Michael O’Brien’s holiday tournament notebook

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.

Tuesday, Dec. 20

Pekin: Mount Carmel wins, Simeon loses to Springfield in quarterfinals

Mount Carmel knocked off Morton, Ill. 50-41 in the Pekin quarterfinals. The Caravan showed off their high ceiling this season earlier this month with a win over Glenbard East.

Logan Wessel scored 17 and Charlie Wingate added 15 points for Mount Carmel. Marshaun Thornton had eight points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

The Caravan will face Springfield in the semifinals tonight. Pekin plays the quarterfinals and semis on the same day.

Springfield beat Simeon 60-57. Kamari Hamlin led the Wolverines with 27 points.

Pontiac: Freshman Denym Wallace steps up as New Trier knocks off undefeated Homewood-Flossmoor in the quarterfinals

Every fall there are a handful of freshmen basketball players across the area that receive a bit of hype. Over the course of the season many more emerge, but there is always a little more attention on the group that arrived with expectations.

New Trier’s 6-6 Denym Wallace was one of those freshman this year.

“I was kind of the man last year in eighth grade and did everything,” Wallace said. “This was a step up for sure, but I’m getting used to it.”

Wallace scored 21 points and had five rebounds to help lead the Trevians to a 69-64 win against undefeated Homewood-Flossmoor in the quarterfinals on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament.

“I just really wanted to step up and show what I can do,” Wallace said. “I’ve been working so hard. My goal this year was to be a big piece on the team.”

Wallace’s rebound and basket of a missed free throw with 31 seconds left provided the final margin and didn’t allow the Vikings a chance at some last-second heroics.

Senior Danny Houlihan, a High Point recruit, added 18 points. Junior Elton Jaegerskog scored 15 for the Trevians (12-1).

Homewood-Flossmoor’s defensive attention was focused on Houlihan. The Vikings did a nice job of limiting Houlihan’s touches in the first half but he got loose more often in the final two quarters.

“Last year [Houlihan] might have let that take him out of the game but he’s improved so much and he can handle that now,” New Trier coach Scott Fricke said.

H-F led by six at halftime. New Trier opened the third quarter with a 17-5 burst in which Houlihan scored eight points.

Homewood-Flossmoor sophomore point guard Darrius Hawkins Jr., whose leadership and mature overall floor game spearheaded the Vikings’ undefeated start to the season, finished with 18 points and three assists. Jayden McDonald added 18 points for H-F (11-1).

DePaul Prep beat Joliet West 63-36 in the second Pontiac quarterfinal. The Tigers kept it very close for a half and DePaul Prep took control in the third quarter.

Rashaun Porter scored 20 and Rykan Woo added 15 points. The Rams will face New Trier in the semifinals tomorrow.

Aamir Shannon led Joliet with 14 points.

A look at Tuesday’s schedule

We’ve reached the final two days of holiday tournament action. Traditionally I watch all four quarterfinals in Pontiac, but the games may not be very competitive this year so I’m going to leave after the New Trier vs. Homewood-Flossmoor matchup and head up to Richton Park for the championship game of the Big Dipper.

There’s a chance that Warren just rolls in that one too, but I missed both of Jaxson Davis’s Proviso West title wins and I like to see the biggest moments in the careers of our best players, so the Dipper seems like a good call today.

York’s Jack Tosh Tournament is into the semifinals. It will be Glenbard East vs. St. Ignatius and Perspectives-Leadership vs. St. Patrick tonight. This is a major opportunity for all four teams over the next two days. A holiday tournament championship would mean a lot to those programs and really set them up for a special season.

The most interesting game of the day may be a the Plano Tournament. Yorkville Christian takes on undefeated Kaneland in the championship game at 8 p.m. Has Kaneland deserved its ranking all season? Or will Jayden Riley and company grab a championship?

