Charlie Moore has the physical characteristics of a freshman. Otherwise, he’s wise and savvy beyond his years.
The Morgan Park guard sparked the No. 3 Mustangs by hitting three-pointers and scoring 15 points that proved crucial in their 61-45 victory over the host Panthers in the second round of the Proviso West Holiday tournament Thursday in Hillside.
Morgan Park advances to meet Red-South rival Bogan in Friday’s quarterfinals.
That was the problem, according to Morgan Park Nick Irvin. “We looked past this game,” he admitted. The Mustangs (11-1) overcame 33 percent shooting in the first half and an early four-point deficit after the first quarter.
Moore was the catalyst. He drilled two three-pointers and scored eight points in the first half. Moore has Irvin’s approval to shoot from anywhere on the floor. “It feels pretty great to know the confidence [Irvin] has in me, just being a freshman,” he said.
The teams combined for 27 first half turnovers. Senior guard Kyle Davis scored 12 of his game-high 16 points in the first half. His breakaway off a Proviso West missed shot put the Mustangs up 11-1 at the break.
“We’re wore out right now,” Irvin said. “We’ve played a lot of games in the last 10 days.”
Morgan Park took better care of the ball in the second half and slowly, methodically wore the Panthers (6-6) out. Junior 6-7 wing forward Josh Cunningham contributed 10 points and nine rebounds. Torry Johnson (nine points) hit a critical three-pointer that helped the Mustangs pull away.
Joshua Thompson scored 12 points and Taylor Watkins scored 10 points to lead the Panthers.
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