DePaul Prep hosted its 4th Annual Steve Pappas Shootout on Saturday. Four high level high school basketball games from noon to 6:30. The first game was the host DePaul Prep Rams (10-6, 1-4) against Lake Forest Scouts (7-8, 2-2).
The Rams opened an early lead on strength of seven points by PJ Chambers. The Rams have struggled a little this year losing four straight games to Chicago Catholic League opponents. The Rams are without two junior starters Jaylon McElroy and Payton Kamin who are expected to return to the starting line-up soon.
This matchup against Lake Forest brought Asa Thomas to Tom Winiecki Gym. The Lake Forest senior forward and Clemson commit is one of the top players in Illinois. This was the first time I got to see him play in person. He did not disappoint. Unfortunately for the Scouts, he didn’t have enough support on either end of the floor.
The Rams opened a ten point halftime and lead by as much as 14 in the third quarter. Lake Forest chipped away at the lead cutting it to four points with 17 seconds left. The Scouts turned the ball over with 6 seconds on the clock. The Rams survived 51-45.
Asa Thomas lead all scorers with 24 points. The Rams PJ Chambers had 22. It was a nice win for the Rams against a quality team in the shootout honoring their from coach Steve Pappas.
