id='1385300' first='Antonio' last='Munoz'] 12 points and 12 boards).   Pekin's second semi didn't go the way most expected as Morton beat two time defending champs Mt. Carmel 49-45. [player_tooltip player_id='1232827' first='Wes' last='Gudeman'] led the way with 19 for the Potters. [player_tooltip player_id='1385307' first='Cameron' last='Thomas'] has 19 points for the Caravan.   Lake Forest takes it to St. Patrick in a 49-25 win. In my eyes one of the most under appreciated and recruited players in state Lake Forest senior post [player_tooltip player_id='2538856' first='Hudson' last='Scroggins'] had 28 points while Dom Mordini had 11.   Deerfield won their semifinal contest over Downers Grove North 44-33. Big man [player_tooltip player_id='1552404' first='Jake' last='Pollack'] continues to do work inside going for 26 points and 8 rebounds!   Waubonsie Valley won the Hinkle Holiday Classic title against Crystal Lake South. It was close at the half, but they blew it open in the second winning 69-47. Illinois State commit [player_tooltip player_id='2326960' first='Tyreek' last='Coleman'] led the way with 26 points. [player_tooltip player_id='2326966' first='Moses' last='Wilson'] had 18 points including a massive spurt of 6 points in a few seconds. [player_tooltip player_id='1433337' first='AJ' last='Demirov'] led Waubonsie Valley with 22 points while Nick Stowasser had 7. College coaches take note that Wilson and Demirov are two of the best unsigned seniors in state.   Warren moves to the championship of the Proviso West Tournament with a 66-52 win over Proviso West. Star Jaxson Davis had 20 points and 8 dimes. Owen Squires notched 15 points. Big man Zach Ausburn had 11 points and 20 rebounds.   St. Ignatius moves to the quarterfinals beating Minooka 67-55. Ryan Cavanagh led the way with 21 points. Northwestern commit Phoenix Gill had 15 points and 9 boards. Junior post Chris Bolte went for 15 points. Zane Caves led Minooka with 16 points.   The second semifinal at Wheeling went to Fremd over Glenbrook North 58-39. Star junior Jordan Williams had 19 points while Sam Hirsch contributed 15. They will play Deerfield tomorrow night for title.   Sherrard topped Byron 60-55. Rylan Carton had 19 points while Ryder Veronda went for 15 for Sherrard. Byron was led by Cason Newton and Ben Hiverley with 15 each.

Our staff was covering and evaluating games all day on Friday. We wanted to keep you up to date on what we didn't see as well in Around the State: December 27!