Happy Holidays. I’ll be traveling all over the northern half of the state to cover high school basketball holiday tournaments for ten days, from Dec. 22 until Dec. 31. You can keep up with all of the coverage right here, so go ahead and bookmark this story. Social media photos, articles and more. I’ll update several times a day. Thanks for reading and enjoy the holiday hoops season.
Monday, Dec. 22
Veteran guards Donny Williams, Rocco Pagliocca lead Stevenson past Wauconda in a fast-paced opener at Wheeling
It’s always good to get out early on the first full day of holiday tournament action, but that doesn’t always mean the basketball is worthwhile. Morning games are tough and first games aren’t always competitive.
Monday morning at the Wheeling Hardwood Classic was a major success. I saw two good games loaded with interesting young players.
Stevenson knocked off Wauconda 63-47 in the opener. Both teams started hot and knocked down a combined eight three-pointers in the first quarter. The Patriots have two of the area’s best guards in Donny Williams (23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals) and Rocco Pagliocca (12 points).
“[Wauconda] plays a really fast-paced game so that was fun,” Williams said. “That was a nice way to start off the tournament, we loved it.”
Coach Will Benson has a relatively inexperienced group around those two senior guards. Quinton Frakes, a 6-5 junior, stepped up with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Stevenson (8-2) led 44-41 after three quarters and took control early in the fourth quarter after a three by Pagliocca and a bucket and two free throws from junior Cohen Ottaviano.
Wauconda (6-3) was led by 6-6 junior Austin Carlsen with 18 points and six rebounds. He’s an active, talented player and a name to remember in the junior class. Senior Tony Salemi added 15 points.
Stevenson has Super 25 potential and could make a deep run in the holiday tournament.
“We started off a little slow this season, getting to know one another and finding out what our strengths were,” Pagliocca said. “Donny and I have tried to set a good example to show what we need to do to be a successful team.”
St. Viator’s young team holds off Buffalo Grove’s comeback attempt in the first round at Wheeling
Dawson Charles produced his own mini highlight film in the first three minutes of St. Viator’s 61-50 win against Buffalo Grove with a three-pointer, a slam dunk and a steal and dunk.
Charles, a 6-2 junior guard, scored a career-high 27 and had 20 points in the first half.
“I felt really good,” Charles said. “We all came out with a lot of intensity, especially on defense. We got stops and easy buckets. This group is so much fun. It’s a great group of kids and we all get hyped.”
The Lions (7-3) led 34-19 at halftime but Buffalo Grove roared back, cutting the deficit to 42-41 on Ethan Fajardo‘s layup to close the third quarter.
Alex Sirbu, a 6-9 junior, had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Bison (5-6). He was 10 of 13 shooting and tied the game at 50 with a post move with 2:47 left. Senior Isaiah McKenny responded with a three-pointer for St. Viator. That ignited an 11-0 run to close the game for the Lions.
Sophomore Jacob Only scored 11 points for St. Viator and McKenny finished with 12. Buffalo Grove had an impressive sophomore as well. Edwin Karnauchovas, a 6-0 guard, finished with 12 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals.
St. Viator and Stevenson will face off in the Wheeling quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Itinerary for Monday, Dec. 22
Stop 1: Wheeling Hardwood Classic for two games, Stevenson vs. Wauconda at 9 a.m. and St. Viator vs. Buffalo Grove at 10:30 am
Stop 2: Merry Madness Holiday Shootout at Young for Curie vs. St. Ignatius at 6 p.m.
Total distance covered so far: 0, this is the first day.
Events visited: 0
Monday’s full high school basketball schedule
This week’s new Super 25 high school basketball rankings