Glenbard West Holiday Classic Final Recap

Since I was at North Central College last night, I didn't get to see the championship game of the tournament I had seen all the pool play games for. Finals from the last games:

7th Place
Addison Trail 65, Fenton 42
Addison Trail (1-3, 7th) played better than its 7th place finish, but was stuck in a tough pool. Fenton (0-4, 8th) had heart, but unfortunately was overmatched by much of the field. I wish them the best of luck the rest of the season.

5th Place
St. Charles East 73, West Chicago 64
St. Charles East (3-1, 5th) looked like a lock for the title before the big upset yesterday, and came out for revenge, beating a tough West Chicago (1-3, 6th) team that was also stuck in a tough pool.

3rd Place
Leyden 52, Timothy Christian 43 (OT)
Leyden (3-1, 3rd) only really had trouble with Glenbard West in their pool, yet needed overtime to knock off Timothy (2-2, 4th), who played consistently well throughout the tournament.

Championship Game
Glenbard West 67, Wheaton Academy 48
The Hilltoppers (4-0, 1st) were the favorites to win, and did so against a tough Wheaton Academy (2-2, 2nd) team that really didn't have the size to match up with Glenbard.

Congratulations to the Hilltoppers on winning the tournament for the 5th time in its 10 year history. And Thursday, since it was my last day in Glen Ellyn, I started picking an All-Tournament Team early on. I worked closely with Geoffrey Clark, who called the title game yesterday. There was an official All-Tournament Team given to Geoffy by the athletic director at Glenbard West, but based on our observations from 3 days, here were our picks:

All Tournament 1^st Team

G- Alex Hererra, Leyden*

G- Lars Olson, Wheaton Academy

G- Danny Leach, Timothy Christian*

F- Michael Mache, Glenbard West*

F- Cameron Harvey, Wheaton Academy*

All Tournament 2^nd Team

G- Jonathan Woolf, Leyden

G- Dominic Adduci, St. Charles East

G- Jeff Levesque, Glenbard West

F- Johnny Hondlik, St. Charles East

F- Pat Mazza, Glenbard West*

All Tournament 3^rd Team

G- James Pupillo, Addison Trail*

G- Collin Roy, Wheaton Academy

F- Kendall Stephens, St. Charles East*

F- Luke Ludke, St. Charles East

F- Justin Mundt, West Chicago*

Honorable Mention

-Collin Wallace, Fenton

Asterisks indicate picks made in the official All-Tournament Team.

Geoffy and I also settled on the three major individual awards.

• 6th Man: Jonathan Woolf, Leyden. Was a consistent threat off the bench every game for the Eagles. Helped get them 3rd place.
• Defensive Player: Pat Mazza, Glenbard West. Had to have averaged 2 or 3 blocks a game, and altered many more by his presence alone. Credit to Matt Morrison of Timothy and Lars Olson of Wheaton who were in the running as well.
• MVP: Michael Mache, Glenbard West. Played extremely well in pool play, and scored 25 points in the title game. No brainer.

A big thank you to Geoff for a fun three days, and for helping decide on these awards. Thanks as well to Linda Oberg, Athletic Director at Glenbard West and Kevin Sander from iHigh.com for the opportunity to work this tournament.

Glenbard West Holiday Classic Recap: Day 3

Final Score

Timothy Christian 53, St. Charles East 50

Summary

Finally had a scorers’ duel we’d been waiting for all tournament long. The Saints (2-1) once again had tie games after 2 and again after 3, with offense coming from an unlikely source (see below). Meanwhile the Trojans (2-1) played great defense all game, as they had the hero with a game winning shot. St. Charles East gave away its shot to play for the title today.

Key Players

• Danny Leach (TC): 22 pts. He was huge again today, hitting some big threes throughout the game, but none bigger than a go-ahead bomb with 2 seconds left. It was the culmination of a couple tough missed shots but great offensive rebounding, finally finding him a good enough look. Leach as of this game's conclusion was the front-runner for tournament MVP.
• Matt Morrison (TC): 11 pts. Finally came up with some offensive heroics today, scoring 7 in the first, but it was solid defense again that earns him a spot on this list. He came up with a couple more steals in key moments to help the Trojans preserve the win.
• Kendall Stephens (SCE): 30 pts. Ankle injury? What ankle injury? Stephens surprised both Geoffy and me by coming off the bench in the 2^nd quarter and draining a torrent of threes to make this arguably the most fun game of the tournament.

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Final Score

Wheaton Academy 61, Addison Trail 46

Summary

The Blazers (0-3) continued their “never say die” tournament by staying close to Wheaton in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters, even taking a couple leads here and there. But the Warriors (2-1) proved to be too much in the 4^th quarter, as Addison Trail kept turning the ball over. With the win, the Warriors took advantage of the Timothy Christian win to sneak back into the title game.

