Wolverines advance to city semis
Simeon and Young, the two best basketball programs in the state, squared off in a normal high school game in a regular high school gym Wednesday.
That alone is notable. Both teams bring out the casual fans, so when the Dolphins and Wolverines meet up, it is usually at a large venue. The schools nearly filled the UIC Pavilion for a game over the holidays a few years ago.
No. 4 Young didn’t benefit from the homecourt advantage. No. 13 Simeon’s late-season surge continued with a 66-57 victory in the quarterfinals of the Public League playoffs.
‘‘Everything slows down when you get to the playoffs,’’ Wolverines coach Robert Smith said. ‘‘All that ripping and running kind of goes out the window. It is half-court basketball, and that is who we are. We are really good at that.’’
The Wolverines (16-13) were 6-9 at one point this season. Just a couple of weeks ago, they were upset by Corliss and fell out of the Super 25.
Simeon’s Kejuan Clements had a wide smile on his face throughout the fourth quarter.
‘‘Someone told me [Young] came in the game thinking they had already won because of our record,’’ Clements said. ‘‘I told them: ‘Don’t forget we have won three [city titles] in a row.’ I’m just trying to win four.’’
Clements scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Fellow senior Antonio Reeves had 18 points and four rebounds. The Wolverines outrebounded the Dolphins 38-26.
‘‘They play four guards; they want to speed you up,’’ Smith said. ‘‘We wanted to get the ball inside and send one or two people to the offensive glass.’’
Senior Jeremiah Stamps, who had 12 points and eight rebounds, was key for Simeon in the post. He has improved consistently throughout the season and was excellent against Belleville West’s impressive big men two weeks ago in O’Fallon.
‘‘The biggest thing with him was getting him in shape,’’ Smith said. ‘‘Now he has a better lift, and he’s confident with making shots and doing things around the rim.’’
There are several reasons why the Wolverines struggled for much of the season. They were starting two freshmen and a transfer (Reeves). Then star sophomore Ahamad Bynum missed 15 games with an ankle injury and Smith nine with health issues.
‘‘We are a team now,’’ Smith said. ‘‘It took us a little while to understand who we were. We didn’t have an identity early. Guys were trying to figure out what they could do on the court. The biggest piece to it all was [Bynum]. Now he’s healthy, and that adds another dynamic to our team.’’
Bynum finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Simeon will face its top rival, Morgan Park, in the semifinals Friday at Chicago State. The Mustangs beat the Wolverines 70-52 on Jan. 24.
Young (22-7) had played several close games against Public League teams this season but had managed to turn it on at the end and come out with a victory.
The Dolphins made a surge early in the fourth quarter behind star junior DJ Steward and led 55-49 with 4:01 left. But Simeon held them to only two free throws the rest of the game.
Steward finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Myles Baker added 13 points. Young will have next week off before starting the Class 4A playoffs.
Seeds will be released Thursday, and the full bracket for the state playoffs will be revealed Friday.