PONTIAC, Ill. — One of the challenges the Pontiac Holiday Tournament presents isn’t about basketball. It’s about teenagers and -hotels. Kids stay up too late, get up to various high jinks and even eat weird. Several nights of that can affect a team.
Curie star Ramean Hinton fell to the court in pain late in the third quarter of the Condors’ 68-58 victory against Joliet West in the semifinals on Saturday. He left the game for a bit and returned to play most of the fourth quarter, but Curie was wobbly without him.
Coach Mike Oliver expected Hinton to be at full strength for the championship game against Bloom on Saturday night.
“He just had a cramp from eating crazy stuff at the hotel,” Oliver said.
Hinton had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Condors.
“He’s just an unbelievable shot-maker,” Joliet West coach Jeremy Kreiger said. “He makes tough shots and has a knack for -scoring. He’s a great basketball player on a great program.”
The Tigers (10-2) led 16-11 after one quarter, but Curie (10-0) took control in the second. Joliet West had 30 turnovers.
“Obviously that is a recipe for disaster,” Kreiger said. “What really hurt is when -Jamere [Hill] and [freshman point guard -Jeremy Fears Jr.] got in foul trouble. Those are our two ballhandlers. That’s when [Curie] made their run right before the half.”
Hill, Joliet West’s leading scorer, scored 15 points. He was hounded by senior Armond Williams Jr. throughout the game.
“That’s Armond’s job,” Oliver said. “He shuts the best player down. He did a good job. That’s what he did in the city championship against Adam Miller. He just frustrates guys. We wanted to put some length and strength on [Hill] to see if we could stop him from getting into the lane and causing problems.”
Fears fouled out fin the fourth quarter, as did Hill and Curie point guard Elijah Pickens. Curie became turnover-prone with Pickens on the bench and Hinton not at full strength. The Tigers cut the lead to 61-56 on two free throws by Hill with 3:47 to play.
The large crowd from Joliet in attendance roared with expectations of another upset. Joliet West knocked off Simeon in the quarterfinals on Friday. Curie wasn’t fazed, responding with a seven points in a row to seal the win.
“We just fight through it,” Hinton said. “We actually love when the crowd gets fired up against us. That’s what we are made for. We play right through it.”
Saiveon Williams had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Condors. Reggie Ward had eight points and Pickens finished with 13.
Junior Jaiden Lee led the Tigers with 18 points and junior Trent Howland added 13 points and eight rebounds.
“We came here believing we should be seeded,” Kreiger said. “We weren’t and we made a statement. I’m super proud of them. We have a chance to play for a trophy.”
Curie will play for back-to-back titles. The Condors have a rematch against Bloom, who they knocked off 58-44 last year. Curie has won in 2018, 2015 and 2013. The last non-Public League team to win Pontiac was -Waukegan in 2009.
Tournament officials awarded the prestigious AC Williamson award to Bloom’s -Keshawn Williams last season. That didn’t go over well with Curie, which felt its star DaJuan Gordon, deserved the honor.
Hinton has his eyes on the Williamson, a combination most valuable player/sportsmanship award. Hinton and Bloom’s Dante Maddox Jr. have been the two best players at the tournament, but Hinton received a technical for arguing a call against Joliet West.
“I feel like they cheated [Gordon] out of that last year,” Hinton said. “Hopefully I will bring it home for him and the team and our coaches.”
The final minute of Curie vs. Joliet West https://t.co/4YXSo3BTRg
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) December 28, 2019