Tuesday’s high school basketball schedule

Stop 1: Pontiac Holiday Tournament, New Trier vs. Homewood-Flossmoor quarterfinal

Stop 2: Big Dipper Holiday Tournament championship, Warren vs. Kenwood

Total distance covered so far: 673 miles

Events visited: 8

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Monday, Dec. 29

York: Glenbard East vs. St. Ignatius, Perspectives-Leadership vs. St. Patrick semis set for Tuesday

St. Ignatius beat a talented young Metamora team 79-68 and will face Glenbard East tomorrow. Napoleon Harris IV had a huge game with 28 points, five rebounds and six assists. That’s one of the best performances (in a late-tournament game) so far over the holidays.

Chris Bolte had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Duke Ross, a player I was unfamiliar with heading into the season who has surprised me, added 15 points.

Brady Jones led the Redbirds with 18 points.

Perspectives-Leadership’s Cinderella run continued with a 63-59 win over Glenbard North. Junior Jayden Taylor, one of the big finds of the holiday tournament season so far, led the Warriors with 25 points. He was 5-for-8 from three-point range.

Matt Welch scored 25 points and for Glenbard North.

St. Patrick used a big third quarter to knock off Batavia 58-43. The Shamrocks were balanced with RJ McPartlin (17 points, 13 rebounds), Maurice Neeley (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Omar Ajanovic (12 points) all having nice games.

Evan Blakenship and Joe Reid each scored 13 for the Bulldogs.

Big Dipper: Warren and Kenwood will match up in the championship on Tuesday

Kenwood beat Lincoln Park 63-50 in the first semifinal. I’m a bit surprised at that score. Kenwood is the ranked team but the Broncos haven’t really been playing well lately. They almost lost to Unity in the first round.

Osiris Bell is playing very well though, and he led Kenwood with 25 points. Bell has been one of the few juniors in the area that has really stepped up the first month of the season.

Jaxson Davis scored 25 to lead Warren past Young 71-50 in the second semifinal. Senior Braylon Walker added 16 points for the Blue Devils.

Pontiac: Benet, Peoria Manual cruise into quarterfinals

Benet took care of business quickly in a 64-28 win against Plainfield North. Jayden Wright scored 11.

Peoria Manual took down Bloom 72-53. This was my first look at the Blazing Trojans this season. They have several promising freshmen and sophomores, but were too inexperienced to advance at Pontiac this season.

Senior Troy Garner led Bloom with 20 points and freshman Kaden McCullen scored nine.

Benet will face Manual in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

York: Glenbard East’s balanced effort takes down Palatine

Glenbard East spread out the scoring in a 59-56 win against Palatine in the quarterfinals of the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament on Monday. Danny Snyder led with 15 points, Michael Nee and Sam Walton each scored 12 and Jacob Marynowski added 11 points.

Tony Balanganayi paced the Pirates with 22 points.

Glenbard East was a popular team in the preseason. Nee had an excellent summer and many observers expected the Rams to be one of the area’s better squads. I covered them on the first day of the season and was impressed with their win against rival Glenbard North. The Rams fell out of the Super 25 after losing to Mount Carmel in the Team Rose Shootout on Dec. 14. I still felt they were one of the 25 best teams I’d seen this season, but they did not have the results to back that up.

Pontiac: Sophomore Darrius Hawkins Jr. sparkles in Homewood-Flossmoor’s tournament debut

Point guard Darrius Hawkins Jr. was the only known quantity when Homewood-Flossmoor opened the season. Everyone else in the rotation played sparingly last season or transferred in recently.

Several players have stepped up over the Vikings’ unbeaten start to the season and Hawkins has brilliantly connected all the new parts. Monday against Bloomington the strong young guard did some scoring, dropping 20 points in the first half of H-F’s 99-60 victory.

Hawkins finished with 29 points and six assists. He shot 12 of 18.

Jayden McDonald scored 16 for the Vikings and sophomore John Brown IV added 14 points and six rebounds.

Bloomington’s 6-5 Dallas Marshall is one of the state’s highly-regarded freshmen and he lived up to his reputation with 24 points and seven rebounds.

