When he took the court Saturday at the United Center, senior guard Malik Parker's first thought was how cool of a moment it was.

Quickly, though, his attention shifted to how Chicago Christian could benefit from the new surroundings.

“It felt great coming out on this court,” Parker said. “It was a new experience for us. We realized we had an advantage playing here. The court is bigger, and we love to run. We figured we could run on them and maybe wear them down.”

The Knights indeed ran and scored at will. Parker poured in 27 points, and Chicago Christian rolled to a 68-42 win over Timothy Christian in a Metro Suburban East game.

“It was a lot of fun,” Parker said. “I tried to get into a rhythm, and my teammates kept getting me the ball and helped get me open.”

Jack Ellison added 14 points for the Knights (8-6, 5-0). Jonny Strube led Timothy Christian (10-4, 4-2) with nine points.

Chicago Christian clicked on all cylinders throughout, shooting 60 percent (29-of-48).

Parker buried a pair of 3-pointers, and Ellison provided four early points as the Knights led 17-11 after one quarter. They then opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run to pull away for good.

Chicago Christian led 41-20 at halftime.

“When we're distributing the ball and moving it the way we can, we can shoot it at a really high percentage,” Chicago Christian coach Kevin Pittman said. “Sometimes we get away from that, but we did it (Saturday).”

Parker led the way, connecting on 11 of his 16 shots.

“Malik is pretty doggone good,” Pittman said. “People in our conference knew about him, and people outside are starting to find out. We're not a one-man show, but Malik is a heck of a player.”

The win capped a busy stretch for the Knights, who went 2-2 at the East Aurora Tournament.

“It was a long week,” Ellison said. “I think we were all starting to feel a lot of stress in our legs. We were tired. It was definitely worth it, though. It's always an honor to play at the United Center.”

Josh Decker added nine points and six rebounds for Chicago Christian.

“I'm 3-0 on this court now, so I think we need to keep coming back,” Pittman said. “It was a great opportunity for the kids. We wanted them to have fun, but not get caught up in it and still realize we were here to play a great basketball game. They did that.”

Trinity Christian 79, Indiana Northwest 69: Jordan Perry had 20 points and seven rebounds for Trinity Christian (5-9, 3-5 CCAC South).

Andrew 53, Lake View 40: Tournament MVP Joey Krutilla contributed 18 points and seven rebounds for Maroon Bracket winner Andrew (10-4) at Kankakee.

Bloom 71, Danville 62 (OT): Austin Richie had 24 points for third-place Bloom (9-3) at Pontiac.

Crete-Monee 74, Glenbrook North 67: Malik Hardmon contributed 23 points and nine rebounds for Crete (8-5) in the consolation fifth-place game at Hinsdale Central.

Marian Catholic 57, DePaul Prep 41: Warren Allen scored 17 points for third-place Marian (9-5) at Hinsdale Central.

Marist 51, Belleville West 47: Maurice Commander's 16 points led champion Marist (16-0) at Centralia.

Mater (Fla.) 69, St. Rita 68: Paul Kingsley scored 16 points for St. Rita (6-5) in the fifth-place game of the Junior Orange Bowl Classic.

O'Fallon 59, T.F. North 57: Jalen Tribble had 16 points for T.F. North (9-3) in the fifth-place game at Centralia.

Oak Forest 54, Reavis 47: Jake Jones put in 25 points to pace Oak Forest (8-5) in the consolation championship game at Luther North.

Richards 57, Urban Prep-Englewood 56: Rico Griffin had 12 points for Richards (6-6) in the consolation seventh-place game at Hinsdale Central.

St. Anne 81, Illiana Christian 69: Bo Hofstra had 17 points for Illiana (10-5) in the Blue Bracket championship game at Kankakee.

St. Charles North 51, Lockport 49: John Meyer scored 17 points for Lockport (8-6) in the consolation final at Pontiac.

Evergreen Park 38, Bremen 24: Tournament MVP De'Anna Stewart had 18 points for champion Evergreen (13-4) at Ag. Science.

Glenbard West 59, Argo 47: Chatori Tyler scored 22 points for Argo (11-5) in the championship game at Riverside-Brookfield.

Homewood-Flossmoor 57, Center Point (Ala.) 31: Arieal Dixon and Nadia Green contributed 12 points as H-F (9-2) placed fifth in the Junior Orange Bowl Classic.

Lincoln-Way West 72, Niles West 61: Emily Atsinger's 24 points powered West (16-3) to third place at Nazareth.

Marist 63, Kenwood 58: Abby Callahan posted 21 points and 14 rebounds for Marist (15-3) in the consolation championship at Montini.

Ocean City (N.J.) 51, Mother McAuley 45: Grace Hynes scored 14 points for McAuley (10-5) in the Red Bracket final of the KSA Holiday Classic.

Queen of Peace 45, Sycamore 37: Ashley Lynch totaled 13 points, five rebounds and four steals as Peace (16-1) finished third at Oswego East.

St. Edward 71, Illiana Christian 67: Gabby Kreykes poured in 37 points as Illiana (12-5) finished second at Lisle.

On the Water Classic: Andrew's Robbie Precin (120) won his weight class in being named tournament MVP in Oshkosh, Wis.

Powerade Tournament: Ronald Tucker (285) was the runner-up as Lockport (128) placed third in Canonsburg, Pa.

Red Schmitt Holiday Invitational: Travis Ford-Melton (120), Carlos Champagne (132), Mohammad Taylor (152) and Kordell Norfleet (182) won titles as Marian Catholic (352.5) placed second at Granite City.

St. Francis 68, Davenport (Mich.) 56: Charnelle Reed had 16 points and 10 rebounds for St. Francis (13-0).

Steve Millar is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed.