Boys Basketball: Joliet West off strong at Pontiac
By Michael O’Brien mobrien@suntimes.com December 28, 2011 11:28PM
Brandon McCullum, of Joliet West, goes up for a shot past Devonte Taylor, of Waukegan. | Patrick Gleason~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: January 30, 2012 10:28AM
Joliet West senior Marlon Johnson is the kind of player fans buy a ticket to see. He wants to dunk the ball and block shots and do it as sensationally as possible.
The 6-foot-9 senior exploded onto the state’s basketball scene with his play this summer, and Wednesday at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, he gave fans a glimpse of what all the excitement is about, with eight points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots in a 64-57 first-round victory over Waukegan.
“He’s two years away from being a monster,” Joliet West coach Luke Yaklich said.
The Tigers (8-2) held Waukegan scoreless for the first three minutes of the game and led 33-20 at halftime.
“We are all about the defense this year,” Johnson said. “I’ve been waiting a couple years to come out and show what I can do at this tournament.”
Morris Dunnigan is the other reason Joliet West is a legitimate threat to advance to the tournament’s title game. The 6-2 junior scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, shooting 7-of-11 from the field.
“We had the best week of practice in my five years at Joliet the past week,” Yaklich said. “We did a great job attacking in the second quarter. I didn’t like the way we cleaned it up in the fourth quarter.”
The Tigers led 62-45 after a score by Brian Edwards with 2:50 to play in the game, but the Bulldogs closed the game on a 12-2 run.
“The choppiness at the end wasn’t good,” Yaklich said. “We have to make free throws at the end of games.”
Akeem Springs led Waukegan (4-6) with 17 points and six rebounds, but shot just 5-of-22 from the field. Quintin Davis added 16 points and five rebounds.
Edwards scored 13 and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Joliet West, while Carl Terrell scored 14.
“Waukegan is a good team,” Yaklich said. “They have a lot of weapons. I felt what we did in the second quarter defensively really won the game for us.”
Joliet West will face Warren at 11 a.m. Thursday.
United Township 52, No. 5 Lockport 50: Courtney Cole had 18 points to lead Lockport (6-5). Kyle Ward added nine points for the Porters, while David Robinson contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
Warren 71, Plainfield North 40: Jeremy Burt registered nine points for Plainfield North (3-10). Kendal Interial and Trevor Stumpe added eight points apiece for the Tigers.
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