Three unbeaten teams highlight field at Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic
After near misses the past two years, the Collinsville Kahoks are hoping to break the championship drought on their home court at the Prairie Farms Holiday Basketball Classic.
And it won’t be easy.
Ranked fifth in the Class 4A state poll and coming off recent wins over defending Class 3A state champion East St. Louis and current Class 3A top-ranked Chicago Morgan Park, the Kahoks will be out to capture their first title in the annual event since 2004 when play begins Friday at Vergil Fletcher Gymnasium.
Beaten by central Illinois power Springfield Southeast in the title game the past two years, Collinsville (9-0) is one of three undefeated teams in a field that also includes Lincoln (9-0) and Mundelein (10-0). O’Fallon (8-1) and Triad (8-1) also are among the 13 of 16 teams in Collinsville with a .500 or better record.
“It’s another very good field,’’ Collinsville coach Darin Lee said.. “Lincoln is very good and will be a tough out for anybody and then you have Mundelein who is very good along with Quincy and then O’Fallon.
“As for our team, as a coach you always see things you need to work on. But we’re in a pretty good spot right now.’’
Collinsville will begin its title quest when it takes on Oakville, Missouri at 6:30 p.m. Oakville is 3-3 heading into its first round game.
Several other first-round matchups could draw a large crowd on the opening day. Undefeated Lincoln could have its hands full with a much-improved Triad team in the 2:30 p.m. game. The Railsplitters, always a threat threat to reach the Class 3A state tournament, have the most titles of any school (six) at the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Basketball Classic.
Former champion Quincy (7-2) will play Madison (7-3) in the 8 p.m. The final first round game will pit defending champion Springfield Southeast (2-7) against norther Illinois power Rockford East (7-3) at 9:30 p.m. Other local teams competing include Althoff (2-7), Granite City (6-4), Belleville East (5-4) and Edwardsville (5-3).
Action continues on Saturday and Monday with the title game set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
77th Centralia Holiday Tournament
Two-time Class 4A defending state champion Belleville West gets an early start toward a possible third straight title at Centralia High School when it battles (St. Louis) Confluence Academy (3-2) in its first round game at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
West (3-5), which defeated Southwestern Conference rival Alton, 62-57, in the title game a year ago, lost all five starters from a team that went on to beat Evanston in the Clas 4A state title game.
The Wildkits also are in the field at Centralia and will take on Cahokia (0-9) in the 1:15 p.m. game on Thursday.
West, which dropped a 60-58 decision to East St. Louis in a Southwestern Conference showdown last week, is still learning with five new starters under first-year coach Alex Schobert.
“We’re just trying to get better every day,’’ Schobert said following the East St. Louis game. “The Centralia Tournament is always a great event and we’ll get ready for our next challenger which is Confluence Academy.’’
Alton (6-3) is the other local team in the Centralia field and will play Thornton Fractional North at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The tournament continues on Friday and Saturday with the title game set for Saturday at 9 p.m.
Columbia-Freeburg Holiday Tournament
Co-host Freeburg and Lovejoy have the best records in their respective pools in the annual event which begins Thursday at Columbia High School.
Lovejoy (7-4) is in pool No. 1 in the eight-team event with Columbia (4-4), Gibault (3-6) and Civic Memorial, while Freeburg (7-1) is in Pool 2 along with Marquette (7-3), Valmeyer (6-3) and Waterloo (2-7).
Pool play continues on Friday with the final four games set for Saturday. The championship game is set for 6:30 p.m.
Mater Dei Christmas Tournament
Longtime rivals Nashville and Mater Dei hold down the top two seeds for the Mater Dei Christmas Tournament which begins Thursday at Mater Dei High School.
Nashville (8-2), which placed second at the Class 2A state tournament last season, is the top seed and will take on Metro East Lutheran (3-5)in its first pool A game at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Mater Dei (7-3) will take on Highland (2-6) in a Pool B game to open the tournament at 9 a.m.
The Hornets early season record may be misleading, said veteran coach Wayne Harre, whose team has been plagued by injuries. The Hornets were also set by a few players who got a late start while playing on the Hornets football team which lost in the Class 2A state football playoffs.
“To the kids credit we’ve done enough things right and played pretty good defense here early in the season,’’ Harre said. “We’ve had a number of injuries. There have been nights where we’ has just enough players to practice.
“The thing about this year here at Mater Dei is that there doesn’t seem to be a dominant team in the field. It’s pretty balanced. I think Mater Dei, with the athletes they have, will be a tough to beat.’’
Pool play continues Friday and Saturday and concludes on Monday with the title game set for 7:30 p.m.
Other teams in pool A include Wesclin (4-4), Central (3-5) and Doss (Ky.) 2-2. In Pool B, the three remaining teams are Okawville (5-2), Mascoutah (4-3) and Red Bay, Ala (10-3).
Vandalia Holiday Tournament
Father McGivney (3-5) will battle several top teams from central and eastern Illinois when the annual Vandalia Holiday Tournament gets underway on Thursday at Vandalia High School
The title game is set for Dec. 30 at 8 p.m.
Pinckneyville Duster Thomas Hoops Classic
The Carlyle Indians (3-5) are one of three local teams competing in the 13th annual event which begins on Thursday. Roxana (7-3) and Jerseyvillle (6-3) are also in the field which includes host Pinckneyville. The Panthers were ranked second in the first Class 2A state poll.
The championship game is set for Saturday at 8 p.m.
Normandy, (Mo.) Christmas Tournament
The defending Class 3A state champion East St. Louis Flyers (5-4) take a break from Southwestern Conference play this week when they take on the St. Louis Blue Knights in the opening round of the Normandy Christmas Tournament on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Normandy High School.
Tournament action continues Friday and concludes Saturday with the title game set for 8 p.m.
This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
