Around the State: Opening Night Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>***Use Code “BLACKFRIDAY2025” for 50% off your annual subscription THIS WEEK ONLY***</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Basketball Season is Finally BACK!&nbsp; Monday was the first night of games across the state!&nbsp; PHI had all five of our scouts covering games, but we still go beyond that with our coverage looking at as many prospects as we can in Around the State: Opening Night!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Barrington 2026 small forward [player_tooltip player_id='1845354' first='Oliver' last='Gray'] opened with 15 points in a Barrington 56-40 win.&nbsp; He is one of the top uncommitted wings in the senior class.&nbsp; DJ Young chipped in 14 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carmel won 54-38 over Mundelein.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1552461' first='Ethan' last='Matz'] had 22 points and 7 boards while [player_tooltip player_id='2834481' first='Jackson' last='Stavros'] dropped 15.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2754691' first='Brandon' last='Newell'] had 12 points for Mundelein.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Niles Notre Dame opened up with a 56-43 win over Jones Prep as Carmen Meccia had 25 points while guard [player_tooltip player_id='2438565' first='Luke' last='Lettvin'] had 10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Viator got the win at their tournament over Amundsen 76-47 with [player_tooltip player_id='2837335' first='Jack' last='Leonard'] going for 16 points. Dawson Charles had 11 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brimfield opened with a win as Tommy Burkitt had 22 points along with 12 points from Dawson Traphagan. Griffin Hougham had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 dimes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Geneoa Kingston won over Marengo 72-68.&nbsp; Blake Ides had 24 in the victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Peoria Heights beat Midland 60-54 as DeAndre Marks had 18 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Addison Trial dropped Maine West 62-45.&nbsp; Manny Roque scored 20 points while Ian Ramos notched 17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Manteno topped Beecher 43-39 as Braden Campbell went off for 23 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Woodlawn is a top 1A contender as they started off with a 65-46 victory against Metro East Lutheran as [player_tooltip player_id='2334406' first='Kyle' last='Cooper'] went for 27 points along with 14 each from [player_tooltip player_id='2383987' first='Luke' last='McKay'] and Tyson Frick.&nbsp; Metro East Lutheran was led by wing [player_tooltip player_id='2507555' first='Kaleb' last='Turney'] with 14 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Roxana opened their event with a 54-42 win against Jersey.&nbsp; Aiden Stemm had 15 points, Sean Maberry went for 12 points, and Cohen Dugan had 10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oak Park River Forest won their opener against TF South 65-56.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2860531' first='George' last='Gray'] had 19 points while Logan Johnson and [player_tooltip player_id='2381426' first='Trent' last='Williams'] went for 18 and 14 a piece.&nbsp; For TF South it was [player_tooltip player_id='2217963' first='Isaiah' last='Whitehead'] with 13 and Orvill Cross scoring 11 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morton got an 87-12 win as [player_tooltip player_id='2439340' first='Devyn' last='Medina'] had 13 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lane Tech won over Phillips 61-57 as Illinois State commit [player_tooltip player_id='2297870' first='Matthew' last='Szafoni'] had a double double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2436293' first='Cole' last='Christian'] did the same with 17 points and 12 rebounds.&nbsp; John Lamperis went for 16 points and 5 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lakes fell to Buffalo Grove 69-62, but got big games from [player_tooltip player_id='2413791' first='Carter' last='Martin'] with 20 and [player_tooltip player_id='2829440' first='Ben' last='Newcomb'] scoring 29 points.&nbsp; Buffalo Grove was pushed by big man [player_tooltip player_id='2323618' first='Alex' last='Sirbu'] who h</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ad 25 points while sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2411146' first='Edwin' last='Karnauchovas'] had 24.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lyons took care of business vs Maine South as sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2538631' first='Grant' last='Smith'] went off for 34 points and 9 rebounds in their 80-65 win.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2415542' first='Nathan' last='Woods'] had 12 points while [player_tooltip player_id='2839879' first='Timmy' last='Sloan'] notched 8 points and 5 dimes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yorkville Christian won a fun opening night game as they beat Hope 59-56.&nbsp; Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2125688' first='Tray' last='Alford'] had 22 points while SIU-Edwardsville future floor general [player_tooltip player_id='1874810' first='Jayden' last='Riley'] had 16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Routt won 63-45 as Bryson Mossman became the schools all-time leading scorer while recording 30 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hersey got a 49-40 W behind their dynamic senior backcourt of [player_tooltip player_id='2416503' first='Charlie' last='Pomis'] with 20 points and [player_tooltip player_id='1552439' first='Logan' last='Luxem'] who had 12 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Glenbard East topped Glenbard North 67-62.&nbsp; East got a big night from South Dakota commit [player_tooltip player_id='2839863' first='Michael' last='Nee'] dropping 25 points and 11 rebounds.&nbsp; For North it was senior [player_tooltip player_id='2404186' first='Matt' last='Welch'] with 23 points as the junior top 25 duo of [player_tooltip player_id='2455373' first='Oturo' last='Redento'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2125660' first='Lamari' last='Carpenter'] each had 14.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hoffman Estates begins the year with a 69-37 W behind 30 points and 8 dimes from [player_tooltip player_id='2865852' first='Torey' last='Baskin'].&nbsp; Taft was led by [player_tooltip player_id='2441084' first='Noah' last='Hester'] with 9 points and 5 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lemont kicked off the year with a blowout win over Plainfield Central 59-26.