Lyons Township High School (27-3), the No. 1 seed in the 4A LTHS Sectional, captured their first regional basketball since 2016 by beating No. 8 Argo 73-46 on Feb. 18 at Proviso East. The Lions kicked off the postseason tournament by defeating No. 16 Proviso West 68-32 on Feb. 15.
The wins set up a sectional semifinal contest against No. 4 Mother McAuley in on Feb. 22 after the Landmark’s press time with hopes of reaching the sectional final Feb. 24 against No. 2 Kenwood or No. 3 Whitney Young.
The sectional champion advances to the McAuley Supersectional with a downstate berth on the line is on Feb. 28 against the East Aurora Sectional champion. No. 1-2 seeds Benet Academy and Naperville North defeated the Lions during the regular season.
Top LT performers in the two regional round victories were Izzy Lee (28 points, 11 rebounds combined), Olivia Mezan (24 points, 10 assists, 8 steals), Ally Cesarini (18 points, 11 rebounds), Hailey Markworth (18 points), Ella Ormsby (15 points, 8 assists) and KJ Wanless (8 rebounds).
No. 12 Riverside-Brookfield High School (11-20) lost to No. 5 Simeon 58-51 in the McAuley Regional semifinals on Feb. 15.
In IHSA Class 3A, Nazareth Academy (29-2), the No. 1 seed in the De La Salle Sectional, won a fourth straight regional by beating Kennedy 65-15 on Feb. 18.
The sectional final is 7 p.m. on Feb. 24 when the Roadrunners could possibly meet No. 1 Trinity or No. 2 Fenwick at the De La Salle Supersectional on Feb. 28.
RB, LT boys ready for postseason tourney
The Lyons Township and Riverside-Brookfield high school boys basketball teams are the No. 3 and 4 seeds in the IHSA Class 4A Proviso West Sectional.
RBHS (21-5) opens regional round play at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 against No. 13 Proviso West and would play for the title at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 against No. 6 Oak Park and River Forest or No. 12 Jones.
LTHS (23-5) opens regional play at 6 p.m. on Feb. 23 against No. 14 Leyden. The title game is 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 against No. 5 Proviso East or No. 11 Lincoln Park.
If they win regionals, the Bulldogs would play on March 1 and the Lions on March 2 in the sectional semifinals.
Whitney Young and Curie are the sectional’s top two seeds.
The Bulldogs claimed the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division title outright with an 11-1 record after winning 67-47 at Aurora Christian on Feb. 15 behind J.P. Hanley (15 points, 7 rebounds), Joevonn McCottry (14 points) and DaMahrion Murrell and Cory Baker (7 points each).
In front of a home “blackout” crowd on Feb. 18, the Lions topped Downers Grove South 58-46. Tavari Johnson had 27 points, five rebounds and four steals. Nik Polonowski (9 points), Aidan Sullivan (11 rebounds) and Will Carroll (6 points, 6 rebounds) also contributed.
In 3A, Nazareth Academy (17-13) is the No. 5 seed in the Hinsdale South Sectional. The Roadrunners are home for regionals at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 against No. 12 Chicago Vocational and likely in the regional final at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 against No. 4 Lindblom or No. 13 Englewood STEM.
