Boys Basketball: MLK Dream Classic roundup

Updated: January 14, 2012 11:03PM

Hope Academy 81, Carver 77

A Hope Academy victory over Marshall last week opened lots of eyes.

The No. 24 Eagles avoided a letdown with an 81-77 victory over Carver at the MLK Dream Classic Saturday at Young.

Alex Houston led the way with 36 points and 13 rebounds for Hope Academy (16-2), which established itself from the start as it raced to an 18-6 lead in the first quarter.

Carver (4-13) regrouped and rallied to tie the game 46-46 at halftime, but fell behind 65-58 by the end of the third quarter.

The Challengers closed the gap to 68-66 on a three-point play by Javon Jacobs with 4:42 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles regained control with three consecutive Alex Houston baskets that pushed the lead to 76-68 with 2:08 remaining in the game.

Carver could get no closer that four points the remainder of the game.

Hope Academy coach Mike Edwards said his team needs to learn to put teams away.

‘‘It was an up-and-down game,’’ Edwards said. ‘‘We would go out to a lead and make some costly mistakes to let them back in it.

‘‘We have the type of team that can play up-tempo or at a slower pace. Playing this type of competition only makes us a better team.’’

Colin Blaydes scored 14 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots, and Terrence Johnson added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.

‘‘We just want to people not to underestimate us and know we can play,’’ Johnson said.

Bogan 76, St. Francis 58

By the time St. Francis realized it could play with No. 7 Bogan, it was too late as Bogan prevailed 76-58 Saturday at the MLK Dream Classic at Young.

The Bengals had been running people out of the gym in their last three games scoring 99, 100 and 98 points and it looked like St. Francis was headed for a similar fate as Bogan opened up a 42-26 halftime lead.

Behind forward Devonte Smith, who scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half, and Devaughn Johnson, who scored 13 of his game-high 24 in the first half.

The Spartans blinked at the beginning of the third quarter and Bogan used a 10-2 run to open a 52-28 lead.

But St. Francis fought back to cut the lead to 56-46 by end of the third quarter.

Bogan then used a 8-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to ice the game.

“We lost our focus when we thought that we were going to blow them out. We let up and they took advantage of the opportunity we gave them,” said Bogan coach Arthur Goodwin. “Give them a lot of credit they are a well-coached team and the run a very nice offense.”

St. Francis was led in scoring by Zach Roswald with 16 points. Ryan Coyle and Jason Pisarski each scored 11.

Spartans coach Bob Ward said his team gained a lot from playing Bogan. “For us, this was a great experience,” he said. “We play in a small suburban conference and I thought we handled ourselves very well in the second half against a quality team like Bogan.”

North Chicago 90, Brooks 72

It has been a tough week for Brooks, which faced three of the state’s top teams: De La Salle on Tuesday, national No. 1 Simeon on Thursday and North Chicago on Saturday.

The first two were losses and so was the third, as No. 20 North Chicago opened a 17-point halftime lead and rolled to a 90-72 win in the MLK Dream Classic at Young.

North Chicago committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers in the third quarter and allow Brooks to claw its way back into the game, closing the gap to 60-53 by the end of the period.

Sophomore guard Erick Locke scored nine of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter for Brooks. But the Warhawks used a 10-2 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to take control of the game and build a 70-55 lead with 5:14 remaing in the game. The Eagles got no closer than 13 points the rest of the game.

Jabarius Mays had a team-high 25 points for North Chicago, Marchon Bryant scored 19 and Aaron Simpson finished with 16 points.

North Chicago coach Gerald Coleman thought his team may have been looking ahead. “We have been guilty of this all year, not putting teams away and giving them a second chance,” Coleman said. “And they pulled the same stuff today. Hopefully, you will see the team that we really are against Curie (on Monday).”

Brooks coach Bobby Locke said that his team is definitely going through some growing pains.“This is a building experience,” he said. “Next year these guys will be handing out the lessons instead of getting them. We have a great school and a promising group of young players who will only get better if they continue to work.”

William Gates Jr. had 16 points for Brooks. Dwight Cunningham added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles.

Marshall 80, Aurora Central 54

Aurora Central is a team that likes to get out and run, but the Chargers couldn’t keep up with Marshall Saturday, losing 80-54 in the MLK Dream Classic at Young.

Down just 31-24 at halftime, Aurora Central (5-10) lost guard Joey McEachern with a twisted ankle early in the third quarter. Playing without the main man on their press break sealed the Chargers’ fate.

The Commandos (16-4) quickly took advantage of the situation, turning up the defensive intensity and forcing several turnovers while building a 60-37 lead by end of the third quarter.

Derrick Miles led three Commandos in double figures with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Korbin McClain had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Milton Doyle had 17 points and eight rebounds as well.

Marshall coach Henry Cotton was pleased with his team’s effort. “We played pretty good after being in two Red-West dog fights and we know we have to stay sharp because we have another tough one against (St, Joseph) on Monday,” Cotton said.

Aurora Central coach Nathan Drye figured losing McEachern did have an effect. “I thought we played pretty well in the first half,” Drye said, “I’m not saying that we would have beat them. But he does so many things for us and when he wasn’t out there you could see the difference.”

Mike O’Donnell and McEachern led Aurora Central with nine points each.

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