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2749990' first='Zane' last='Schneider'] is primed for a big year and started it off with 15 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2617407' first='Julian' last='Overton'] had 11 while Ryan Crane went for 10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Schurz won 75-49 against Lake View as [player_tooltip player_id='2440182' first='Michael' last='Chaney'] Jr had 28 points and [player_tooltip player_id='2844900' first='Kamarion' last='Fagairo'] went for 27 points.&nbsp; Lake View got a big 18 points from explosive senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2435304' first='Ledarrel' last='Goss'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top ranked DePaul Prep begins their quest for a 4-peat with a 69-50 win against Niles North.&nbsp; Toledo commit [player_tooltip player_id='1845360' first='Rashaun' last='Porter'] had 26 points and 9 rebounds.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1435692' first='Rykan' last='Woo'] scored 20 and had 5 assists.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2323334' first='AJ' last='Chambers'] stuffed the stat sheet for 9 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maine East won their opener over Marmion 69-54.&nbsp; Senior Brandon Schreiber had 30 points while sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2369922' first='Jayden' last='Dozie'] finished with 22.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prospect with an upset win on opening night over Libertyville 56-53 as [player_tooltip player_id='2123656' first='Quinn' last='Zinzer'] led with 17 points while Winona State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1552460' first='Bryce' last='Wegrzyn'] had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rich Township is a team many are interested in seeing.&nbsp; They scored a 57-46 W over Marshall behind 21 points from Kavon Ammons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stagg began their season with a 48-20 victory getting 17 points from Omar Barakat while power forward [player_tooltip player_id='2467723' first='Mohammad' last='Farhan'] had 8 points and 9 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morgan Park won at the FVV Classic against Rockford East getting 15 points from Daniel Wallace.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oak Lawn got an opening night victory 79-37 against Bremen.&nbsp; Senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2433457' first='Jack' last='Dempsey'] lit up the nets with 21 points while Mark Harvey had 13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lockport beat Joliet Central 61-46 as the twins [player_tooltip player_id='2125668' first='Nedas' last='Venckus'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2125671' first='Nojus' last='Venckus'] both had 15 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Deerfield won against Antioch 68-33 as [player_tooltip player_id='2217962' first='Evan' last='Nagler'] dropped 24 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1552404' first='Jake' last='Pollack'] had 16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Laurence got a 87-35 win against Chicago U-High with highly ranked sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2125677' first='Reggie' last='Stevens'] leading the way with 21 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eisenhower opened with a 81-60 victory against Lycee Francais as Logan Tasciotti had 26 points while Larnell Moore scored 23.&nbsp; Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2531972' first='Bonheur' last='Balita'] led Francias with 23 points with [player_tooltip player_id='2829943' first='Jordie' last='Machara'] going for 16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wheaton St. Francis won their opener 53-38 against Naperville Central with [player_tooltip player_id='2389886' first='Ben' last='Whorlow'] going for 20!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York began their season with a W against Huntley 58-44 as [player_tooltip player_id='2839900' first='Joseph' last='Lubbe'] had 18 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mt. Carmel got a W in in the debut of their much hyped freshman duo as [player_tooltip player_id='2767906' first='Ronald' last='Johnson'] had 12 points while [player_tooltip player_id='2915584' first='DK' last='Heard'] scored 7 points in the 47-18 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unity Christian with a massive win over Hinsdale Central 68-62 in OT.&nbsp; Malachi O'Neal had 20 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2532350' first='RJ' last='Lewis'] led Hinsdale Central with 15.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>IC Catholic goes 1-0 over Peotone 58-43 as [player_tooltip player_id='2963432' first='Will' last='Schmidt'] had 14 points and football star 2028 Grant Bowen had 8.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bradley Bourbonnais got a win over Providence as Kobe Lawrence led the way with 16 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2963306' first='Tez' last='Smith'] had 13 while exciting freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='2862587' first='Dajuan' last='Brown'] had 8 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waukegan won on opening night with explosive trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1845351' first='Simereon' last='Carter'] (27 points), [player_tooltip player_id='1552444' first='Carter' last='Newsome'] (14 points), and [player_tooltip player_id='1845356' first='Jaali' last='Love'] (10 points) leading the way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andrew won their first game of the year 48-34 with a big outing from 2027 standout [player_tooltip player_id='2839876' first='Ryan' last='Dinnon'] as he had 21 point and 20 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Ignatius got a first game W 63-34 against Westinghouse as [player_tooltip player_id='2323283' first='Chris' last='Bolte'] dropped 18 points and [player_tooltip player_id='2832915' first='Grant' last='Poorman'] had 11.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vernon Hills won big over Wheeling 53-18.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2405260' first='Daniel' last='Odhiambo'] had 20 points while Brody Larsen and Hudson Self chipped in 11 and 10 a piece.&nbsp; Zach Neukirch had 13 for Wheeling.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Loyola had a well balanced effort in the 48-40 win against Lake Forest.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2875754' first='Charlie' last='Ellis'] had 12 points while D1 bound lead guard [player_tooltip player_id='1552480' first='Trey' last='Williams'] had 11 points and [player_tooltip player_id='2386611' first='Luke' last='Alvarez'] scored 10.&nbsp; Upside 2027 forward [player_tooltip player_id='2499191' first='Rory' last='Haas'] led LF with 13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->