By Michael Wojtychiw
Looking back at the beginning of the season, Curie coach Mike Oliver never would have imagined his team would accomplish what they did.
What did the Condors do this year?
Just win Pontiac Holiday Tournament, win the Red South/Central Conference, win the Chicago Public League Championship and win regional and sectional titles.
“I’ve seen this team put in so much work all year,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “At the beginning of the season, we never thought they’d achieve the things they achieved this season. I saw these guys work their tail off all year long, working on their craft.
“They were in the gym on hot days, early in the morning just working to get better.”
After their sectional title win over conference foe Simeon, the Condors were one win away from going downstate for just the third time in Oliver’s tenure and first time since 2019, when the team took third in the state.
What stood in its way was a battle with Homewood-Flossmoor, the game everyone in the state was looking forward to. It featured the top two teams in the Chicago Sun-Times’ Top 25, with the Condors No. 1 and the Vikings right behind them.
Unfortunately for the Condors, their frantic rally from down eight points with 57 seconds to go fell just short, with the Vikings squeaking out a 60-58 win.
After two free throws gave the Vikings a 58-51 lead with 41.4 seconds remaining, Curie scored seven points in an 18-second span, capped by Christian Brockett’s 3-pointer that tied the game at 58.
But Gianni Cobb, who transferred to H-F from Perspectives/Leadership this season, hit two free throws with 16.3 seconds remaining to give his team the win. The Condors couldn’t convert on their final possession.
“Our kids left it all out there on the court,” Oliver said. “They worked so hard all year long. No one thought we would achieve the things we achieved. It’s painful because the guys worked their tails off all year long.”
Interestingly enough, it was in a loss to nationally-ranked Sidwell Friends (D.C.) that Oliver realized this was a team that could be special.
“We came in here (UIC) and played one of the top six teams in the country and played them to the last second,” Oliver said. “That’s when I knew these guys had a chance because they bought into what we were telling them.
“This is probably the best defensive team we’ve had in a long time, so that’s what we built everything on.”
The game started off like one would envision a matchup between two teams of this quality would go. The teams matched basket for basket, both shooting 6-of-8 in the period, which would end tied at 14. The only difference between the two was that the Condors made two of their three three-point attempts, while Cobb made both of his team’s attempts. In fact, Cobb went 4-of-4 for 10 points in the quarter.
Curie would hold the Columbia University-bound Cobb to just four points over the next two quarters, all four coming in the second quarter. It was able to do so by making some defensive adjustments.
“We told Mason Minor to face guard him and he did a good job of denying him the ball,” Oliver said. “We took the ball out of his hands that way, but Bryce Hard made some good shots, they all made some big shots. That’s a good team. We knew it was going to be a game of runs and they just happened to make the last big play.”
A three-point halftime lead became six after three quarters and eight after two possessions in the fourth quarter.
But that’s when the Vikings would slowly make their comeback. They went on an 18-2 run and took their first lead since midway through the second quarter with 2:02 remaining in the game.
As the team has been all season, it was the senior class that led the way for Curie. Mason Minor scored 14 points to lead the way, while Will Gonzalez scored 13 and Brockett added 12.
“They’re seniors,” Oliver said. “Carlos [Harris] is our top guy, but these guys are seniors, they’re winners.
“That’s what we expect out of seniors. Step up when guys aren’t having their best night.”
