St. Laurence’s (1) Josh Pickett drives down the lane against Andrew.
Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times
First round
St. Laurence 64, Andrew 63 OT: Josh Pickett’s late drive to the basket won it for the Vikings.
“We had a play drawn up but I saw the big kid on me which was something I could exploit so I went for it and he fouled me,” Pickett said.
The Denver recruit made one of two free throws to provide the winning margin for St. Laurence (7-5). Pickett finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Andrew’s big kid is 6-10 Grantas Sakenis. The senior led the Thunderbolts (12-2) with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
“I haven’t played against a guy that big in high school,” Pickett said. “He is huge, not just tall. He was a great player and that was a tough battle for sure.”
Bradley Stratton, who has made more than 40 threes this season, added 16 points for the Vikings. He was 4 of 11 from three.
Rolling Meadows 57, Glenbard West 35: Ian Miletic continued his breakout season with 24 points and 12 rebounds. The senior was 6 of 11 from three. Lazar Lazrevic added 13 points and Jack Duffer scored 12. Julian Yeh led the Hilltoppers with eight points.
No. 6 Downers Grove North 71, Highland Park 30: One of the tournament favorites rolls to an easy first-round win. Alex Miller led the Trojans with 17 points and Jack Stanton added 13 points, seven assists and five steals. Simon Moschin led Highland Park with 18 points.
Stagg vs. Wheaton North, 1:00
Naperville North vs. Fenwick, 3:00
Hansberry vs. Metamora, 4:30
Glenbard East vs. Glenbrook South, 6:00
Downers Grove South vs. Batavia, 7:30
Palatine 37, Lake Forest 27: There were just 28 field goals made in this one. The Pirates held Lake Forest to just seven points in the second half. Connor May had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Palatine and Tommy Elter added 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Tommie Aberle and Hudson Scroggins each had seven for the Scouts.
No. 19 Riverside-Brookfield 65, Minooka 52: The emergence of senior guard Steven Brown has come at just the right time for the Bulldogs (11-1). Brown scored 18 and grabbed eight rebounds for R-B, which distanced itself in the second half. Stefan Cicic, a 6-10 senior, has posted big numbers all season. He finished with 18.
“[Brown] really improved over the summer and has become a major part of our winning,” Cicic said.
Riverside-Brookfield led by seven at halftime. Cicic did the work inside and Brown on the outside and wore down Minooka.
“Steven isn’t a true point guard so he’s playing out of position for us a bit,” Bulldogs coach Mike Reingruber said. “But he’s doing a good job getting gys involved and scoring when he has the opportunity. He’s having a great season.”
Cicic is one of the area’s top uncommitted players.
“I’m talking with some coaches and waiting on a few offers,” Cicic said. “We will see how it goes through the season.”
Riverside-Brookfield’s Stefan Cicic throws down a dunk against Minooka.
Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times
Lyons 62, St. Patrick 61. Minor upset and an impressive performance from Lions. Liam Taylor (seven threes) led Lyons with 23 points and Brady Chambers (five threes) scored 18. EJ Breland had 27 for the Shamrocks. Mike Bailey’s squad is talented but has been out-toughed a bit both times I’ve seen them. Long season, plenty of time for St. Patrick to figure things out.
Yorkville vs. St. Ignatius, 1:30
Nazareth vs. No. 12 Bolingbrook, 3:30
Lemont vs. St. Francis, 5:00
Conant vs. Glenbard North, 6:30
Hinsdale South vs. York, 8:00
Quarterfinals
No. 14 Waubonsie Valley vs. Grant, 7:30
Cary-Grove vs. Grayslake Central, 6
Lake Zurich vs. Jacobs, 4:30
Crystal Lake South vs. Barrington, 3
First round
Thornwood 52, TF South 24: A dominant early-morning performance from the Thunderbirds. Kaden Faber had 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Tristan Taylor scored nine and Timarri Gearring added eight points and five rebounds. Jaylen Taylor led TF South with seven points.
No. 3 Homewood-Flossmoor 88, Eisenhower 56: Junior Bryce Heard and senior Carson Brownfield both scored 21 for the Vikings and senior Gianni Cobb added 13. AJ Abrams led the Cardinals with 16 points.
Westinghouse vs. Hillcrest, 12:00
Bremen vs. No. 20 Rich, 1:30
Tinley Park vs. Crete-Monee, 3:30
No. 23 Hyde Park vs. Thornridge, 5:00
Noll (IN) vs. Evergreen Park, 6:30
Crane vs. No. 1 Thornton, 8:00
