When I spoke to Dalton Scantlebury just prior to the start of the season, the talented Division I-bound 6-9 big man said, “It means a lot to put Lane Tech on the map basketball-wise.”
Scantlebury has been an instrumental part of making Lane basketball relevant in recent years. The schedule was ramped up and the win totals have climbed. But it wasn’t until Friday night when all the work and the words matched what Scantlebury and Lane has set out to do.
Lane is on the map after winning its first regional championship. There was some past postseason success –– in the 1930s. The 1934 team reached the state quarterfinals. But that’s well before the “regional” concept.
Coach Nick LoGalbo has put in the work to raise both the level and the profile of this program. He knows the significance of the moment.
“It’s a big deal,” LaGalbo firmly admitted. “It’s a big deal for these boys, this program and the school. We have all the respect in the world for New Trier, but a statement win like that is what we’ve been talking about since the season began.”
LaGalbo says the schedule Lane faced this year prepared his team for the moment. The Champions played 13 games where they faced teams that were ranked at some point this season.
“All the work these boys have done, this win does validate the process,” LaGalbo said.
Scantlebury, who is headed to Penn, leads the way with 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and nearly three blocks a game. Then there is the long, lanky perimeter trio to go with the inside presence of Scantlebury, including 6-8 Zach Mazanowski (11.6 ppg), who scored 22 points in the regional final win, 6-4 Andrew Bartolai (8 ppg) and 6-7 Matthew Szafoni (7.8 ppg).
Now Lane will face top-seeded Evanston in Tuesday’s sectional semifinals at New Trier.
▪️There were a half dozen or so regional championship games across the state that stood out from the rest. They were truly flip-of-the-coin matchups featuring teams all capable of making deep state tournament runs. There wasn’t a single game among them that disappointed as each one came down to a single possession or two-possession game.
Those showdowns and results included: Rock Island 63, Moline 60; Simeon 57, St. Ignatius 51 in overtime; Curie 62, Hinsdale Central 57; Young 50, Lincoln Park 47; Metamora 45, Morton 43.
▪️The annual lopsided regional championship games in Class 3A continued in 2025. Of the 32 regional title games played across the state, 21 were decided by 10 or more points while 11 were won by 20-plus points.
▪️The top four seeds in six of the eight Class 4A sectionals all advanced to this week’s sectional semifinals.
▪️Public League teams took full advantage of playing on their home floor in regional play. The city powers took care of business, beating strong, ranked teams in regional championship games. Young beat highly-ranked Lincoln Park. Simeon edged Phoenix Gill and St. Ignatius in overtime. And Curie ended Hinsdale Central’s terrific 29-win season before the Red Devils could play the sectional in their home gym.
Young and Curie were the most dangerous lower-seeded teams in the state at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
First, they are only seeded that low because they’re playing in the state’s toughest sectional. But these are two perennial powers accustomed to playing in big games, both during the regular season and especially in state tournament play.
Young is such an improved team from two months ago from playing the schedule it faces. Plus, coach Tyrone Slaughter’s team boasts high-level talent in junior Marquis Clark and 6-6 senior Antonio Munoz.
Curie seems to have been rejuvenated by the play of junior guard Justin Oliver and its city playoff run that ended with a 67-65 loss to Kenwood in the title game.
▪️Public League Playoffs: Part II
The city semifinals were held at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena a little over two weeks ago. Kenwood beat Young and Curie knocked off Hyde Park.
Now the city’s powers reconvene, this time at Hinsdale Central for sectional semifinal action: Kenwood vs. Simeon and Young vs. Curie.
Should be fun.
▪️The biggest regional title game scare took place in the St. Charles East Sectional, courtesy of No. 9 seed Addison Trail and star Luke Smith.
Top-seeded Glenbard West, the only ranked team in the entire sectional, needed double overtime to fend off an Addison Trail team in search of its first regional championship in 45 years. The 74-73 win was highlighted by a monster performance from Mike O’Connell, a 6-8, 290-pound big man headed to Northwestern to play football.
O’Connell, who comes off the bench for the Hilltoppers, was 10 of 16 from the field for a career-high 24 points and snared 13 rebounds.
Smith finished his remarkable Addison Trail career with a whopping 2,531 points.
▪️The Catholic League has the advantage of its teams playing in three separate classes and in different geographical areas in the postseason. Nonetheless, what the Catholic League Blue has done in the first week of the postseason should be noted.
The league produced seven regional champions: DePaul Prep, Brother Rice, Mount Carmel, Loyola, Fenwick, Leo and De La Salle. Another Catholic League Blue team, St. Ignatius, lost in overtime to Simeon.
For good measure, the Catholic League White added two other regional champs in St. Laurence and Montini.
▪️How about the picks?
There were 32 regional winners each in both Class 3A and Class 4A. How did the state tournament picks go?
In Class 4A the regional record on picks was 27-5. In Class 3A the regional record was 24-8.