Man it’s crazy to think that we are already in the playoffs for the highschool basketball season. We are currently in the round of 32 as of the time of me writing this. (Wednesday Morning March 1st) However I am also going to cover my reaction tomorrow as well. (Thursday March 2nd)
Tuesday Night Recap
Last night we had a slate of games and some very interesting outcomes. For starters Whitney Young who was Michael O’brien’s Number 6 team in the state lost last night to #9 ranked Downers Grove North. I’m not sure that I can truly call this game an upset as both these teams have high level rosters. However I am very surprised to see Whitney Young lose this game. I felt like the Dolphins were bonafide state title contenders so to see them not even make it out of there sectional is slightly disappointing. On the other hand #4 ranked Joliet West faced off against Lincoln-Way East as well yesterday and they took care of business. They picked up a double digit win in which they controlled the entire game. The Fears brothers of Joliet West are the clear leaders but Justyce McNair and Matthew Moore have both seemed to be playing well recently which will need to continue to happen for Joliet West to make it down to state. They will face off with the winner of tonight’s game between Bolingbrook and Oswego East on Friday at 7 PM.
Oswego East Vs Bolingbrook (Pre-Game Evaluation)
Tonight(March 1st), I will be at the Oswego East vs Bolingbrook game. I am very excited as both these teams are ranked as top 15 teams in the state. Oswego East being ranked 10th and Bolingbrook being ranked 13th. These two programs faced off last year and Bolingbrook upset Oswego East en route to a final 4 run. So the history between the two teams is just as recent as last year. Furthermore Bolingbrook handed Oswego East one of its few losses this year in a 55-53 instant classic. The winner of this game like I wrote earlier well get the opportunity to meet #4 ranked Joliet West on Friday. Now I am a Bolingbrook guy at heart. I was born in Bolingbrook and lived there for the first 10 years of my life. However I think this game is gonna go to Oswego East, it’s very hard to beat a good team twice. I will be rooting for the Raiders tonight but, as far as a prediction goes, I’m gonna roll with the Wolves.
Jehvion Starwood Seals an Instant Classic (Post Game Reaction)
As a basketball fan, a lot of times when you go to games all you wish for is a close one. We got that on Wednesday night and then some. A back and forth game filled with big time shots. Bolingbrook Big man Aries Hull delivered two extremely clutch free throws with less than half a second left to send the game to Overtime. However in Overtime Oswego East guard Jehvion Starwood stepped into a deep three with 2.7 seconds left to send Oswego East to the Sectional Championship on Friday. It was sad to see Bolingbrook lose a close one especially considering I have multiple friends on that team who played their last highschool game. However on the other hand as a friend of a couple of the Oswego East players including Starwood, I was glad to see them shine in such a bright moment. It will be Oswego East vs. Joliet West Part 2 on Friday for the Sectional Championship, I can’t wait!
Video Of Jehvion Starwoods Game WInner: https://twitter.com/h00phighlights1/status/1631140518561284103?s=20
Joliet West vs Oswego East Prediction.
I am here to now make my prediction for Friday Nights game but before I do that let me give you guys some auxiliary information. These two teams played in the regular season and Oswego East went on the road to knock off Joliet West. So there is revenge on the minds of the Joliet West Tigers. This game will be for the Sectional Championship and will still be at Bolingbrook High School. Now in my personal opinion Joliet West is a state title contender. I am not so sure if that’s the case for
Oswego East however that doesn’t mean they can’t beat Joliet West again. If they want to upset the Tigers again Mekhi Lowery and Ryan Johnson will have to put together another masterclass. Along with Jehvion Starwood and Bryce Shoto holding their own against the Fears brothers. For my pick though I am going to use a similar philosophy I used for Wednesday’s game. It’s hard to beat a good team twice. So I am going to roll with Joliet West.