Key Players

• Collin Roy (WA): 18 pts. Roy came up big in the 4^th quarter with a couple big shots from all over the field (3’s, layups, you name it).
• Lars Olson (WA): 10 pts. Olson was huge on both ends of the floor once again, a close competition with Matt Morrison for Defensive Player of the Tournament, but he has hit a few big 3’s in pool play, none bigger than a buzzer beater at the end of the 3^rd quarter that doubled Wheaton’s lead and effectively killed the Blazers.
• Vince Beltrano (AT): 13 pts. He had another solid game on offense, but was outmatched by Cameron Harvey in the post (14 points). He did enough early to keep the Blazers in the game, but was ineffective in the 4^th quarter as Addison Trail saw its chances slip away.

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Final Score

West Chicago 57, Fenton 29

Summary

It was a close game earlier in the game, but the Wildcats (1-2) stepped up their game in the 2^nd quarter to jump to a 31-15 halftime lead. The Bison (0-3) made a lot of mistakes and just couldn’t seem to get going on offense. They really haven’t been that remarkable a team aside from Collin Wallace’s scoring. It became garbage time by the fourth quarter with West Chicago jumping to a 20 point lead a few minutes in.

Key Players

• Dylan Hedmark (WC): 16 pts. He finally had a breakout game with no one to contain him. He probably had a double-double today by the time all was said and done.
• Justin Mundt (WC): 11 pts. Mundt continues to be the best player on this West Chicago team, getting to the line a little bit and hitting big shots. Worthy of consideration for all tournament honors. 
• Adam Kadlec (FEN): 11 pts. Had a couple early buckets, really didn’t step up as the game went on. He also got called for a technical late in the game. He led the team in scoring as Collin Wallace only had 8 tonight.

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Final Score

Glenbard West 56, Leyden 35.

Summary

Another one that started as a great defensive struggle, but the Hilltoppers (2-0) stepped up their game in the second quarter. The Eagles (2-0) really didn’t have an answer for the balanced offense of Glenbard West, combining an inside game with some timely threes. They proceeded to blow it open in the third, setting a date with Wheaton Academy for the title.

Key Players

• Michael Mache (GBW): 12 pts. Front runner for MVP right now, based on his being the leader on the team with the best record in the tournament. Got a lot of easy looks down low.
• Pat Mazza (GBW): 8 pts. At least 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Probably now the favorite for Defensive Player of the tournament. Also had a nice authoritative dunk tonight. He’s tied with Mache for the tournament lead in dunks.
• Alex Hererra (LEY): 15 pts. 4 of those came on technical free throws, but he did not have many driving lanes tonight. Credit the Hilltopper defense, but especially Justin Taylor for sticking on him like glue.

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This has been a great tournament, and I want to take the opportunity to thank Glenbard West and iHigh.com for the opportunity to get back behind the mic for basketball games. Tomorrow I will be missing out on the finals (Geoffy is calling the title game), as I will be at North Central for the return of women's basketball to Merner. I also get the one-game recap instead of a jumbo pack of 4 games.

Glenbard West Holiday Classic Recap: Day 2

Final Score:

Timothy Christian 53, Addison Trail 52

Summary

The Blazers (0-2) led for most of the game keeping Timothy Christian (1-1) an arm’s length away. The Trojans could not stop the dribble penetration and easy inside buckets by Addison Trail. Down by as much as 7, the Trojans worked away, chipping into the lead, going in front for good with less than a minute to go.

Key Players

• Danny Leach (TC): 22 pts. We noticed yesterday that Leach took over in the 4^th quarter to make it an interesting game, and he did so again here. He only hit a pair of threes, but he got to the hoop and to the line. He scored the final 4 points for Timothy, willing them to victory.

• Matthew Morrison (TC): 5 pts. Wasn’t much of an offensive factor, missing a bunch of layups, but came up huge on defense. He had at least 3 steals in the 4^th quarter, and forced a lot of bad passes. I wish defense was shown a little better in a box score, because he deserves a lot of credit.

• James Pupillo (AT): 15 pts. Was huge throughout the game, hitting several big shots, driving the lane with ease, and playing tough defense. But he made a bone-headed decision on the final play. The Blazers called timeout with about 8 seconds left down 3. Pupillo was playing the point. You figure he’d pass off to Varinder Kalsi, right? Instead, he passed inside to center Ricky Diaz for a layup. Terrible basketball IQ that could have cost his team a shot at overtime.

