In today’s short preview that I’ve been doing on the daily scoreboard I wondered how many of Orr’s important transfers have been cleared to play. We received some answers tonight. Bryce Hall, who transferred from Simeon, and Prosser transfer Norvell Meadows both definitely played against Farragut on Wednesday.
The Spartans pulled out the win 73-67 in overtime. Hall had 14 points and four rebounds. Demarius Splunge added 10 points and 12 rebounds and is off to quite a start this season.
Farragut’s young team is clearly going to be a factor in the Red-North/West this season. That’s a heck of a battle for them to put up this early in the season in a tough road gym like Orr’s.
Mike Clark was over at Leo tonight. The Lions led Loyola for most of the game before the Ramblers closed things with a massive run to grab the win. Apparently Leo is going to play slow this season and they even tried to out-slow Loyola tonight. That is not something you see very often.
Wednesday’s top games
Wells 68, Clemente 59: The Raiders win the battle of West Town behind 24 points and 12 rebounds from Freddie Grubbs. Jacorie Franklin scored 16 and Kiwane Scott added 14 points.
Rich East 53, Oak Forest 49: I really went back and forth about ranking Oak Forest in the preseason. They just missed out in the end. This is still a pretty young team getting used to big games. I expect for them to really hit their stride after the holidays. Nice win for the Rockets, who were led by Gary Clay with 16 points and Kyree Banks with 13. Sophomore Robbie Avila led the Bengals with 19 points.
No. 10 Lincoln Park 63, Uplift 44: The Lions cruise in their home opener. Romelle Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds. The dynamite guard combo of Julio Montes (20 points) and Habib Ismail (13 point, nine assist) were their usual selves. I’m really looking forward to seeing Lincoln Park on Saturday against Kenwood at the Chicago Elite Classic.
Glenbard West 58, Metea Valley 56 OT: Braden Huff had 27 and Caden Pierce added 15 for the Hilltoppers, who are now 4-0 and kinda intriguing.
No. 15 Mundelein 66, North Chicago 32: The Warhawks didn’t mount much of a challenge. The scary thing about the Mustangs is they are doing this with a load of juniors. Junior Jack Bikus led the way with 18 points. Junior Scottie Ebube had 12 points, six rebounds and five blocks and junior Conor Enright added 10 points, six assists and four boards.
North Lawndale 66, Lane 59: A bit closer than most figured. Jamar Wilkins led the Phoenix with 14 points, eight assists and six steals. Larry Johnson added 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Andrew 42, Tinley Park 40: The Titans may have AJ Casey, but the T-Bolts are the Kings of Tinley Park. Jolo Amoranto scored 19, his second big game in two days.
Cary-Grove 53, Burlington Central 38: The two stars get it done. Beau Frericks scored 27 and Frank Jakubicek added 12 points and seven rebounds.
No. 3 Young 72, Marshall 64: This one was close throughout. I heard some gripes from Dolphins fans during the game. But the plain fact is beating the Commandos is just never easy.
