Top-ranked Kenwood holds off Simeon in a sold-out thriller

There isn’t a lot of Public League basketball history in Kenwood’s second-floor gym on 50th and Blackstone. The Broncos had good teams over the years and produced NBA player Nazr Mohammed. But Kenwood never has won a city title and is primarily known for academics.

Kenwood principal Karen Calloway divided her time at the school on Thursday night between an orchestra performance and the hot, sold-out gym teeming with life and high-level basketball. It was top-ranked Kenwood vs. No. 5 Simeon, a matchup so enticing that Antoine Walker, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dalen Terry and Matas Buzelis stopped in to watch and waited through an hourlong delay for the game to start.

The man who brought the talent to Kenwood, former coach Mike Irvin, was sitting at half-court. He had better seats than Buzelis and Terry. Irvin has stuck with his former team, cheering them on at every game.

Simeon had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but Julien Doyle’s difficult three-pointer didn’t fall and Kenwood held on for a 58-55 win.

The Broncos were led by an unlikely hero, senior TJ Seals. The 6-5 transfer from Johnson has acclimated to major Public League basketball unusually quickly. He scored 13 of his 24 points in the first quarter and had 11 rebounds.

“That was my first time playing [Simeon],” Seals said. “We didn’t give up, we fought. I was getting frustrated because [Devin Cleveland and Amari Edwards] were cold and I just had to take over.’’

Edwards scored 12 points and Cleveland added nine.

“I was rushing it,” Cleveland said. “I didn’t let the game come to me. I knew TJ Seals was going to come through. He just makes all the winning plays, him and Chris Watkins. They do all the dirty work we need, diving on the floor and getting the rebounds. [Seals] was the leader today. He put us on his back.”

Kenwood (6-0, 3-0 Red Shield) led 18-10 after one quarter. Simeon (4-1, 2-1) dominated the second quarter, holding the Broncos to just one basket and two free throws. The second half went back and forth, with Kenwood’s depth shining through.

“Seals was huge,” Kenwood coach Joseph Mason said. “Everything he did, from rebounding to being big in the post, really helped ignite the team and get us going. Which we needed.”

Watkins, senior Aleks Alston (six points, eight rebounds) and sophomore Damari Stephens each made key plays. Simeon led 49-46 with 3:32 remaining. Cleveland tied the game with a three-pointer that ignited a 10-3 burst that was capped with a stunning dunk from Alston, off a Cleveland assist.

Alston was a key member of last year’s star-studded team that suffered through high expectations and a controversial end to the season.

“To be honest, I felt OK with [starting the season] as an underdog,” Alston said. “We needed that. It was a slap in the face with reality. No one believed in us and while they didn’t believe in us, we were up early in the morning working on our game, working as a team and building a relationship with each other.”

Senior Lorenzo Shields led the Wolverines with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Julien Doyle added 17 points and five rebounds.

Simeon junior Andre Tyler sat for most of the second quarter after picking up two fouls and never got into the flow of the game, finishing with just two points on a steal and dunk midway through the fourth quarter.

“The Public League is a different beast,” Mason said. “You have to be ready mentally and physically for that battle. Our guys really responded. We’ve been talking about having that mental toughness, not just physical toughness.”