2007 Tournament Tidbits
Day 1
● Day 2
● Day 3
● Day 4
DAY 4
| December 29, 2007
Two in a row?
Last year, Bloomington Central Catholic won its first title in
the boys division of the Holiday Classic – in its 27th
appearance. Saturday night, the Saints will be looking to make
it two in a row when they face Peoria Christian. Central
Catholic’s semifinal win on Friday night was its 50th win in
Holiday Classic history.
It finally ended
Peoria Christian and Addison Driscoll entered their boys’ small
school semifinal game as the No. 2 and 3 seeds. The seedings
lived up to the billing. The two went toe-for-toe into three
overtimes, tying the longest game in tournament history. The
Chargers ended up knocking off Driscoll 81-74 behind Billy
Molinari’s 31 points. Jake Lindfors led the way for Driscoll
with 30.
Record watch
Lindfors opened the tournament with 36 points, before notching
22 and 30. With 88 total points through three games, he’s
averaging 29.33 points which is currently third all-time for
boys players. Lindfors will try to improve his position in a
game Saturday morning.
Odd trend
Rockton Hononegah may already be looking forward to 2009. The
Indians are in the boys’ large school final. Hononegah also made
the finals in 2003 and 2005. The Indians lost both of those
years in the title game. Hononegah is hoping that’s one trend
that ends this year.
Historic clash
Tomorrow’s large school girls final between Peoria Richwoods and
Chicago John Hope matches the winningest schools (by percentage)
in State Farm Holiday Classic history. Richwoods, which won
titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005, will come in with an .889 winning
percentage (24-3). Chicago Hope will enter the championship game
tilt with a winning percentage of .800 (12-3). Hope also won a
title in 2005 – but that was the small girls’ championship. This
is Hope’s first appearance in the large school championship
game.
Is this the year for the
Rockets?
Rochester is accustomed to winning three games at the State Farm
Holiday Classic, but this year is the first year the Rockets
have opened with three straight wins, putting them in the small
school girls’ title game. The Rockets have finished third in
five of the past seven years. This year, they’ll get a different
trophy – either the title or second place.
Other notes
Olympia junior Courtney Martin scored 35 points Friday
afternoon, which is the fourth-highest single-game total in
girls tournament history.
Tri-Valley’s boys’ team set a new mark for three-pointers in a
tournament. Tri-Valley had 34 over the four-game period.
DAY 3
| December 28, 2007
Top dog
Pana senior Olivia Lett, who will be a Saluki at Southern
Illinois University next year, is the new single-game girls’
tournament scoring record-holder. Lett is the first girl to top
the 40-point mark. She made 41 of Pana’s 61 points in the
Panthers’ second-round win over Champaign St. Thomas More. Lett
made 15 field goals, one three-pointer and was 8-of-10 at the
free-throw line, in eclipsing the mark Brittany Johnson (Olney
East Richland) set last year. She has 62 points (31 ppg) through
the first two games.
Maintaining perfection
Metropolis Massac County (13-0 after a win over Sterling Newman
in the Girls 1A-2A bracket) and Rockton Hononegah (11-0 after a
win over South Holland Thornwood in the Boys 3A-4A bracket) kept
their undefeated seasons alive. Massac County also made the
semifinals last year, before finishing fourth.
Carbon copy
Hononegah’s 57-42 win over Thornwood mirrored its first-round
game – a 57-42 win over Bishop McNamara. Hononegah’s win snapped
Thornwood’s 11-game Holiday Classic winning streak. It also puts
the Indians in the semifinals again – one game away from its
“odd year” trend. Hononegah made the finals in 2003 and 2005.
Will 2007 be another finals appearance? Find out Friday night.
Shooting for 50
On Friday night, Bloomington Central Catholic’s boys will try to
become the second team in Holiday Classic history to notch 50
wins all-time. Since the start of the 2005 State Farm Holiday
Classic, the Saints have won 9 of its last 10 tournament games
(including its last seven in a row) and is now 49-39 overall.