Pontiac: Danny Houlihan steps up in Christopher Kirkpatrick’s absence, leads New Trier into quarterfinals

The first moment of basketball that seemed to really grab the attention of fans at the 94th Pontiac Holiday Tournament came from New Trier senior Danny Houlihan. The High Point recruit swished a long-range three-pointer on the run in the third quarter of the No. 10 Trevians’ 58-43 win against West Aurora in the first round on Monday.

Houlihan finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. He’s been known as a deadly shooter throughout his high school career, the running mate to all-around senior Christopher Kirkpatrick, a Princeton recruit. Houlihan has expanded his game over the past month and New Trier is going to need him take on an even larger role the rest of the season. More of those special moments will be required.

Kirkpatrick, a Sun-Times’ All-Area selection last season, will miss the tournament with an injury and it is unknown when he will return. Read more.

Pontiac: DePaul Prep routs St. Charles North

The defending Pontiac Holiday Tournament champs took care of business in the first round, taking down St. Charles North 75-31. This one was never in doubt. The Rams led 34-7 at halftime.

Rykan Woo led top-ranked DePaul Prep with 20 points and Rashaun Porter added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Pontiac: Joliet West holds on to beat Oak Park in the first round

The 94th Pontiac Holiday Tournament opener turned out to be a very competitive morning game. Oak Park had a chance to tie on its last possession but didn’t get off a shot and Joliet West won 60-57.

Junior Deven Triplett led the Tigers (7-4) with 23 points, he was 10-for-14 shooting and 3 of 4 from three-point range. Ryan Lipke, a 6-6 junior added eight points and six rebounds and Luke Grevengoed contributed seven points, six rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Trent Williams, a new name to me, led Oak Park (4-5) with 26 points and five rebounds. He spearheaded the Huskies’ big second quarter.

Junior George Gray added 12 points for Oak Park.

Joliet West will face the DePaul Prep in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

A look at Monday’s schedule

Pontiac, Centralia and Pekin all get started today, so every major holiday tournament in the state is completed or underway at this point. I’ll spend most of the day in Pontiac, but I may sneak over to the State Farm Tournament in Bloomington/Normal to see Joliet Catholic vs. Normal U-High at 4:30, but who knows.

The biggest games of the day are over at Rich’s Big Dipper where the semifinals feature Kenwood vs. Lincoln Park and Young vs. Warren.

The Jack Tosh quarterfinals at York should all be very competitive, with three ranked teams (St. Ignatius, St. Patrick and Palatine) taking part. Glenbard East is also a Super 25 quality team and Perspectives-Leadership isn’t far off.

Monday’s high school basketball schedule

Stop 1: The 94th Pontiac Holiday Tournament

Total distance covered so far: 599 miles

Events visited: 8

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Sunday, Dec. 28

Lincoln Williams leads the Kays to a championship in the 75th Kankakee Holiday Tournament

Lincoln-Way Central coach Brian Flaherty described the atmosphere at the Kankakee Holiday Tournament championship game quite well: “It’s a tough environment. Everyone is here to see Kankakee win. There wasn’t an open seat in the entire gym.”

Kankakee star Lincoln Williams felt the weight of all those expectations. It’s supposed to be a special season for the No. 3 Kays, and as the only Super 25 team in the tournament, it was assumed they would roll to the title.

“It is cool that everyone is so excited about us, but it can be bad,” Williams said. “Before the game everyone is saying there is no competition in the tournament. Expectations can be a tough thing. We have to make sure we focus.”

The Knights gave Kankakee a stern test. Cedric Terrell III made 1 of 2 free throws with six seconds left to give the Kays the lead and they escaped with a 54-50 win and the tournament championship on Sunday. Read more.

A look at Sunday’s schedule

It’s not a big slate of games, but there is some action today. I’ll be in Kankakee for the championship game. I grew up going to the Kankakee gym every season, Joliet regularly played there. It’s an excellent gym with a lot of character. But I’ve never been to the holiday tournament before, so this will be fun. The host Kays take on Lincoln-Way Central in the large school championship game at 6:30. Christ The King faces Manteno in the small school title game right before that, I might see the second half of that one.

