Brother Rice upsets St. Laurence, returns to relevance sooner than expected

Brother Rice lost the Class 3A state championship game to DePaul Prep by three points last year. Everyone who played in the title game and the coach, Conte Stamas, moved on after the school year.

Each season is a new experience in high school basketball, but few teams change so much so quickly from such a successful run.

Rick Romeli left Marian Catholic and took over the Brother Rice program in June. He inherited a team full of players without any varsity experience. A difficult transition season would be understandable, but Brother Rice has found a way to be relevant again much sooner than expected.

The Crusaders advanced to the title game of the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic last month, losing to St. Laurence by 12. The rematch went quite differently on Wednesday in front of the Crusaders Crazies, with Brother Rice knocking off the No. 18 Vikings 64-47.

“The last time we played them, we kind of established a little bit of an identity getting it inside and playing from inside out,” Romeli said. “We have some guys that can shoot it but if we can establish a touch in the paint each time we can be super successful.”

Adam McBrearty, a 6-4 junior, was a force in the post with 21 points and four rebounds off the bench for the Crusaders.

“I always know I’m going to have success no matter who we play,” McBrearty said. “I’m going to go down there and do what I have to do to score.”

McBrearty scored 13 of Brother Rice’s 14 points in a late stretch of the third quarter into the fourth when the Crusaders took control of the game.

“He gives us energy and a little spark,” Romeli said. “He could probably start. But from a rotational standpoint it flows a little bit better with him coming off the bench. He’s done a great job of buying in to what we have been telling him.”

There has been some continuity in the program with the younger brothers of several former players joining the varsity roster, including junior guard point guard Aiden Henderson (16 points). His older brother Ahmad was a star for the Crusaders a few years ago.

“My brother shot a lot of threes and I’m more of a slasher,” Henderson said. “He taught me how to stay focused. To not overthink things but to stay locked in all the time.”

Senior guard Joe Niego added 16 points and five rebounds for Brother Rice (13-6, 2-2 Catholic League Blue).

“This win will give us momentum at just the right time,” McBrearty said. “Things were a little shaky when we were all getting started in the summer and fall but now we have meshed a lot more and we’ve gotten a lot better as a team. The sky is really the limit.”

Junior guard Markese Peoples led St. Laurence (18-3, 2-2) with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists. He fouled out with 4:08 left in the game.

Junior Reggie Stevens scored 15 off the bench for the Vikings and sophomore Noah Corro added seven points and five rebounds. St. Laurence shot 5-for-33 from three-point range.

“I’m super proud of the guys,” Romeli said. “We had a lot of guys dinged up. [Zach Grabowski] went down last night. [6-7 junior Kevin Salkauskas] has been out for a while. We had a lot of guys step up and that is good to see.”