What a debut!
Local favorite Fairbury Prairie Central had hosted its own boys holiday tournament, the Hawk Classic, for 27 years. Last year was the final year for the Hawk Classic, and in its State Farm Holiday Classic debut, the Hawks knocked off the lone remaining boys unbeaten, St. Joseph-Ogden, 60-53. St. Joe had come into play 9-0 on the season. Prairie Central moves its record to 7-3.
Remaining unblemished
Five other teams – all girls teams – kept their perfect regular seasons alive. El Paso-Gridley, Annawan and Peoria Christian all won in the small-school field, while Springfield and Rock Island’s girls both remained unbeaten in the girls side.
So-so start
Besides Prairie Central’s boys, seven other teams were making their Holiday Classic debut this year. Chicago Morgan Park was victorious in girls play, as was Rockford Lutheran’s boys. Five of the newcomers – Chicago St. Ignatius girls, Champaign St. Thomas-More boys, Huntley Boys, Plainfield South Boys and Calumet City Thornton Fractional North boys – all lost in their Holiday Classic debut.
No Beane…no problem
Defending large school boys champ Normal Community lost superstar Anthony Beane to graduation. In the first-round game, the Ironmen faced another challenge, a date with one-loss Calumet City Thornton Fractional North. Normal Community came out strong in the first quarter en route to a 52-29 upset.
Big presence for Bravettes
Annawan junior Celina VanHyfte is a two-time all-tournament team member. In Annawan’s first-round victory over Sterling Newman, VanHyfte recorded 28 points, her highest single-game total in nine Holiday Classic games. She now has scored 179 career points in the Holiday Classic, an average of 19.9 ppg.
Saints march on to 60
Bloomington Central Catholic’s boys notched their 60th victory all-time (60-47) in the Holiday Classic. For a few hours, that tied Normal U-High’s boys, which notched career win No. 61 (now 61-54) in the 9 p.m. Boys Large School game.
Intriguing match-ups
By pulling off a mild upset over Huntley, Chicago North Lawndale set up a match-up in the second-round against 11-2 Champaign Centennial. You might recall the two matched up in a classic state semi-final game during the IHSA 2009 state 3A championships. It was known as the “illegal uniform” game, and was a game that Centennial won 66-65 on a last-second shot – en route to a state title. The pair did meet two years ago – in December 2010 at the State Farm Holiday Classic – and North Lawndale prevailed by 17.
In small school girls play, third-seed Bloomington Central Catholic will take its 11-1 mark into a second-round game with Brimfield (16-2). The Saints and Indians battled twice in the past five years in the Holiday Classic title game – with Central Catholic taking home the crown in 2008 and in 2009.
Belated congrats
Three players in this year’s Holiday Classic – Rock Island’s Shavonne Brewer, El Paso-Gridley’s Bodee Schlipf and Fieldcrest’s Brady Sanders – all notched their 1,000th career points during games in the month of December.