Loyola, which has traveled to a holiday tournament in Florida for the past several years, is playing today as well. The Ramblers play Port Charlotte, Fla at 1 p.m. I believe that game is free to watch online, not sure about the Kankakee tournament.

Sunday’s high school basketball schedule

Stop 1: Kankakee Holiday Tournament title game

Total distance covered so far: 379 miles

Events visited: 7

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Saturday, Dec. 27

Hinsdale Central: Morgan Park upsets Oswego East, advances to semifinals

One of the biggest surprises this season has been the lack of surprises. Very few unexpected teams or players emerged over the first month and so far all of the holiday tournaments are going exactly as everyone expected.

So that makes Morgan Park’s 57-56 upset of Oswego East on Saturday even more notable. The Mustangs outscored the Wolvers 17-10 in the fourth quarter and managed to win despite being out-rebounded 30-22 in the game.

Jacque Lewis led Morgan Park (6-2) with 23 points. Daniel Wallace scored 10 and Immanel Carter added nine points and six rebounds. Lewis made the game-winning three with 2 seconds left.

Before this win, the only notable thing about the Mustangs this season was that star football player Nasir Rankin decided not to play basketball. Matthew Humphrey, the former Hales star who played college ball at Oregon, is Morgan Park’s new coach this season. He’s off to a great start.

DePaul recruit Mason Lockett had 10 points and eight rebounds for Oswego East (9-2) and Jacsen Tucker led the Wolves with 24 points.

Morgan Park will play Brother Rice in the semifinals on Monday.

Wheeling: Jordan Williams scores 26 as Fremd beats Deerfield for the championship

Fremd used a big third quarter to take control of the Wheeling title game. Illinois State recruit Jordan Williams led the Vikings with 26 points, he was 9-for-12 shooting with five rebounds and two assists. Rafael Pinto added 13 points.

Deerfield played without 6-9 senior Jake Pollack, a Dartmouth recruit. The Warriors knocked off Stevenson without Pollack on Friday and appear to be playing much better overall than they did in the loss to St. Patrick I covered earlier this month. Pollack is out with an ankle injury.

Evan Nagler led Deerfield with 14 points.

Waukegan knocks off undefeated Hersey to three-peat as Elgin Holiday Tournament champs

Waukegan’s well-known big three of Simereon Carter, Jaali Rico Love and Carter Newsome are the reason the Bulldogs earned a preseason ranking and enjoy a lofty reputation as a dangerous team in the area.

That trio is a lot for any high school team to worry about defending, which leaves room for the talented supporting cast to do a lot of damage. That was the case in No. 19 Waukegan’s 63-55 win against No. 14 Hersey in the Elgin Holiday Tournament championship game on Saturday.

“People don’t know how good the rest of the team is,” Love said. “They don’t have time to worry about [Trey’Veon Roberts and Adrian Serrano and Ryan Brown] and those guys can be brilliant, and they keep getting better. They can’t stick all of us.”

Love led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds. The uncommitted 6-7 wing is one of the most tantalizing college prospects in the senior class. He isn’t a polished, finished product yet but he shows flashes of his potential every game with a light shooting touch and high athleticism. Read more.

York: Perspectives-Leadership’s talented transfers start to jell in dominant win against Lyons

Most high school basketball teams improve during the course of a season. There are only two weeks of practice before the games start, so many squads are just starting to jell when the holiday tournaments roll around.

That is even more the case for Perspectives-Leadership, which has several key transfers in the starting lineup. Lead guards Morgan Travis (De La Salle) and Jayden Taylor (Fenger) joined the team during the summer.

‘‘I told the team that we would be better toward the middle and end of the year,’’ Warriors coach Justin Rhymes said. ‘‘We have so many transfers and so many new faces. We needed to piece everything together, and it would take a little time. But things are starting to click.’’

Perspectives opened some eyes with a victory last weekend against Rockford Auburn, then smashed Lyons 63-38 on Saturday at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic.

Lyons was considered a fringe Super 25 team in the preseason and features one of the top prospects in the sophomore class in 6-6 Grant Smith. The victory sends the Warriors into the quarterfinals Monday against Glenbard North. Read more.