Only Normal University High (52-44 overall) has reached the
50-win plateau.
Knights stand tall
Peoria Richwoods is back in the girls large school semi-finals.
Richwoods, which won the title in 2002, 2004 and 2005, knocked
off Park Ridge Maine South. The Knights are now a
tournament-best 23-3 (.885 winning percentage) in seven
tournament appearances.
What a difference a day
makes
Taylor Ridge Rockridge’s girls were held to four second-half
points (zero field goals) in a first-round loss to Bloomington
Central Catholic. The Rockets scored 17 points for the game. In
a 51-37 second-round win over St. Joseph-Ogden, Rockridge made
more field goals (23) than it did first-round points (17).
Defensive battle
Rockridge’s boys knocked off CPCI 28-27 on a last-second lay-up.
The game marked a few records. The 55-point combined total is
the fewest points scored by two teams in boys’ tournament
history. In the second quarter, the two teams combined for four
total points (CPCI 4, Rockridge 0). It was reminiscent – and
bettered – their record-tying tilt in 2006 when the two combined
for six points in one quarter (CPCI 6, Rockridge 0). Ironically,
Rockridge didn’t make a free-throw. The Rockets missed their
only attempt.
Go for one
Orion’s girls were 23-of-27 from the charity stripe in the
Chargers’ come-from-behind win over Olney East Richland. Orion
is now 29-of-33 (87.9 percent) on free throws through its first
two games. The Chargers play two more games on Friday with a
chance to set a new tournament record (Rochester set the mark by
shooting 80 percent during the entire tournament last year).
DAY 2
| December 27, 2007
40-point club
Hartsburg-Emden Dakin Bolen joined an exclusive club in Holiday
Classic tournament lore. Bolen recorded 40 points in the final
game of the night during the first-round of the boys small
school tournament. He is the first boys player to hit the
40-point mark in more than 10 years (Joey Range, 55 points in
1996), and his performance ties him for the fifth best
single-game scoring mark in tournament history. Bolen registered
another milestone – his 1,000th career point – earlier this
year.
30-point club
Addison Driscoll’s Jake Lindfors, who was on the all-tournament
team at the State Farm Holiday Classic last year, poured in 36
points in a first-round win over El Paso-Gridley. The 36-point
game ties Lindfors for the twelfth-best scoring performance in
boys Holiday Classic history.
300-win club
Rockton Hononegah head coach Mike Miller won his 300th career
game on Wednesday. Miller’s career mark is now 300-150. The
Indians, who are 10-0 on the year, face South Holland Thornwood
in a second-round game. Thornwood beat Hononegah in the 2005
State Farm Holiday Classic large school championship. In
Thursday’s second-round game, something has to give – either
Hononegah will extend its perfect start to the season or
Thornwood will extend its current 11-game Holiday Classic
streak, dating back to the third round of the 2004 tournament.
Miller joins Macon Meridian's Jack Blickensderfer in the 300-win
club. Blickensderfer collected his 300th career coaching victory
earlier this season.
30-win club
The Lady Pioneers of Rock Island Alleman have joined Galesburg
as the only two teams to have won 30 games in the history of the
Holiday Classic. Alleman, which won titles in 2000 and 2004, has
a 30-10 career mark. Western Big 6 conference foe Galesburg
(31-12) is the only other 30-win team in girls tournament
history.
New streak
The Galesburg Silver Streaks will be in unfamiliar territory on
day two. The Lady Streaks had never lost their first round game
until Wednesday night’s buzzer beater loss to Springfield Sacred
Heart Griffin. Galesburg now finds itself in the consolation
bracket for the first time ever.
Defensive stand
In its 50-17 first-round victory, the Central Catholic Lady
Saints held Taylor Ridge Rockridge to four second-half points
(two points in each quarter). That ties a tournament record for
fewest points allowed in a half. The 17 points allowed is the
fewest in a small school tournament game since 2004, when
Rochester held Sterling Newman to 13.
