Merry Madness Day 2 roundup, Payton holds off Farragut

By Michael Wojtychiw

Payton’s boys basketball team is getting quite the gift this holiday season.

As the Grizzlies prepared to start their holiday season by participating in the CPL’s Merry Madness Shootout on Tuesday, Dec. 23, at Whitney Young, there was one big piece of the team that had been missing for much of the season thus far: Patrick Irvin Jr.

The senior forward injured his knee in the team’s season-opening tournament at Glenbrook North, an injury coach Reggie Bates called essentially a bone bruise, and had been held out of the Grizzlies’ games since then.

The inside force made his return to CPL play when the Grizzlies took on Farragut in the closing game of the two-day event on Tuesday evening and made his presence known. He scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, helping Payton hold off a late rally by the Admirals and walk away with a 73-67 win.

“We have Patrick Irvin,” Payton coach Reggie Bates said. “And we knew that Patrick Irvin sets the tone on the interior and he did that well.

He’s been injured, we haven’t had him for much of the season. He’s a key component to what we do and we know we’re a different team when we’re at full strength. He’s coming back at the right time.”

Irvin wasn’t the only Grizzly who stood out though.

The team got contributions form players in each class, as sophomore CJ Pittman scored 22 points en route to earning Game MVP honors, junior Cole Raub added 11 rebounds and freshman Orlando Bohlen scored 10.

The Admirals got a sensational performance from Latrell Kelley, who had a game-high 27 points, but Payton’s depth and inside presence helped keep Farragut at bay.

“Hats off to great players,” Bates said. “Latrell Kelley is one of the best players, not only in Chicago, but the state and he put it on full display today. But we’re a young team, we play freshmen, sophomores, and when we get experience, we’ll get better at late-game situations.”

Merry Madness Day 2 Roundup

Goode 48, UC Woodlawn 40: Justin Harris led Goode with 22 points in the win, while Zion Pride had 16 for UC Woodlawn.

Lincoln-Way East 60, Englewood STEM 43: Jakarie Askew and Almontie Morris both scored 12 for Englewood STEM, while KJ Brown scored a game-high 16 points for the victors.

Mount Carmel 61, Fenger 27: Logan Wessel scored 15 points to lead the Caravan, while Mi’Cah Eddings scored eight for Fenger.

Brooks 55, Dunbar 53 (OT): Jordan Wordlaw scored 22 points for Dunbar, but the Eagles pulled out the win with a basket with two seconds remaining. Malik Arogundade scored 18 to lead the victors.

Photos by Zoe Davis/OSA

Payton vs. Farragut