Boys Basketball: Adekoya brothers power Andrew past Crete-Monee
Updated: November 22, 2011 9:10PM
Jubril and Jawad Adekoya’s stories don’t match up when asked which brother wins most often in one on one basketball games.
“I beat him every time,” said Jawad, a 6-4 senior.
“That’s a lie,” responded Jubril, a 6-6 junior.
Luckily for Andrew coach Mike O’Halloran, the brothers seem perfectly in sync on the court together.
Jubril scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the No. 16 Thunderbolts defeated No. 11 Crete-Monee 63-52 Tuesday at the Crete-Monee Thanksgiving Tournament.
Jawad led the way with 27 points and five rebounds. Jubril is considered one of the top juniors in the state, and has a host of colleges on his trail. Jawad has flown under the radar during his high school career, but looks to be staging an impressive senior campaign.
“I’m used to Jubril getting most of the attention,” Jawad said. “I’m fine with it, it’s kind of always been that way.”
Crete-Monee was without guard Michael Orris, who injured his left ankle on Sunday. Warriors coach Tom Cappel said he hopes to have Orris back by Dec. 3.
Junior Marvie Keith did his best to make up for Orris’ absence draining six threes and scoring 21 points, but Andrew seemed to be in mid-season form, expertly executing its half-court offense and making Crete-Monee work hard for an open shot.
Andrew jumped out to a 15-8 first-quarter lead and never looked back.
“Ever since I got here we’ve been thinking this could be a really special team,” Jubril Adekoya said. “It’s Jawad’s senior year and the team is really experienced.”
Andrew (2-0) outrebounded Crete-Monee 22-14 and thanks to the ball-handling of point guard Glorind Lisha, the Thunderbolts only turned the ball over eight times.
“Lisha has been up since freshman year, just like Jubril,” Andrew coach Mike O’Halloran said. “He’s very experienced and should be able to handle things this season.”
Junior Mark Conner scored 11 for the Warriors (1-1) and Jordan Perry added 10.
“It’s rare for Andrew to have a team like this and I know the kids are excited with seeing their names in all the papers,” O’Halloran said. “I think the school and the community is starting to get behind them too. It should be a good season.”
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