By Michael Wojtychiw
Horizon-Southwest is a relative newcomer to the Chicago Public League.
The K-12 charter school has only been open 10 years but has made a mark on the boys basketball scene in the city.
That was no more evident than when the Huskies faced Julian for the Blue Division championship Monday, Feb. 5, at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena. The team came into the game undefeated in conference play, as well as the Blue Division playoff games. Its only loss to a CPL team came to Curie in late November.
Its opponent in the title game, Julian, was having quite a season of its own. The Jaguars also had gone undefeated in conference play and had not lost a game since December 30 in a game in their own Christmas tournament.
The teams combined to give the fans a show in the nightcap of the first night of Championship Week, with Horizon-Southwest pulling out a 45-33 win.
“I’ve never won anything before, so this feels great,” Horizon’s Ahmet Unal said. “I think at the Christmas tournament, after we had a bad loss, we bounced back and after that we got more confidence as a team.”
“This came from a lot of hard work, dedication,” Horizon coach Romel Bryant said. “working with the students, making sure they work 100 percent inside and outside of the classroom, getting their work done.
“This means the world to the program. We’ve been counted out of so many games, people haven’t given us credit. I think we’ve played a very, very difficult schedule and we’re prepared to move forward in the state tournament.”
Both teams struggled in the first half, with the Huskies shooting 23.8% on 5-of-21 shooting, while the Jaguars shot 22.2% (6-of-27). A lot of that was because of the strong defense by both squads.
After the half, both the Jaguars and Huskies were able to get some of their shooting touch back but Horizon widened its lead to five points, 30-25 after three quarters. Kaivon Payton scored six in the quarter to lead the way for the Huskies.
“I was ready to chew the team out at halftime, but after Kaivon hit the shot to end the half, I didn’t have too much to say,” Bryant said about his halftime speech after Kaivon Bryant hit a three-pointer from beyond halfcourt. “That helped refocus me on telling them what we need to do to grow our lead.
After giving up double-digit points in a quarter for the first time all night in the third quarter, the Horizon defense stiffened once again in the final quarter, allowing only eight points, while scoring a game-high 15 itself.
Ahmet Unal scored seven points to finish with a team-high 16 and added eight rebounds. Payton was also in double-digits with 11 points. Ian Flowers and Cyrus Jones both scored 10 points for the Jaguars.
Both teams now prepare for the state playoffs where the Huskies are the top seed in their sub-sectional of the Class 1A Orr Sectional and will be in the Fenger regional. Julian is the third seed in its sub-sectional and will host a regional.
“People know we exist now,” Bryant said. “I’m hoping we can grow on this and become a powerhouse in the city.”
Photos by Brandon Parker/OSA
