Bulldogs’ checklist of success continues despite regional loss

Senior guard Danny Loftus and his Riverside Brookfield High School boys basketball teammates had the chance to achieve one more season goal on their home court. 

Seeking their first regional title since 2022, the Bulldogs lost to Oak Lawn 75-67 in the Class 4A Riverside Brookfield Regional semifinals Feb. 26. 

RBHS (21-10), the No. 8 seed in the Hinsdale Central Sectional, had beaten No. 9 Oak Lawn (24-9) at home 68-51 Feb. 8. No. 1-seed Kenwood (29-1) beat Oak Lawn 78-72 for Friday’s regional championship.

“Oak Lawn came out with much more energy (this time). Their defense was stellar. Their best guy (Donte Montgomery) had a much better game. A lot of their shots went in and they had a day,” Loftus said. 

“After the game, there was so much emotion. Kenwood was the last thing I was thinking of. On Friday, I did watch the game and it would have been a great story tell people that I played one of the top teams in the nation. I would have really loved playing that level of basketball.”

Regionals was about the only goal the Bulldogs didn’t reach during another impressive season after key graduations, most notably all-state center Stefan Cicic.

The Bulldogs reached 20 victories for the sixth straight full season. Making their debut in the Upstate Eight Conference, they were East Division co-champions with Glenbard East, extending the Bulldogs’ streak to 22 titles starting with 2002.

Loftus and junior guard Cam Mercer were the lone returning starters. As others gained more varsity experience individually and collectively, the Bulldogs finished 13-3 after being 8-7 following York’s Jack Tosh Classic.

“We didn’t advance in the state tournament as we’d like but overall the kids had a very good year and stuck together. We were definitely playing our best basketball the second half of the year,” RBHS coach Mike Reingruber said.

“I think (consistent success) is the sign of a good program. It’s next man up. I think we have a really good system of putting players in place. The lower-level coaches do a really good job and when (our players are) up on varsity, they’re ready to be contributors. Winning is expected and the guys do a great job buying into what we do and the results show on the floor.”

Loftus (17 points, 7 rebounds), Mercer (16 points with 2 threes, 10 rebounds) and junior Colin Cimino (12 points with 4 threes) and seniors Vince Dockendorf (8 points on 2 threes, 5 assists) and Ben Biskupic (5 rebounds) led RBHS against Oak Lawn.

The Bulldogs were forced to play catch-up after the Spartans scored 18 unanswered points for a 25-8 lead early in the second quarter. RBHS closed to 32-24 but the Spartans scored the last six points of the second quarter for a 38-24 halftime advantage and led 59-40 entering the fourth quarter. 

“Oak Lawn kind of set the tone from the start. As the game went on, I felt like we got a little better but they punched us in the mouth (early) and we never fully recovered,” Reingruber said.

“We had 16 first-half turnovers that turned into a ton of breakaway layups. They adjusted some things (defensively from the first meeting) and their game plan worked pretty well.” 

RBHS finished with 23 turnovers (12 steals) that contributed to 29 Oak Lawn points off turnovers and 14 transition points. The Spartans also made 31 of 52 shots, 28 of 36 two-pointers.

Montgomery had 31 points with five steals. Three others scored 13 or 12 points, including Jack Dempsey (12 points, 3 steals), absent from the first meeting. 

“It’s kind of been our story. It makes it much harder to win when you start off down 10 points, 12 points in the first quarter,” Loftus said. 

Loftus and Mercer were unanimous All-UEC selections and Dockendorf received honorable mention. Loftus and Dockendorf are considering college basketball.

Loftus improved so significantly this season that he broke the school’s single-season record of 228 field goals by Ryan Jackson in 2010-11.

“I’m super proud of our team for getting that co-conference championship. It says a lot about the program,” Loftus said. 

“I credit much of the success I had this year to Coach Reingruber and my teammates. A lot of times they’d pass up an open shot or call plays for me. My coaches, teammates trusted me and that’s earned through our years of playing together.”  

LTHS boys basketball

Quite fittingly, Lyons Township senior guard Josh Gutierrez had a personal-best nine assists against Curie in the Class 4A Curie Regional semifinals Feb. 26.

“Just trying to get my teammates involved,” Gutierrez said.  

Focused on team growth since day one, the Lions exemplified another great collective effort before losing to the host Condors 74-65.

With senior Ian Polonowski the only returnee with significant varsity experience, Gutierrez was among several seniors who stepped into starting or key roles for the Lions (14-16).  

“It’s the last game for a lot of us. We were going to play until the wheels came off,” Gutierrez said.

“A couple of mistakes here and there but I’m proud of how everybody, all of the seniors, played. They made tough shots. That’s life. They’re a good team. I think we’re a good team. We got hot at the right time. You’ve just got to give credit to the teams that beat them.” 

LTHS, the No. 10 seed in the Hinsdale Central Sectional, led 35-29 at halftime and 41-36 with 4:36 left in the third quarter. 

No. 7 Curie (23-9) then took advantage of four straight turnovers and used a conventional three-point play by guard John Oliver (28 points) to lead 51-49 entering the fourth quarter. Oliver scored eight more points during a 13-4 run to begin the fourth for a 64-53 margin with 4:07 left. 

Polonowski (24 points with 6 threes, 13 rebounds), sophomore Timmy Sloan (22 points with 3 threes) and Gutierrez and junior Owen Carroll (6 points each) led the Lions, who made 11 threes. 

“It’s one of the best teams, if not the best, that we’ve played. Leading at halftime, leading at points throughout the second half, we gave ourselves a chance,” LTHS coach Tom Sloan said. “They made enough plays down the stretch to hold us off. They hit some tough shots, runners off the backboard.

“This is a tough way to go out but we had one of our best performances of the year on the last night. As a coach, that’s all you can ask.”

The Lions had won three straight, including a huge 58-55 home victory over rival Hinsdale Central Feb. 18 on Carroll’s half-court three at the buzzer. Curie beat No. 2 Hinsdale Central 62-57 in Friday’s regional final. 

“Great effort (against Curie). Left it out there. They made a lot of plays, enough to win. We made a lot of plays, too, and they made a couple more,” Sloan said.

“They’re really good and their defensive intensity is their calling card. We were able to handle the ball pretty well for most of the game but a little spurt here and there off turnovers, they score four or five baskets in a row and it goes from being up a few to down a few.” 

LTHS played a great first half, hitting 14 of 24 shots with seven threes. Polonowski and Sloan continued scoring with 15 and 12 second-half points, respectively.

“I feel like every time we made a good shot, they would come down and hit a tough bucket. We played defense how we wanted and if they make the shots, they make the shots. I’m proud of how we played,” Polonowski said. 

“Some of these guys I’ve known since fifth grade. Just the growth we’ve seen from kids and even this year. Just a week ago I watched some film from November, our first games. (It’s) a huge growth of the team and that’s what I’m really proud of.” 

Sloan, coach Sloan’s son, and Carroll were the only non-seniors who saw significant playing time. Sloan scored a personal-best 24 against Hinsdale Central. Carroll has been asked repeatedly about his game-winning shot after the Red Devils missed their potential game-winner.

“Basically every single person I’ve ever talked to I my life,” Carroll said. “I think all of my teachers asked me about it, a bunch of my classmates. Basically all of my relatives. It’s been super fun.

“I remember watching Hinsdale’s shot miss, getting the rebound, dribbling up the court. When I shot it, it felt good. I was hoping I got it there but it felt on line. Once I saw it go in, I was immediately stormed and then huge mosh pit.”