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Things looked pretty bleak on Jan. 25 for Moraine Valley’s men’s basketball team.
The Cyclones fell 72-64 at Rock Valley for their third loss in a row and their record dropped to 8-13.
But coach Kyle Huppe was impressed with a text he received at 9:30 the next morning.
“One of our players said they were at the gym trying to watch film and wanted a log-in to get into the computer,” Huppe said. “The whole team was there.
“They watched three hours of film and had their own team meeting. I would say that was a big turning point for us. I feel like everyone had bought in and they realize that they have something here if everyone gets on the same page.”
The Cyclones went 5-2 since that day, including a couple of eyebrow-raising triumphs.
One was on Feb. 15 when they whipped Milwaukee Tech 103-88 at home behind Jelani McGregor’s 40 points. The Cyclones lost to Tech Nov. 9 in Milwaukee, 102-70.
Even bigger than that was a 92-88 upset over Waubonsee Feb. 11 in Palos Hills in an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference battle. Waubonsee was unbeaten in the conference, had a 24-game winning streak and was ranked 11th in the country among NJCAA Division II teams.
“It surprised other people more than it surprised us,” Huppe said.
The Cyclones had a balanced scoring attack in the stunner as TJ Lee had 17 points, Juvan Crawford, Amarion Johnson and Grantas Sakenis each added 16 and Yousef Jarad finished with 11.
Interestingly, the Cyclones won despite shooting just 12-for-25 from the line.
“We were up by eight or nine and they started playing the foul game,” Huppe said of Waubonsee. “We missed free throws and they would go down and make a 3. We would split a pair of free throws and they would hit a 3.
“We made it way more interesting than it needed to be. That free-throw shooting was not like us.”
Boys basketball seeds announced
The IHSA postseason seeds were voted on by the coaches and announced Feb. 13. The area is forecast to have five regional champions.
In Class 4A, Marist drew the second seed at the Rich Sectional.
In Class 3A, Brother Rice drew the No. 1 seed in its own sectional. At Glenbard South, St. Laurence drew the top seed, Mount Carmel was second and De La Salle third.
Jenks battles cancer
Former White Sox closer and current Windy City Thunderbolts manager Bobby Jenks is battling stomach cancer, according to a story on the MLB.com website.
The Thunderbolts posted a message on X, saying, “We support Bobby Jenks as he battles cancer” but acknowledged he is not expected to be available to start the season.
The post also said his message to the team’s fans is “I want them to know I’m doing well and send their prayers and go down to Windy City and root for those boys.”
Jenks was hired by the Crestwood team in 2024.
Richards bowlers on a roll
Richards’ girls bowling team qualified for the IHSA state tournament with a fourth-place finish in the Plainfield North Sectional on Feb. 15.
The Bulldogs rolled a 5,310 in six games, led by junior Katie Barr’s 1,177. Junior Ulyssa Garcia added a 1,100. It’s the 12th time the Bulldogs qualified as a team.
Evergreen Park senior Xalani Mitchell qualified for state as an individual with a 1,248.
At the De La Salle Sectional, Morton senior Ashley Baeza shot a 1,097 to grab the fifth and final individual qualifying spot.
The state meet is this weekend at Cherry Bowl in Rockford.
Casey advances
One area gymnast was an automatic qualifier for the IHSA state meet.
At the Hinsdale Central Sectional, Faith Casey of the District 230 co-op team took fifth in the vault with a 9.3500 to qualify.
The state meet is scheduled for this weekend at Palatine.
Highlands eighth graders fall
One week after La Grange Highlands’ seventh grade boys basketball team lost in the Illinois Elementary School Association state quarterfinals, the eighth graders suffered the same fate.
Highlands fell 42-25 to Teutopolis in the Class 3A quarterfinals on Feb. 15 at Tolono Unity.
Liam John led Highlands (22-5) with seven points.
Hounds win opener
The Chicago Hounds opened their Major League Rugby season with a 25-22 road win over Houston on Feb. 15.
Adriaan Carelse led the team with eight points via two penalty goals and a conversion kick.
The Hounds’ home opener is against Utah at 2 p.m. Sunday at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.
Sports bits
St. Xavier’s men’s basketball team scored its largest margin of victory this season with a 110-73 win over Holy Cross (Indiana) in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference game on Feb. 15 at the Shannon Center in Chicago. Ashton Atwater led the Cougars (17-9, 12-6) with 20 points.
● Chicago Stars players Julia Grosso (Canada), Natalia Kuikka (Finland) and Ludmila (Brazil) join their respective countries for international play.
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