Boys basketball: Week 10 MVP

South Elgin junior guard Matty Smith has earned Daily Herald boys basketball MVP honors for his recent performances.

Matty Smith, South Elgin: This 6-foot guard was South Elgin's leading scorer in 3 games last week with 50 combined points, but his outing at East Aurora stood out. Not only did Smith, a junior, surpass 1,000 career points in the first half, he scored the game-winning bucket by racing end to end, cutting across the lane and spinning an off-balance shot off glass with only a second left, thereby lifting the Storm to a 71-69 victory.

Sal Cannella, St. Viator: Cannella came up big in a key road for the Lions. The 6-foot-6 senior delivered a team-best 18 points as the Lions prevailed 67-60 in overtime against host Joliet Catholic to stay in the thick of the East Suburban Catholic Conference title hunt.

Connor Cashaw, Stevenson: Nice, Rice. The Owls got themselves a versatile talent when they successfully recruited the senior guard. Cashaw scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as the Patriots beat Lake Zurich 69-47 in a North Suburban Lake Division showdown. He then dropped in a game- and season-high 24 points in an 87-64 victory over Zion-Benton.

Dan Sobolewski, Benet: The 6-foot-4 junior came up big in the second half of two victories for the Redwings. Sobolewski scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half of a 45-38 come-from-behind ESCC win over Marist, then had 10 of his 11 points in a 48-37 win over New Trier. He grabbed 5 rebounds in each game.

Loudon Vollbrecht, Geneva: An offensive and defensive force, the 6-foot-8, 300-pound junior post helped deliver two Vikings victories. He scored 11 points with 7 rebounds in a 75-63 win over St. Charles East and followed with 13 points, 8 boards in a 50-47 win over Quincy. Vollbrecht made 11 of 16 shots in those games.