Big Dipper: Kenwood, Lincoln Park advance to semis and all the south suburban teams are eliminated

Kenwood survived in overtime to beat host Rich 64-63 in the first quarterfinal on Friday. Damari Stephens was the hero and finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. Osiris Bell added 15 points and 5 assists and Prince McCord had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Johnathan Booker led the Raptors with 20 points.

Jaylen Dickerson (17 points) and Ahmad Lee (13 points, 11 rebounds) led Lincoln Park to a 59-46 win against Thornwood.

That sets up an all-Chicago first semifinal of Kenwood vs. Lincoln Park in the Big Dipper, traditionally a tournament solely comprised of south suburban teams. All the south suburban teams have now been eliminated from the championship bracket. Warren and Young won the late quarterfinals.

A look at Saturday’s schedule

Yesterday worked out well. Every game I covered was competitive, which is a hard feat to pull off at first round games. Today I’m covering the championship at Elgin and I’ll stop by a couple games at York in the afternoon.

Today’s schedule is full of games, but there aren’t a ton of marquee matchups. I was initially planning to be over at Rich for the 12:30 p.m. quarterfinal between Kenwood and the host Raptors. That should be a fun one. Also, people at Warren tell me that Marion, AR is a very good team and will be a real challenge for the Blue Devils in the final quarterfinal at the Big Dipper.

The best game in the second round over at York should be Perspectives-Leadership against Lyons.

Deerfield knocked off Stevenson last night in the Wheeling semifinals without Jake Pollack. I haven’t heard why he missed the game but hopefully he will be back for tonight’s championship game against Fremd at 8:45 p.m. UPDATE: Deerfield coach Dan McKendrick says Pollack rolled his ankle against Prospect and will not play tonight. That’s a shame, he was excellent in the loss to St. Patrick I covered a few weeks ago.

Check out Charlie Yellen’s game-winning shot for Deerfield last night.

Saturday’s high school basketball schedule

Stop 1: York’s Jack Tosh Holiday Classic, Perspectives-Leadership vs. Lyons

Stop 2: Elgin Holiday Tournament championship, Waukegan vs. Hersey

Total distance covered so far: 304 miles

Events visited: 7

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Friday, Dec. 26

Deep, talented Lincoln Park knocks off Thornton in Big Dipper debut

Lincoln Park senior Jalil Amous did his homework before his first game at the 52nd Big Dipper Holiday Tournament.

“I watched some of the championship last year between Rich and Homewood-Flossmoor,” Amous said. “It was packed. We are looking forward to playing in front of the crowds and winning and getting back to where we need to be.”

The Lions, Young and Warren all left the Proviso West Holiday Tournament to play in the 52nd Big Dipper Holiday Tournament at Rich in Richton Park. Lincoln Park debuted on Friday with a 69-48 win against Thornton.

Amous led with 10 points and nine rebounds. Jaylen Dickerson scored nine of his 14 points in the third quarter as the Lions took control of the game.

Lincoln Park (10-1) opened the season in the Super 25 but fell out after a loss to Hyde Park. Despite the early stumble, the Lions have the depth and talent to win the Big Dipper.

Senior Ahmad Lee scored 14 points and sophomore Alvin Robinson added 10 points.

Thornton (2-6) was led by two young guards, freshman Dakari Nesbitt (10 points, four steals, two assists) and sophomore Deandre Higgs (13 points, five rebounds). Nesbitt is one of the most promising players in the 2029 class and lived up to his hype on Friday, impacting the game with his defense, scoring and point guard skills.

Lincoln Park will face Thornwood in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Big Dipper: Underclassmen sparkle in Thornwood’s first-round win against Phillips

Thornwood’s emerging sophomore guards took care of business in the first round of the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament at Rich. Lester Watson was hot early and Mekhi Young dominated the third quarter with 12 points to lead the Thunderbirds to a 58-49 win against Phillips.

