Champaign Centennial was crowned the high school boys 3A state champions, while Chicago Whitney Young grabbed the 4A trophy Saturday.
Champaign Centennial was crowned the high school boys 3A state champions, while Chicago Whitney Young grabbed the 4A trophy Saturday. Marcus Jordan’s game-high 19 points carried Whitney Young past Waukegan 69-66 Saturday night at Carver Arena. As Jordan and his teammates celebrated on the court after the final buzzer, father Michael Jordan stood quietly, clapping his hands with tears in his eyes. "Crying?" the NBA legend said in response to a reporter’s question. "I’m not crying. Not for me, anyway." The younger Jordan was key down the stretch, hitting four of four free throws in the final three minutes to seal the victory. Junior guards Jereme Richmond and Quan Conner led Waukegan with 17 points each. Richmond also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Whitney Young led by as many as 17 points late in the first half. It was the first state championship for the Dolphins. In the 3A championship game, junior forward Rayvonte Rice had 21 points, including the two winning free throws in the waning seconds, to lead Champaign 61-59 over Oswego. It was Champaign’s first state crown. "I blanched a bit at the number one ranking," Champaign coach Tim Lavin said. "But in the end, we made it happen. I’m thrilled. What a great couple of games." The two teams were tied at 59 with 15 seconds left when Oswego’s Jordan Mitchell attempted a long pass in effort to find an open man for a last-second shot. But Rice snagged the pass and dribbled the length of the floor, only to be fouled with six seconds left. He made both free throws for the win. Senior guard James Kinney scored 18 points for Champaign. Oswego was led by junior forward Andrew Ziemnik and Mitchell, both of whom scored 22 points. In the 4A consolation game, Harvey Thornton senior forward Richie Thompson scored 18 points to power his team to a 73-52 win over Carpentersville Dundee-Crown. The Wildcats lost to Chicago Whitney Young 59-54 in Friday’s semifinals. Thornton scored 34 points in the paint and 23 points off turnovers. Carpentersville was outgunned from the opening tip-off and never led in the game. Senior guard Jeff Beck led Carpentersville with 18 points. In the 3A consolation game, senior guard John Taylor scored 17 points and had five assists to lead Chicago North Lawndale past Chicago Leo 91-77. North Lawndale, the 2008 Class 2A state champions, proved too much for a Leo team that had high hopes coming into the tournament. It was a team effort for the Phoenix. Forward Jonathan Mills scored 16 points, Jermaine Winfield 15 and Terry Johnson 11. Junior guard Isaac Smith led Leo with 17 points.
______ In photo: Chicago Whitney Young’s Marcus Jordan (5) makes a move to the basket against Harvey Thornton’s Michael Buckner during the first half of a boys Class 4A state basketball semifinal Friday, March 20, 2009, in Peoria, Ill.
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