Defensive stand II
Rochester’s girls team is known for its defense. The Lady
Rockets held Olney East Richland to five first-half points en
route to a 54-25 win. It marks the second straight year that
Rochester held its first-round Holiday Classic opponent under 30
points. In 2004, when the Lady Rockets set a tournament record
for defense (29 ppg), it had three games in which its opponent
failed to score 30 points.
DAY 1
| December 26, 2007
Record Watch
What does the 2007 State Farm Holiday Classic have in store?
Will it duplicate the record-setting feats from last year? The
2006 State Farm Holiday Classic was one for the record books. In
all, 50 team performance records were either broken or tied (19
in boys tournament play and 31 in the girls’ tournaments). In
addition, individuals etched their names on 17 more records.
Find out who will make their mark on this year’s tournament.
Record updates will be provided daily in this Tidbits file.
Girl Powwwwer
The 16-team field in the Girls small-school bracket features 12
teams that won Regional titles in 2006. Twelve of the 16 teams
bring in winning records.
Beyond the arc
Undefeated Rockton Hononegah brings an ability to go above and
beyond. The Indians have a reputation as one of the top shooting
teams. According to the Rockford Register-Star, this year,
Hononegah installed a new practice policy in which every player
must make 100 3-pointers before leaving practice. Keep an eye on
the Indians and the arc – the all-time Holiday Classic record
for three-point field goals is 14 (in one game) and 32 for a
four-game tournament.
Milestone watch
Hononegah coach Mike Miller enters today’s play with 299 career
victories. He can earn No. 300 if his Indians can knock off
first-round foe, Kankakee Bishop McNamara.
Congratulations from the Classic
A trio of State Farm Holiday Classic coaches have already
reached milestone marks this year. Chicago De LaSalle’s Tom
White recorded his 200th career victory in November. Bloomington
Central Catholic’s Debbie Coffman registered her 200th career
win with the Lady Saints win Dec. 19 over Champaign St. Thomas
More. Brian Brooks of St. Joseph- Ogden earned his 100th career
win in the Spartans’ tournament-winning run at the SJO Leader
Classic last week. On Dec. 17,
Pana senior Olivia Lett scored her 2,000th career point as the
Panthers defeated Nokomis 64-44. Lett, who will be heading to
Southern Illinois University next year, is the first girls or
boys player to reach the 2,000-point plateau at Pana. Lett
enters play at the State Farm Holiday Classic with 2,019 career
points.
December reign
Peoria Richwoods (Girls large school) is 8-0 this December after
winning a tournament last week in Sterling. The Knights have
come accustomed to winning in December (and also do quite well
in mid-to-late February). Entering play today, the Knights are
21-3 all-time in the State Farm Holiday Classic. Their .875
winning percentage is the best of any team that has played a
minimum of 15 Holiday Classic games.
Keeping it going
South Holland Thornwood played the first game today in the boys
large school bracket, beating Rock Falls by one, 66-65. It marks
the eleventh straight Holiday Classic win for the two-time
defending champion Thunderbirds. In boys tournament history,
Thornwood is now chasing Galesburg (12 straight wins from
1981-83) and itself. The Thunderbirds own the all-time mark with
20 straight wins in Holiday Classic play from 1999-2003
Welcome
Eight teams will be making their State Farm Holiday Classic
debuts today. In boys play, two teams tip off for the first time
at the Classic – one-loss Minonk Fieldcrest in the small school
bracket and Lake Forest in the large school bracket. Among the
girls teams that are newcomers, the small-school bracket
includes top-seed Pana, Spring Valley Hall, Williamsville, and
Champaign St. Thomas More. Park Ridge Maine South and
Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin will make their State Farm
Holiday Classic debuts in the Girls large school field.
The Boys field also features the return of two teams to the
Classic. Roanoke Benson returns after a 10-year absence, while
Rock Falls returns to the field for the first time since 2002.
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