Watson finished with 16 points and Young scored 17 for Thornwood (11-2). Young’s big third quarter gave the Thunderbirds a 16-point cushion, but the Wildcats (3-8) kept chipping away at the lead and cut it to 55-49 on a three-pointer by freshman Ryan Whitt with 1:00 remaining.

Thornwood made 3 of 4 free throws from then on to seal the win. The Thunderbirds face the Thornton vs. Lincoln Park winner in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Whitt, who is strong and appeared to be about 6-4, led Phillips with 13 points and seven rebounds. The freshman also had a big game earlier in the week against Metea Valley, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Big Dipper: Kenwood holds off an upset bid from tiny, unknown Unity Christian

Fans that have been watching the high school basketball scores closely this year are aware that Unity Christian, a private school in South Holland with 114 students, is no pushover.

But it is unlikely anyone expected the Phoenix to take No. 18 Kenwood to the limit in the first round of Rich’s Big Dipper Holiday Tournament

Unity Christian led by two points with 1:19 left but missed three of its four free throws from then on and Kenwood held on to win 54-51. The Phoenix had a chance to tie at the buzzer but missed a long three.

Osiris Bell led the Broncos (8-1) with 22 points and Damari Stephens added 12.

“I told the kids not to hang their heads,” Unity coach Donovan O’Neil said. “Technically, we are not supposed to be here. To almost beat Kenwood is huge. I’m proud of them.”

Vincent Allen led Unity (7-5) with 20 points. The Phoenix lost to eventual state champion Hope Academy in the Class 1A sectional final last season.

“I am looking long term,” O’Neil said. “I want to get downstate. We were so close last year and we just kind of cowered in the moment because we weren’t ready for it. Environments like this will get us prepared.”

Kenwood will face the host Raptors in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

A look at Friday’s schedule

The second wave of holiday tournaments start up today as Hinsdale Central, York and the Big Dipper all get going. I’m going to start over at the Big Dipper. Thornton vs. Lincoln Park at 1:30 is the game I’m featuring in the newspaper but I’m also interested in Thornwood vs. Phillips at noon.

Then I’ll be over at York in the late afternoon and evening. Oswego vs. Downers Grove South at 7:30 should be one of the best first round games of the tournament.

There is one big title game today, Benet vs. Naperville North at Jacobs. The Redwings are heavy favorites, but Naperville North has sprung upsets in the last two rounds.

Wheeling and Elgin play semifinals today. It is Stevenson vs. Deerfield and Glenbrook North vs. Fremd at Wheeling. I’m planning on covering that championship game tomorrow night. Glenbrook North has been a major surprise so far this season. Stevenson’s Rocco Pagliocca and Donny Williams are one of the area’s underrated guard duos.

The Elgin semifinals feature Sycamore vs. Waukegan and Shepard vs. Hersey.

Friday’s high school basketball schedule

Stop 1: Big Dipper Holiday Tournament at Rich

Stop 2: Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament at York

Total distance covered so far: 213 miles

Events visited: 5

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Tuesday, Dec. 23

Benet rolls past Barrington, Naperville North beats undefeated Geneva in the Hinkle Holiday Classic semis

No. 7 Benet has lived up to expectations so far and had no trouble in the semifinals, knocking off Barrington 72-43 in a running-clock victory on Tuesday.

Jayden Wright and Colin Stack each scored 12 points in limited minutes, and Aidan Renicker added 11 off the bench for the Redwings.

Benet (12-1) jumped out to a quick lead against Barrington (6-5) and went to the bench often.

“When you play this many games in a short period, you have to test your depth,” Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp said. “We are going to need some of the guys later in the season and they have to play minutes that matter to get better.”

While Benet was expected to reach the championship game, its opponent, Naperville North, is a surprise. The Huskies handed Geneva its first loss of the season in a 56-45 victory on Tuesday.

The Huskies (12-2) returned all five starters from last season, are unselfish and have multiple scoring threats. But 6-3 senior Will Harvey adds another dimension to the team.

Harvey is a no frills type player. He doesn’t pose with the ball or take unnecessary dribbles in the post. He’s instantly moving the ball on to a teammate.

