2013 Sectional Championship Friday

What a Class 4A sectional championship for the ages, as No. 1 seed Simeon defeated No 2. seed Whitney Young 69-51. Jabari Parker lit up the gym knocking down a natural double-double, as he scored 29 points and snagged 13 boards in the contest to lead all players. After an unimpressive performance against Young in the first meeting, Parker started with nine first-quarter points. His layup at the halftime buzzer off a Kendrick Nunn steal and feed gave the Wolverines a 31-24 halftime advantage. Though he’s not always quick to announce his feats, Parker admitted the performance would go down as one of the highlights of his senior season. “More importantly, it meant something,” said Parker, a Duke recruit after the game. “It was a game that was going into state. I know I did well in other (games), but this goes down as more of an important win for me in the books.” The Wolverines pulled away in the fourth quarter when they got a 14-0 run going, which included a technical foul on Young’s bench with 5 minutes to play that resulted in four Simeon points. Parker capped the run with back-to-back dunks and then made 5 of 6 free-throw attempts down the stretch to seal it. Young (27-4) did have the lead but only once, 22-21, after Paul White’s jumper with 5:26 to play in the second quarter. “We stopped their momentum,” Parker said. “Basketball is all about a game of runs. Kendrick caught fire and really drained the 3.” Nunn, who had 12 points and four assists, responded with a 3-pointer to put Simeon back on top. But it was another Nunn 3-pointer —off a feed from Russell Woods at the third-quarter buzzer — that had Simeon’s reserves hopping around on the sideline and appeared to tip the game in Simeon’s favor. Young guard L.J. Peak scored 20 points and 6-foot-10 forward Jahlil Okafor added 13 points and five rebounds against the defense of Russell Woods. “Again, for Game 2, Russell battled him,” Simeon coach Robert Smith said. “When he came off the court, I told him, ‘Without you in the middle, I don’t know what we would have done.'“ Next: Chicago State Supersectional — Simeon vs. New Trier, 7:30 Tuesday.

Any pictures taken at the game can be found in our photo gallery - click here!

Marian Catholic advance... Tyler Ulis scored 25 points and hit key free throws down the stretch to give Marian Catholic a 50-46 win over Bloom for the Class 4A Thornton Sectional title on Friday. Bloom started fast, opening a 12-6 lead. Marian Catholic (29-3) recovered, as Ulis buried a three-pointer that ignited a 15-0 burst for a 21-12 lead. The Spartans held Bloom scoreless for 9:08. The Blazing Trojans didn’t score until Zerrell Jackson hit a three with 34 seconds remaining in the second quarter. In the second half, Bloom (26-4) went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by an alley-oop jam by Johnny Griffin (11 points) off a pass from Jackson (10 points), that cut the gap to 23-22. Leading 29-28 entering the fourth quarter, the Spartans got some breathing room on a Terrone Parham (nine points) three-point play and a bucket by Ulis. “They came out and played hard. We knew what we needed to do. We had to start playing better defensively. That’s what we did. It’s great to be king of the [Chicago] Heights.” — Ulis CLASS 3A coverage.... Hillcrest continues... Hillcrest won its second consecutive sectional title by defeating Rich East 74-64 at the Class 3A Rich South Sectional Friday night. A three-pointer by Devin Harrison with 3:44 left gave Hillcrest a five point lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish. The Hawks may have been a little battered, but they certainly weren’t broken thanks in large part to Jovan Mooring, Harrison and Kyle Oden. “We gained a lot of momentum,” Harrison said. “Our penetration left me open; I just caught the passes and knocked them down. We picked up our intensity in the fourth quarter and turned on the pressure.” The trio combined for 52 points, with Harrison’s eight in the fourth quarter looming especially large, as the Hawks pulled away late for a 74-64 win in Richton Park. “It was an up-and-down game and there was a lot of fatigue on both sides late,” Mooring said. “We fought through it. That was the difference.” Oden finished with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Mooring added 17 points and five rebounds, and Harrison 16 points for Hillcrest (24-6), which will meet Morgan Park in Tuesday’s Joliet Central Supersectional. Don Henderson (16 points, 6 rebounds) and Ronald Lawton (14 points, 14 rebounds) led No. 5 Rich East (20-7), the pair dominating the paint most of the way. “We emphasized rebounding at halftime,” Houston said. “I told our bigs, ‘If you want to go home, keep playing like this.’ ” Hillcrest and Morgan Park will meet for the third straight postseason. Hillcrest won a sectional final last year to avenge a sectional semifinal loss in 2011. All you need is a FREE Yahoo! account Morgan Park made history... Sitting in the locker room before Friday night’s sectional title game, Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin offered his team a simple thought. “Let’s make history tonight.” Winning the program’s first ever sectional title, Morgan Park defeated Perspectives-Calumet 67-31 Friday in the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional title game in Burbank. “We needed to get over this hump to get our ultimate goal (winning state),” Irvin said. “It feels real good right now.” Kyle Davis scored 22 points and had four steals to lead Morgan Park (30-3). Josh Cunningham (13 points) and Billy Garrett Jr. (12 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds) got it done offensively as well. The Mustangs will face Hillcrest, winners over Rich East, Tuesday at the Joliet Central Supersectional at 7:30 p.m.

Tweet

Here is your opportunity to stop hating the media and actually become it!
We are always looking for additional people to submit stories, scores, stats, photos, video, etc...