Boys Basketball notes: JP Hanley, Riverside Brookfield end season on ‘revenge tour,’ motivated for more celebrations

Riverside Brookfield senior forward JP Hanley is motivated to add a few more celebrations to his basketball season.

A three-year varsity player, Hanley is one of the driving forces behind the Bulldogs’ winning season. The Bulldogs (21-5, 11-1 Metro Suburban Blue) closed out the regular season on a tear, defeating Timothy Christian on its home floor to clinch the conference title, avenging a buzzer-beater home loss earlier this season to Aurora Christian on Tuesday and notching a 20-win season.

The Bulldogs’ late-season revenge tour kicked off with a thrilling 53-49 win over the Trojans last Friday. In March, Timothy Christian pulled out a 62-56 overtime road win over the Bulldogs on the final day of the season to win the conference title.

“It was a great atmosphere playing at Timothy Christian, so winning that game felt amazing,” Hanley said. “They beat us at our place for conference (last year). We wanted to get revenge and take back conference on their court. It meant a lot to all of us who felt the heartbreak of losing to them last year.”

Hanley said topping the 20-win mark is another milestone for the eight-player senior class. The Bulldogs have won 20 games in three straight complete seasons, and 11 of the last 13 seasons.

The Bulldogs get an opportunity to host a regional, playing Proviso West in a 4A regional semifinal on Wednesday.

“It means a lot to me and all of my teammates to get a conference title and 20 wins,” Hanley said. “Our coach set that goal for us at the start of the season, and we were able to pull through with it.

“I’m really excited for the playoffs, especially after not getting a chance at a playoff run last year. That’s amped it up for this one, and two years ago, winning a regional in front of our home crowd was something I’ll never forget, so I hope to deliver again.”

Riverside Brookfield coach Mike Reingruber said his seniors played a key role in hitting some of the program’s primary goals.

“Twenty wins is a great benchmark, and we had five games canceled this year,” Reingruber said. “The guys worked really hard and we felt it was an attainable goal based on all the guys we had coming back. Winning conference was a great accomplishment. We’re really locked in and playing our best basketball leading to the state tournament.”

Lyons hoping to continue special season

Lyons coach Tom Sloan saw the early signs of a special team back in the summer. The Lions were returning several talented players, notably point guard Tavari Johnson, Nik Polonowski and Billy Bach.

But the Lions’ early-season momentum following wins over Fenger, Maine South and Lincoln-Way East came to a thundering halt with a 71-34 loss at Glenbard West on Dec. 3. After dropping a 69-59 loss to Riverside Brookfield the next day, the Lions embarked on an eight-game winning streak to shift the course of their season.

The Lions (22-5, 9-3 West Suburban Silver) have lost three games to top-ranked Glenbard West along with a defeat to Metro Suburban Blue champion Riverside Brookfield and 12-point loss to Oak Park-River Forest (15-10).

“This has been an extremely fun season,” Sloan said. “Every day that we have been allowed to practice or play games has been a positive experience, and then to have a very good group, with talented players and great chemistry, it has made very special. The group played very well this summer. I didn’t know if it would translate into a lot of wins during the regular season, but we knew that we would have a very competitive group. When we got to the York tournament in December, the group really started to play well.”

The Lions had the misfortune of playing Glenbard West in the finals of the Jack Tosh tournament, but won’t run into their conference counterparts unless both teams reach the Class 4A state title game. The Lions open the playoffs against Leyden on Wednesday in a Proviso East semifinal.

The Lions’ strength lies in their balanced scoring, with seven players averaging more than 4.5 points a game. Johnson, an Akron recruit, is averaging a team-high 16.2 points, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Polonowski leads the team with an average of 2.3 3-pointers per game with a scoring average of 11.6 points. Bach is averaging 7.8 points and 3.5 rebounds, and Aidan Sullivan is averaging 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds.

“Tavari Johnson has had an outstanding season,” Sloan said. “He scores, but is extremely unselfish and shares the ball very well with his teammates. He’s also a very disruptive factor on defense. Nik Polonowski is a very good athlete and is extremely skilled for his size at 6-6. He has become a very good three-point shooter, and is a very good defender. Billy Bach has improved tremendously over the past year. He’s a very good shooter, but has developed his game in the paint, too. He has displayed a lot of toughness on both ends of the floor.

“Will Carroll, Graham Smith, Carter Reid and Elliot Russell have done a wonderful job rotating as forwards. They’re all tough and skilled. Their defense, rebounding and scoring has been vital to our success. Aidan Sullivan is a glue guy. He’s a very good all-around player. Jackson Niego is a major factor on the perimeter coming off the bench. Jackson is very tough and skilled.”

Glenbard West-Simeon Friday

Glenbard West’s recent run of success is new for the program. The Hilltoppers have lost just two games in the last two seasons en route to back-to-back West Suburban Silver Conference championships, but the program has won just four conference titles in the last 50 years. They also won the conference title in 1973 and 2016. Tickets for Friday’s Glenbard West-Simeon game at Proviso West are $15 for adults and $10 for students.