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Final Score:

St. Charles East 47, Wheaton Academy 46

Summary

The Saints (2-0) led 8-0 early before Wheaton (1-1) started to wake up offensively. It was a tie game at the half and after the 3^rd quarter, with Wheaton getting leads before the Saints came back to tie. Wheaton looked poised to take the game in the 4^th, but the Saints came up with late heroics (see below). St. Charles is now in prime position to go to the title game.

Key Players

• Luke Ludke (SCE): 6 pts. But he had the biggest 2 points of the game. St. Charles called timeout with 2.9 ticks left after Wheaton went up 46-45 on a free throw. The inbounds went to Ludke, who went from the halfcourt line, ran all but unopposed to the elbow and banked home a game-winner [insert Gus Johnson-esque finish here].
• Dominic Adduci (SCE): 15 pts. Adduci didn’t rely on the three as much today, instead driving to the basket, though he did hit a crucial 3 in the 4^th quarter before the heroics. I thought for sure he was going to get the final shot, but I’m sure he’ll take the win.
• Drew Sandberg (WA): 11 pts. Geoffy and I figured he’d be more of an offensive factor yesterday, but it wasn’t needed. He needed it today, getting to the line multiple times, plus some layups. It should be noted that it was Sandberg at the line with 2.9 seconds left. He missed the first, drastically altering the game, making it possible for Ludke’s heroics.

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Final Score:

Leyden 66, West Chicago 55

Summary

Leyden (2-0) jumped out to an early lead they would never relinquish. They led by 11 at the break after another great game by their backcourt. The Wildcats (0-2) were able to stay closer tonight compared to yesterday (24 point defecit at half), but couldn’t get closer than about 8 points.

Key Players

• Alex Hererra (LEY): 32 pts. He went off for 17 in the first half, 11 coming in the opening quarter. He went probably 5-7 from beyond the arc, all makes coming before the half, including a buzzer beater in the 2^nd. In the second he drove the lane, getting points almost at will.
• Jonathan Woolf (LEY): 13 pts. Definitely the favorite for 6^th man of the tournament. He hit one three, and came up with a few big free throws near the end. He’s a major guy to watch out for.
• Justin Mundt (WC): 20 pts. He kept West Chicago close throughout, hitting a bunch of free throws again, and getting to the basket. It’s just been too bad he hasn’t had enough help to give the Wildcats a win yet.

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Final Score

Glenbard West 48, Fenton 30

Summary

This was a defensive struggle throughout, with both teams struggling to score early. Then the Hilltoppers (2-0) went on a little run, leading 11-4 before the Bison (0-2) got back to within 2, but they wouldn't get any closer. It was 16-9 at the half, and 21-14 after 3, but then the Hilltoppers finally started getting shots to fall. Both teams had a lot of turnovers, but Fenton couldn't take advantage, while Glenbard did.

Key Players

• Michael Mache (GBW) 14 pts. No dunks for him tonight, but he did what he needed to do: get inside and get some easy buckets, and hit some free throws. He was the leading scorer (possible I'm off on the number of points by a couple either way), but he was the leading scorer.
• Vernon Harris (GBW) 11 pts. Did so off the bench. Will challenge Jonathan Woolf for 6th man of the tournament, and made his case today by getting to the basket in the 2nd half.
• Colin Wallace (FEN) 19 pts. Led his team, but when you score almost two-thirds of your team's points, you won't win many games. He was hounded much of the day, yet showed some signs of life early in the second half before the turnover bug really started to bite. Nonetheless, he's a good player.

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Tomorrow decides the fate of the teams for who plays for the title. A quick rundown is as follows:

White Pool

• St. Charles East (2-0) clinches 1st place with a win over Timothy Christian.
• Timothy Christian (1-1) clinches 1st place with a win over St. Charles East AND Wheaton Academy loss to Addison Trail OR Wheaton Academy win plus Wheaton gives up 12 more points than Timothy Christian.
• Wheaton Academy (1-1) clinches 1st place with a win over Addison Trail AND Timothy Christian win over St. Charles East plus Wheaton gives up no more than 11 points more than Timothy Christian.
• Addison Trail (0-2) is eliminated from contention.

Green Pool

• Glenbard West (2-0) clinches 1st place with a win over Leyden.
• Leyden (2-0) clinches 1st place with a win over Glenbard West.
• West Chicago (0-2) is eliminated from contention.
• Fenton (0-2) is eliminated from contention.

The Green Pool is simple, the White Pool not so much, but that should cover it. St. Charles East-Timothy Christian is at 3 tomorrow, Wheaton Academy-Addison Trail at 4:30, Fenton-West Chicago is at 6:30, and Leyden-Glenbard West is at 8.