Curie picked up that weird loss on Jan. 4 in Kentucky (to a team from Mississippi that they had beaten earlier in the year in Kentucky) but it hasn’t knocked the Condors off track at all.
“I’m very happy with the way they bounced back from that tough loss,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “We just didn’t have any legs. We had beaten that team once before and it was hard to get the guys up.”
I’m fairly certain that everyone is convinced that the Condors are a very good team. But I’m sure there are plenty of folks out there that still don’t think they are No. 1 good. I admit it took me quite awhile to get fully on board. We are used to top-ranked teams establishing themselves in our minds over multiple years. We familiarize ourselves with the players and watch them slowly grow into a No. 1 team.
This Curie team just emerged fully-formed, basically from the bench of last year’s No. 1 team. That is strange. But the Condors proved it again tonight. It was especially impressive to see Curie win such a big game without Ramean Hinton dominating.
Also don’t miss this week’s episode of No Shot Clock. A lot of listeners have wanted Joe and I to talk about past players and teams on the podcast. Here is an hour and twenty minutes of that.
Tuesday’s top games
Eisenhower 76, TF North 75: A really nice overtime win for the Cardinals, who improve to 11-5. They trailed by 16 points at halftime. Jemel Jones scored 29 and Taijon Barry and Ken Halloway added 11.
No. 6 Thornton 59, Rich East 49: It’s never easy beating a good team multiple times in a season, so credit to the Wildcats for this one. Brandon Hall led Thornton to its 15th consecutive win with 15 points and five assists.
Simeon 70, Kenwood 55: Quite a stat line for Ahamad Bynum. The DePaul recruit had 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Jaylen Drane added 19 points and Jeremiah Williams had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Tinley Park 86, Evergreen Park 76: AJ Casey had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Keon Richardson added 17 and 10 for the Titans.
No. 25 Oak Lawn 59, Stagg 43: Nice road win for the Spartans. Sami Osmani had 14 points and nine rebounds and Trey Ward and Kevin Swatek added 12.
No. 19 Loyola 55, St. Rita 37: Interesting margin in this one. I’ll finally see the Ramblers this weekend against St. Viator at DePaul Prep. Loyola coach Tom Livatino picked up his 300th career win in this one.
No. 3 Notre Dame 58, No. 20 Fenwick 45: The Dons roll behind 18 points and six rebounds from Troy D’Amico. Louis Lesmond added 16 points.
Corliss 64, Brooks 61: A nice win for the Trojans. Interesting day in Class 2A though, with Reggie Strong finally becoming eligible at Orr. Jaquan Reed led Corliss with 18 points and six rebounds.
Sandburg 51, Willowbrook 50: Eye-opener here for the always-competitive Eagles. Atharva Atreya had the game-winning layup.
No. 2 Evanston 80, Niles North 72: It would have been fun to see this one tonight. It’s been a great matchup the last few years. All five starters were in double figures for the Wildkits and Aquan Smart scored 35 for Niles North.
No. 16 Waubonsie Valley 47, Lockport 36: Ben Schwieger scored 15 and Isaiah Smith added 11.
No. 13 Joliet West 75, Oswego 64: The Tigers stay on a roll. Previous Joliet West teams have stumbled a bit after some success at Pontiac, so this is a positive sign. Winning at Oswego East on Friday will also be tough.