“[Harvey] is a tough kid,” Naperville North coach Gene Nolan said. “He loves to rebound. Even when he can’t get it himself, he gets his hands on it for tap outs to extend a possession for us. He did a great job with that in the second half.”

Harvey played much taller than his height against the Vikings and finished with four points and 10 rebounds.

“I understand my role,” Harvey said. “It’s to help the big-game potential guys do well. Carson [Loughlin], Miles [Okyne], Max [Steele], Jack [Zitko]. My job is to feed them the ball in good spots. That’s going to benefit us overall.”

Okyne led the Huskies with 18 points and seven rebounds. Zitko scored 15 and Loughlin had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“We may have been overlooked heading into the tournament,” Okyne said. “It happens. We are happy we got the opportunity to come out here and show people what we are about. We’ve been on a run and shooting really well. That wasn’t the case at the start of the season, so things have evened out.”

Nathan Palmer led Geneva (10-1) with 16 points and freshman Cody Rader scored 12 off the bench.

Benet and Naperville North will play for the tournament championship on Saturday at 7:30.

Time to add some miles to the total. I’ll be out in Marengo this afternoon. It is a tournament I’ve never visited before that has some great history. Then I’ll head over to Jacobs to check out the semifinals. It will be my first look this season at undefeated Geneva.

Tuesday’s high school basketball schedule

Stop 1: 75th Annual EC Nichols Holiday Tournament in Marengo for Marian Catholic vs. Fenton or Rochelle vs. Glenbard South

Stop 2: Hinkle Holiday Classic semfinals at Jacobs, Benet vs. Barrington and Geneva vs. Naperville North

Total distance covered so far: 63 miles

Events visited: 2

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Monday, Dec. 2

Justin Oliver’s heroics beat St. Ignatius

Curie will head to Pontiac undefeated after knocking off St. Ignatius 42-20 on Monday at Young. This wasn’t a holiday tournament game, but it was part of a new Chicago Public Schools’ Holiday Shootout.

With the score tied in the final seconds, Oliver waited for his moment and then struck with deadly precision, draining a perfect turnaround jumper to win the game with two St. Ignatius defenders in his face.

“They said if help came to make the right play,” Oliver said. “I think I made the right play. I was a little bit selfish, but it went in at least. [That’s my] first ever game winner. It felt a little bit better [than I expected].”

Read more about it here.

Gabe Jensen’s wild three helps Geneva beat Lakes

Geneva is into the semifinals at the Hinkle Holiday Classic after knocking off Lakes 59-52 in in overtime. The Vikings will face Naperville North. The other semifinal is Benet vs. Barrington.

Check out Gabe Jensen’s shot that sent the game to overtime.

Upset at Jacobs? Naperville North knocks off Cary-Grove in the quarterfinals

Naperville North beat Cary-Grove 65-48 in the quarterfinals of Jacobs’ Hinkle Holiday Classic. It was the first score of the holiday tournament that really surprised me.

Cary-Grove entered the game at 9-1 with a win against Waukegan. Naperville North was 10-2 with losses to St. Patrick and Stevenson.

The Huskies returned all five starters from last season’s 17-win team and has started the season well. Naperville North didn’t have a major win, but clearly it has been overlooked. So maybe this wasn’t an upset as much as a team that deserved more attention making sure that it received some.

I watched this game on YouTube. Jacobs’ Hinkle Holiday Classic broadcasts every game for free. It’s a high-quality production with replays and announcers and multiple cameras.

Carson Loughlin led the Huskies with 20 points. Jack Zito scored 14 and Max Steele had 12. Adam Bauer scored 13 for Cary-Grove.

Up next for Naperville North is the Geneva-Lakes winner in the semifinals.

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.

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.”

No Shot Clock Holiday Tournament preview episode

Michael O’Brien and Joe Henricksen break down the brackets at Pontiac, York, the Big Dipper, Centralia, Pekin, Hinsdale Central, Wheeling, Elgin, Plano, DeKalb and more.

Itinerary for 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 a.m.

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