Extra Points: Joliet West Senior Proves He's a Difference-Maker

When Joliet West senior Remy Roberts-Burnett was accidently elbowed in the head by a teammate during a practice, he expected to feel the pain for a while.

He never expected the blow to result in a concussion that would force him to miss three games.

“I thought I would just have a bump on my head and be a little dizzy,” Roberts-Burnett said. “When the doctors told me it was a concussion, I knew I was going to miss a couple games. I hated being out, especially when we were down. I just kept thinking about all the things I could do to get us back in the game. It hurt. I couldn’t stand it.”

The 6-foot-1 forward returned to action Friday and led Joliet West to a 47-41 Southwest Suburban Blue victory over Lincoln-Way Central in New Lenox.

Roberts-Burnett scored a game-high 19 points.

“I was jacked up and excited to come back and get this win,” Roberts-Burnett said. “I felt weak for a week, week and a half, but I came back strong. I knew I was going to give it my all this game. I wanted to be the aggressor out there and the leader on the court. I wanted to make sure my voice was heard. I’m going to go all out the rest of the season.”

Roberts-Burnett set the tone early in the game with five points in the first quarter.

He then scored an inside basket to close the third quarter and put his team ahead 34-31. Roberts-Burnett hit a momentum-changing three-pointer to start the fourth quarter. The basket started a 7-0 run that gave the Tigers a comfortable 41-31 lead with 3:20 remaining.

“He came back and played with a purpose, which was to win the game,” Joliet West coach Luke Yaklich said. “He led our team in all phases of the game. Remy played a really, really good game.”

The Best Play: Joliet West’s Remy Roberts-Burnett opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to start a 7-0 run and Lincoln-Way Central never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

Red Out: Lincoln-Way Central’s gymnasium was packed in red for a good cause. T-shirts were sold to support the American Heart Association’s life-saving mission to fight cardiovascular disease. Lincoln-Way Central raised more than $1,500 for the cause.

Senior Night: Lincoln-Way Central honored its senior basketball players, cheerleaders and Rhythm Knights prior to Friday’s game. The basketball players recognized were Evan Branyik, Sean Blackwood and Alex Severson, while cheerleaders Samantha Hampton, Bethaney Hawrysio, Jessica Kozak, Ally Miller and Amie Monreal and Rhythm Knights Jeana Filip, Kimmy Gilbertsen, Kiana Greenfield, Kayla Hobson, Emily Jamroz, Malai Lingle, Lindy Luchowski, Anglie Mysliwiec, Rae Radusewicz, Brittanie Russell, Amanda Sakanis, Chrissy Schroeder and Hannah Schwab were also honored.

Sophomore Score: Lincoln-Way Central 33, Joliet West 28. Kyle Carpenter had nine points to pace the Knights, while Matt Mikolajczak had six points and Kevin Ward and Evan Panfil both had five points. Elliot Fizer and Kameron Hargrove each had eight points to lead the Tigers.

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