Scouting DuPage County boys basketball regional finals
By Dave Oberhelman and Kevin Schmit
doberhelman@dailyherald.com
kschmit@dailyherald.com
No. 1 Burlington Central (26-3) vs. No. 3 Glenbard South (18-9)
Class 3A Glenbard South regional final
Game time: 7 p.m. Friday.
Outlook: Burlington Central is led by 6-foot-6 Ryan Fitzgerald, who comes off an 11-point effort in a 60-51 win over St. Francis. Forward Luke McCurdy also lends leadership; TaVontae Harris had 7 of the Rockets' 14 steals against St. Francis. Burlington set a new wins record and seeks its first regional title since 2008. Glenbard South wants its first regional crown since 2009. Coach Wade Hardtke's Raiders are led by the 6-5 Bair brothers, senior Billy and junior Charlie, who combined for 33 points, 18 rebounds in a 68-53 semifinal win over Marmion. They are far from alone. Glenbard South brings more height with 6-4 Johnny LaPonte plus diverse skills from seniors Kyle Carli, Tim Marks and Povilas Riauba.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of the Woodstock regional final between No. 6 Belvidere and No. 5 Genoa-Kingston in Tuesday's Woodstock North sectional semifinals.
No. 1 Benet (26-3) vs. No. 9 Naperville Central (16-11) Class 4A Benet regional final
Game time: 7 p.m. Friday.
Outlook: Don't be fooled by the records. Benet knows Naperville Central is a dangerous team. It starts with guard Matthew Meier, the Redhawks' main ballhandler and leading scorer at 17 points a game. Wednesday's win over WW South showed the threat. James Kendrick hit three 3-pointers and led the way with 15 points while Harrison Hallstrom added 14 points and 6 boards in the post. Benet struggled to get past Willowbrook on Tuesday, but the Redwings are still going to be tough to beat at home. Senior leaders Dan Sobolewski, James Dockery and Jason Malonga lead an incredibly balanced lineup where all the starters average between 10.2 and 11.1 points.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of the Glenbard East regional final between No. 4 Hinsdale South and No. 5 Downers Grove South in Tuesday's East Aurora sectional semifinals.
No. 2 Glenbard West (24-3) vs. No. 10 Hinsdale Central (17-10)
Class 4A Hinsdale Central regional final
Game time: 7 p.m. Friday.
Outlook: The third meeting between West Suburban Silver rivals should be a doozy. They split their two league games, with each defending their home court. That's good news for Hinsdale Central, which edged Wheaton North in double overtime. A lingering injury to guard Drew Shepherd has hurt, but Jack Hoiberg and Trevor Hamilton have stepped up. Leading scorer and rebounder Peter Blust needs to stay out of foul trouble. Glenbard West leans on William & Mary-bound forward Justin Pierce, averaging 24.8 points and 11 rebounds, but the team saw a great sign with the 19 points and four 3s from Alex Passi. If Glenbard West has its perimeter game going, it'll be tough to beat.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of the Lyons Twp. regional final between No. 3 Naperville North and No. 6 York in Wednesday's East Aurora sectional semifinals.
No. 3 Naperville North (23-4) vs. No. 6 York (18-12)
Class 4A Lyons Twp. regional final
Game time: 7 p.m. Friday.
Outlook: Considering their previous meeting was two months ago, you won't want to read too much into York's victory over Naperville North in the title game of the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic. The question for Naperville North is health. Sophomore leading scorer and rebounder Chris Johnson missed Tuesday's game because of sickness, but E.J. Vaughn did a great job filling in. Mitch Lewis, with a game-high 17 points against Downers North, showed why he's the DVC's player of the year. York is 7-9 since that win over the Huskies and hasn't won or lost three straight since then. With balanced scoring from Jack Julian, Jack Morrissey, Patrick Grabowski and others, the Dukes survived West Chicago.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of the Hinsdale Central regional final between No. 2 Glenbard West and No. 10 Hinsdale Central in Wednesday's East Aurora sectional semifinals.
No. 4 Hinsdale South (21-9) vs. No. 5 Downers Grove South (21-9)
Class 4A Glenbard East regional final
Game time: 7 p.m. Friday.
Outlook: The West Suburban Gold rivals will play for a fourth time this season, with the Hornets trying to win for a third straight time. Both sides are balanced, but Hinsdale South definitely has the dominant player in 6-foot-10 Northwestern-bound center Barret Benson, who's averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds. He's a tough match for any team, and the Mustangs also must deal with guard Brian Kern, who had 20 points and five 3-pointers in Tuesday's win over Metea Valley. Downers South gets contributions throughout its lineup, especially from Denis Alibegovic, T.J. Clifford and Sam Ebersold. Alibegovic exploded for 22 points in the win over Glenbard East. Clifford added 15 points.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of the Benet regional final between No. 1 Benet and No. 9 Naperville Central in Tuesday's East Aurora sectional semifinals.
No. 3 Lake Zurich (22-9) vs. No. 6 Lake Park (17-10)
Class 4A McHenry regional final
Game time: 7 p.m. Friday
Outlook: The defending sectional champion Lancers will have their hands full trying to win a second straight regional championship. They continue to play without injured leading scorer Kenny Bogus, although the lineup has stabilized with the return of other injured players and remains potent with Bailey Vance, who scored 19 points in a win over Hersey. If Dan Hynes is knocking down 3s and Mitch Jarosinski puts in another solid post performance, Lake Park will be in good shape against a Lake Zurich team that beat McHenry 52-42 after being tied with the sectional's 14th seed through three quarters. Nick Penny led the Bears with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Nick Meyer added 12 points.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of the Barrington regional final between No. 2 Fremd and No. 7 Prospect in Wednesday's Fremd sectional semifinals.