Michael O'Brien's high school basketball weekly rewind
Most readers probably would find Joliet West’s victory Saturday against visiting Warren — especially the 80-66 score — fairly shocking.
Jaxson Davis scored 38 points for Warren. The star sophomore did everything he could for the Blue Devils, who played without starters Javerion Banks and Jack Wolf.
Joliet West started the season ranked but disappeared from the Super 25 after losing at home to Romeoville in early December. The Tigers weren’t competitive against DePaul Prep in the quarterfinals at Pontiac, lost to New Trier in the consolation bracket, then opened 2025 with a loss to Crete-Monee.
There was no indication a big victory against Warren was coming. However, after Davis, Joliet West certainly has the personnel to compete with the Blue Devils, plus a true size advantage. Davis is so good he can drag his team across the finish line in most games.
Davis cracked the 1,000-point mark for his career in the loss. That opened a lot of eyes on social media. Davis is only a sophomore, but he already has played 52 games. That works out to an average of 19.2 points.
Warren will be the top-five team most expected this season if it ever gets back to full strength. The Blue Devils still have a strong résumé, with victories against Lincoln Park, Stevenson, Young, Lake Forest and Deerfield. And they were very competitive against the top tier of teams, losing to Kenwood and DePaul Prep by a combined 11 points.
Will Joliet West be able to capitalize on the momentum from its victory? The Tigers have winnable road games at Oswego and Minooka before heading into the toughest stretch of their schedule with games against Peoria Manual, Homewood-Flossmoor, Bolingbrook, Glenbard West and Oswego East.
Zion Gross has been Joliet West’s most consistent player and scored 26 points against Warren. Ethan Hillsman, a 6-7 junior, added 15 for the Tigers. He has been developing some consistency in the last month after transferring in from Tennessee.
Lake Park’s Kelly-Quintero perseveres
Every team’s season features enough drama to fill a novel. That’s the beauty of high school basketball.
Lake Park coach Billy Pitcher shared a special moment from last week. Senior Orion Kelly-Quintero played in his first varsity game Tuesday against St. Charles North after tearing the ACL in his left knee in 2024 and the one in his right knee in 2023.
‘‘One of my favorite coaching moments,’’ Pitcher said in an email. ‘‘First possession tonight at St. Charles North, [Kelly-Quintero] subs in on a free throw, gets an offensive rebound and hits a three-pointer. I got chills. Then he was 4-for-4 on free throws down the stretch to help us seal the win. So happy for him for persevering, doing the rehab again and not giving up. We gave him a water-cup shower in the locker room after the game.’’
This week’s notable results
Monday, Jan. 6
Agricultural Science 79, Shepard 47
Benet 62, Schaumburg 43
Geneva 58, Conant 46
Marian Catholic 59, Christ the King 53
Tuesday, Jan. 7
Deerfield 63, Maine South 42
Evanston 52, Glenbrook South 47, 2ot
Stevenson 39, Lake Forest 36
Waukegan 68, Libertyville 56
Lane 61, Young 57
Lincoln Park 47, Hyde Park 45
Lindblom 53, Curie 52
Crane 60, Perspectives-Lead 58
Dyett 70, Ag. Science 56
Oak Forest 52, Thornton Fr. North 47
Bloom 54, Crete-Monee 51, ot
Loyola 47, Downers Grove South 33
Wednesday, Jan. 8
Crystal Lake South 56, Huntley 47
Oak Park 69, Hope Academy 56
Thursday, Jan. 9
Curie 55, Clark 45
Kenwood 70, Phillips 68, ot
Lincoln Park 62, Lane 46
Simeon 61, Lindblom 48
Dyett 59, Crane 55
Payton 52, North Lawndale 32
Hillcrest 75, Argo 64
Friday, Jan. 10
Barrington 72, Fremd 63
Benet 69, Marian Catholic 59
Bolingbrook 62, Romeoville 55
Brother Rice 51, De La Salle 42
DePaul Prep 43, Loyola 35
Evanston 58, Maine South 36
Hinsdale Central 59, Oak Park 45
Kankakee 65, Crete-Monee 42
Lake Forest 50, Waukegan 40
Lemont 75, Oak Lawn 61
Marist 51, St. Patrick 37
Mount Carmel 80, St. Ignatius 49
New Trier 58, Glenbrook South 46
Niles North 59, Vernon Hills 54
Rich 70, Rochester East (NY) 52
Rolling Meadows 48, Hersey 45
Schaumburg 54, Palatine 49
Warren 67, Stevenson 51
York 59, Lyons 57, 3ot
Saturday, Jan. 11
Benet 59, Romeoville 30
Brother Rice 56, Lincoln-Way East 48
Chaminade (MO) 66, St. Laurence 62
Christ the King 76, Yorkville Christian 56
Conant 47, Lake Park 43, 2ot
Crete-Monee 41, Lyons 32
Hyde Park 57, Perspectives-Lead 55
Joliet West 80, Warren 66
Kaneland 59, Taylorville 44
Lincoln Park 74, Eagle Academy (NY) 65
Neuqua Valley 64, Barrington 60
Oswego East 60, Oswego 46
Rich 79, Erie (PA) 44
Rolling Meadows 63, Evanston 61
Salesian Prep (CA) 67, Curie 63, ot
St. Ignatius 63, Lemont 60
Waubonsie Valley 65, Sacred Heart-Griffin 41
Young 58, Fenwick 52