Notes, observations and other thoughts about men's basketball played at 38th and Central...
Dre Nobles' second half of the season performance certainly catapulted the Morton College sophomore forward into the conversation for Skyway Conference Player of the Year honors.

While Nobles lost out on the award by one vote, the Dyett High School product played a huge role in helping the Panthers to their first Skyway title since 2019 with a sensational second half where he averaged 24 points and 11.4 rebounds over Morton College's final seven league contests.

He took over Saturday's 78-65 regular-season ending win at Prairie State with his fifth double-double of the second half as Nobles put up 22 points and 12 rebounds. Nobles racked up a double-double in the final 20 minutes against Prairie State with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He was 8 of 12 from the floor in the second half as Morton College outscored Prairie State 52-38 to overcome a one-point halftime deficit.

"He's hard to stop," added teammate Adrian Anderson. "He's a man among boys."

"He's a horse," Morton College coach Jon Rush noted. "He showed in the second half the player he is."

Nobles deflected the praise for his role in the Panthers' co-championship with Waubonsee as both finished 12-2 in Skyway play.

"This is great," Nobles said. "Great coaches, great teammates. Without them, none of this is possible."

Rough road to Skyway crown
Morton College's path to the 2025 Skyway crown wasn't an easy one. The Panthers' chances appeared doomed after a 77-63 road loss to Moraine Valley February 6th put them two games behind Waubonsee.

Five days later, the Panthers were resuscitated when Moraine Valley upended Waubonsee 92-88. Morton College went into a must-win mode and closed out Skyway play with five straight victories including one over Waubonsee that forced a tie.

"We've been through a lot of stuff," Anderson said. "There's been a lot of ups and downs, but this has been a really special season. I feel the love for all my teammates and coaches."

The first half against Prairie State was a rocky one as Morton College fell behind seven points. Rush is a coach big on routine and the Panthers' routine was thrown for a loop, starting with the night before when assistant coach Greg Fleming broke his ankle playing in a men's basketball league game. On the way to Prairie State, the Panthers were involved a slight fender-bender that made the team arrive late.

"I'm big into routine and I felt like we were off a bit," Rush said. "Everything that could have gone wrong did. We just had all kinds of stuff happen."

Plus, the Panthers hadn't swept the season series from Prairie State since 2019. Morton College also was just 3-6 vs. the Pioneers over the last five seasons.

A for Anderson
Anderson made a number of big shots in the win over Prairie State, but perhaps none was bigger than the three-pointer he made right before the end of the first half to pull the Panthers (20-10 overall) within 27-26.

"Adrian's a gamer," Rush noted. "He's a big-shot taker and a big-shot maker. I have all the confidence in the world in him."

Anderson was another Panther with a big second half, scoring 12 of his 19 points in making 5 of 7 attempts to go along wiht 8 rebounds and 5 assists. It was his 13th Skyway game in double-figure scoring as his league numbers were 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game to go along with a 48 percent shooting average from three and 81 percent mark from the free-throw line.

Talk about a transformation
Hands down, the award for most improved Panther belongs to sophomore wing Nathaneal Lewis, who scored all of 16 points last season. 

His 2024 numbers – 0.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, 14.3 percent from 3 and 28.6 percent from 2.

His 2025 line – 9.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 40.6 percent from 3 with 42 3s vs. 1 3 in 2024.

After Prairie State closed to 61-59, Lewis responded with back-to-back three-pointers. He added another three in the final minute that sealed the Panther victory. He finished with 11 points, all in the second half, and 9 rebounds.

"I went into the gym and wouldn't leave until I made 200 shots every day," Lewis said. "Coming to the United States from England was a big adjustment. Everyone is good here. I knew I had to work harder to get better."

"Nat's a really special kind of talent," Rush said. "He's very coachable and it's been a pleasure to see him succeed."

No Norman, no Skyway
Without Ethan Norman, there's no 2025 Skyway championship banner hanging at Morton College.

The sophomore forward kept the Panthers above water in the first half with six points and six rebounds against Prairie State. Norman also stepped up big in the win over Waubonsee with 12 points and 8 rebounds.  

The big three
Nobles, Anderson and Lewis combined for 41 of Morton College's 52 second-half points.

More from Prairie State
Kevin Cathey Jr. – 9 points, 2 assists
Jordan Brooks – 8 points
Devlyn Rowe – 3 points
Lawrence Dixon – 4 rebounds

Awards and honors
Nobles – All-Skyway First Team 
Anderson – All-Skyway Second Team 
Rush – Skyway Coach of the Year

Region IV playoffs
Morton College is the 5th seed in the upcoming Region IV playoffs and hosts Skyway rival Oakton, the 12th seed, at 6 p.m. Thursday, February 27th. The semifinals and finals are at Rock Valley in Rockford.

The Panthers beat Oakton 85-70 January 14th and 79-78 February 13th.

"We need to stay committed," Nobles said. "It's hard to beat someone twice in the same season."