Notes, observations and other thoughts about men's basketball played at 38th and Central...

Super start
Morton College won its Skyway Conference opener for the fourth straight year by downing Moraine Valley 82-77 at home Tuesday night (January 7th). The last time the Panthers lost their league opener on the floor was in 2020 with a 74-70 setback to Prairie State.

The Panthers (7-7 overall) also needed a fresh start, especially after ending 2024 with back-to-back losses against DuPage and Bryant & Stratton.

Noble Prize winner
Dre Nobles made an immediate impact in his first game for the Panthers, finishing with 19 points and 5 rebounds. His dunk ignited the Panthers to an early 14-4 start. Nobles also knocked down a three-pointer that put Morton College ahead to stay at 33-31 in the second half.

A for Anderson
Sophomore guard Adrian Anderson made a pair of three-pointers during Morton College's 14-4 opening burst. He also ran down a loose ball and turned it into a critical three-point play with under two minutes to play that extended the Panther advantage to double digits at 73-63.

Anderson finished with 18 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. It was the seventh time this season Anderson had has 5 or more assists in a game.

No interest in Brexit
Nathaneal Lewis from the United Kingdom continues to emerge during his sophomore season. He scored a career-high 14 points and came up with a big rebound late against Moraine Valley. Lewis also made a pair of three-pointers in the second half as he posted his second straight game in double-figure scoring.

Book it for Brooks
Jordan Brooks and Nobles led the Panthers with 19 points. Brooks also was 3 of 6 from three-point range and 6 of 8 from the welfare walk in logging all 40 minutes.

Cathey Jr. contributions
Kevin Cathey Jr. had 7 assists and 5 rebounds. He ran down a long rebound that turned into Lewis' first of two second half three-pointers.

The long, long second half
The second half turned into a free-throw contest with Morton College and Moraine Valley combining to get to the line 50 times vs. 8 in the first half. The Panthers connected on 19 of 28 free throws, while Moraine Valley was 15 of 22. There were 31 fouls called in the second half compared to 9 in the first.

Another close one
This was the fourth time in the last five meetings that a Morton-Moraine game was decided by 5 or less points.

Up next
The Panthers head to Sugar Grove to face Waubonsee, which is riding a 14-game win streak and is 14-1 overall. The Chiefs jumped out to a 55-31 halftime lead in taking down Elgin 105-86 in their Skyway debut.