Williams, Loyola silence New Trier in annual Thanksgiving showdown

Loyola Academy guard Trey Williams was a man of the people on Wednesday night.

Actually he was a man on the people.

A handful of Ramblers fans surprised Williams by displaying homemade T-shirts featuring multiple images of their point guard, and the Loyola senior didn’t disappoint them. He provided a game-high 17 points while also locking down New Trier’s star en route to a 51-43 Ramblers’ victory Nov. 26 in Winnetka.

“I didn’t even know they were here,” Williams said of the shirts. “After (my) first three, they took (their other shirts) off and started waving them. It was a good surprise.

About the victory, Williams added, “This is awesome. Loyola has had a couple hard losses to (New Trier) in other sports, so being able to represent the school and bring a (W) this time around was a real prideful moment for us.”

The New Trier-Loyola hoops clash has become a Thanksgiving tradition, but one the Trevians have dominated in recent years — winning the last four matchups.

This year, the Trevians seemed to again have the advantage on paper, coming in ranked No. 8 in the Chicago-Sun Times Super 25, a few slots ahead of the Ramblers (No. 12). But out of the gates, this one was all Loyola, which, despite missing leading scorer Sam Golden, used a 28-5 run in the first half to take a 31-8 lead into the halftime.

In that stretch, the Ramblers outrebounded the Trevians, held New Trier standout Christopher Kirkpatrick scoreless and buried seven three-pointers.

“There was a few things we had to do,” Loyola coach Tom Livatino said of his team’s gameplan. “No. 1, keep them out of transition, and we did a really good job of that, and No. 2, we had to keep them off the glass and we did a really good job at that in the first half.”

New Trier had a difficult time finding open looks against Loyola’s feisty defense.

After junior Elton Jaegerskog hit an early three, the Trevians went scoreless for more than eight minutes before senior Danny Houlihan hit a short shot off an inbounds play.

New Trier coach Scott Fricke said the slow start is a worrying early trend for the 2-1 Trevians.

“We came out and laid an egg again,” he said, referencing his team’s slow start in a Nov. 25 win against Lake Forest, “and all of the sudden we pick it up, but we have to pick it up from the start.

“We need to come out swinging and not on our heels, and we were on our heels the last two nights.”

It took the Trevians more than two quarters to finally get something going on offense.

Houlihan scored seven of his team-high 15 points in the third quarter, and New Trier started to trim the deficit.

And then in the final quarter, they did enough to make things exciting down the stretch.

Kirkpatrick converted five of six free throws — his only points on the night — and Max Vogel netted 5 points as New Trier got within eight.

Loyola, however, shut the door in the final two minutes. Williams scored 5 fourth-quarter points, and two free throws from Brody Munsey-Johnson cinched the victory.

Loyola senior Charlie Ellis, a transfer from New Trier, had a big night in front of his former classmates, scoring 16 points that included four three-pointers. Luke Alvarez added 9 points. Munsey-Johnson grabbed 13 rebounds.

For New Trier, aside from Houlihan’s 15, Jaegerskog finished with 8 points, as did Vogel, while Matthew Logue and Kirkpatrick scored 5 apiece.

Loyola will play Mount Carmel on Saturday, Nov. 29, in the championship game of the New Trier-Loyola Thanksgiving Tournament.

Lookahead

New Trier on Wednesday started three seniors — Kirkpatrick, Vogel and Houlihan — who also started last year’s 21-12 team. This is the third season Houlihan and Kirkpatrick are in the varsity team’s rotation.

Starters Jaegerskog and Logue also saw varsity minutes a year ago. The rest of the Trevians are essentially new to the varsity experience.

While Kirkpatrick and Houlihan are known for their offensive success, Fricke said his team’s overall success will depend on the other end of the floor.

“We got to be a team that is defensive minded first and everything else will take care of itself,” he said. “A team that takes pride in guarding, takes pride in rebounding, and everything else will take care of itself.”

The backcourt will get support from senior MJ Burns and juniors Ryan Ritchie and Benji Verber, while junior Owen Foster and freshman Denym Wallace are front-court reserves in the early going.

Fricke sees big things in the future.

“We’re playing some guys who don’t have a lot of varsity experience but who are going to be good players. It’s going to take some time,” Fricke said.

Loyola Academy is equally experienced with Williams, Golden and Alvarez all back in the starting lineup. Hard-nosed guard Danny Lee also saw minutes a year ago.

Livatino also pointed to backup senior big Hayden Harrington and reserve junior wing Luke Wirtschoreck as players who will make an impact this year.

The Ramblers (3-0) are looking to make a run this year, but Livatino knows it’s early.

“I think we have a good team, but we have a ways to go,” Livatino said. “We have a chance, but we have to get a lot better.”

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