Marian Catholic senior Quentin Jones had a couple highlight-reel moments in the Spartans’ 57-45 win against Evanston on Sunday in the Team Rose Shootout at Mount Carmel. But that wasn’t really what he and his teammates were focusing on.
“We showed grit,” Jones said.
“It was a messy, sloppy, physical grind of a game. Not the best to watch, but it’s what Marian Catholic coach Mike Taylor really wanted to see out of his team.
“We had to establish some toughness and have a chance to win in the last three minutes,” Taylor said. “That’s the toughest we’ve played all year. That’s the only way we are going to win. We aren’t terifically skilled. We took a step forward today.”
Jones, a Cal Poly recruit, scored 19 points and Donovan Juzang added 12.
Taylor has been impressed with how Jones has started the season.
“If he can just find that happy medium of when to go and when to tempo it we might see something special in the second half of the season because he’s pretty hard to guard,” Taylor said.
Marian Catholic junior James Bullock battled valiantly in the post with Evanston senior Prince Adams and grabbed seven rebounds.
“It was a tough matchup [with Adams],” Bullock said. “He gets off the floor quick. I was just trying to play hard and physical.”
Adams finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. The Wildkits lost to Glenbrook North on Thursday and are now 7-2.
“We just didn’t get into any flow and rhythm other than Prince,” Evanston coach Mike Ellis said. “He tried to put us on his back and it wasn’t enough.”
Brother Rice 50, Bloom 46: The Crusaders didn’t score a basket in the fourth quarter but held on to win thanks to a late steal by Khalil Ross. Senior guard Ahmad Henderson led Brother Rice with 14 points.
The Blazing Trojans started strong and led by nine in the second quarter. Brother Rice took control with a 9-0 run to end the first half and never trailed again.
Jordan Brown led Bloom with 18 and Jayden Watson added 10 points and five rebounds.
Rich 88, Lindblom 69: This was my first look at Rich freshman Jamson Coulter and he delivered, finishing with 27 points and six rebounds. He gets to the rim and his overall game is a solid and confident as most senior guards.
“He’s probably the best freshman in the state,” Raptors coach Lou Adams said. “The sky is the limit. He can play. He has a motor, can handle it and shoot it.”
Junior Samar Bures added 23 points for Rich, which played without senior Ray Austin. Adams says Austin is expected to return next week.
“We’ve had a chance to win every game we played but Marian Catholic,” Adams said. “We should be 7-1, but I’ll take it. We didn’t have a senior on the floor.”
Junior Je’Shawn Stevenson Jr. led Lindblom with 27 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Quentin McCoy added 14.
Proviso East 74, De La Salle 61: Bryce Coleman continued his resurgence with 16 points and Jaloni Johnson added 13. Richard Lindsey scored 13 for the Metoers.
Hillcrest 73, Normal 44: The Hawks dominated from start to finish. Quentin Heady led with 18 and point guard Bryce Tillery and big man Darrion Baker each added 17. Hillcrest was impressive. Jaheem Webber, Normal’s highly-regarded prospect, finished with 14.
