Boys Basketball: Small-school stars shine under the spotlight at the KHT

It may have been mostly cloudy and rainy for the last few days, but that did not stop the stars from coming out at the Kankakee Holiday Tournament over the weekend. Blowouts were rare in the blue bracket, also known as the small-school division at the tournament, and with many games coming down to the wire, it was the marquee players that often stepped up for their teams.

Manteno’s Lee leads Panthers to tournament title

Manteno senior Ray Lee had a Kankakee Holiday Tournament to remember.

He came out hot in Thursday’s opener, finishing with a team-high 18 points in the Panthers’ 71-54 win over Central. He followed that up with a 26-point outburst in Manteno’s thrilling 70-67 overtime win against St. Anne in the semifinals on Friday.

He saved his best game for last, though, scoring a game-high 28 points in Saturday’s championship game against Joliet Catholic. Lee led the Panthers to a 71-58 win and earned was named the MVP of the tournament for his efforts.

“He just got hot, and the big key for him is he gets hot early and kind of jumps off to a good start, and that gives us hot starts in the game,” Panthers coach Zack Myers said. “I think we averaged about 70 [points per game] in the tournament, and it’s pretty tough to stop us when we’re scoring that much. Ray makes us go, and I was glad to see him get MVP.”

Link propels St. Anne to third-place finish

Chris Link earned himself a spot on the all-tournament team in Kankakee for his trio of strong performances.

The senior put up 20 points in the Cardinals’ two-point win over Herscher to open the tournament and then put up 30 points in their heartbreaking loss to Manteno the next day.

Link finished up strong with 18 points in St. Anne’s 62-60 win in the third-place game against Peotone on Saturday. The Cardinals’ three games in the tournament were all decided by one possession, and head coach Rick Schoon knows Link has the clutch gene.

“He’s really being aggressive on the offensive end,” he said. “He wants to try and carry the load offensively. Sometimes we have to remind him, ‘we’ve got kids that can help you, so you don’t always have to carry the load offensively.’ But if we need a big bucket, a lot of times Chris is going to be the guy that wants to step up and take that shot.”

Peotone’s Velasco, Weiss each have a pair of big games

Ruben Velasco and Brandon Weiss started off the Kankakee Holiday Tournament in fashion. Weiss had 23 points and Velasco added 19 in the Blue Devil’s 577-28 win over Momence on Thursday.

Weiss had just eight points in the team’s 63-51 loss to Joliet Catholic in the semifinals as he battled foul trouble, but Velasco exploded for 30 points and 13 rebounds.

Foul trouble sidelined Velasco for much of Peotone’s 62-60 loss in the third-place game against St. Anne on Saturday. He finished with nine points, but Weiss picked up the slack with 25 points.

“They showed that they can play,” head coach Ron Oloffson said. “They’re both great players and they did what they can do. I’d like us to be a little better as a team, including them, in the fourth quarter of these close games, but they showed what they could do, no doubt about it.”

Herscher’s Mccree dominates the paint and the boards

Herscher senior Jacob Mccree tallied a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Tigers’ first tournament game on Thursday, but the team came up just short in a two-point loss to St. Anne.

He scored 18 points again on Friday in Herschers’ win over Central, this time with eight rebounds. On Saturday, the Tigers closed out tournament play with a 50-37 win over Momence behind Mccree’s 20 points and 15 rebounds.

His 33 rebounds in the tournament led all players, giving him the Riverside Rebounding Award in the blue division and helped him earn a spot on the all-tournament team

Herscher head coach Drew Boudreau said that getting McCree going is always going to be a big factor in the team’s success.

“Jacob was a beast,” Boudreau said. “ ... He started out a little slow, but I think the last five, six, seven games he’s found himself and let everyone know who Jacob Mccree is.”

Momence’s Charbonneau wraps tourney play with pair of solid games

After being held to single figures in scoring in Thursday’s tournament opener for Momence, a 57-28 loss to Peotone, senior Nick Charbonneau bounced back with back-to-back strong performances on Friday and Saturday.

His 19 points against Grant Park on Friday helped lead Momence to a 60-56 win, and he followed that up with a team-high 14 in the tournament finale against Herscher on Saturday, which ended in a 50-37 loss.

“Nick is a huge part of getting us going on both the offensive and defensive end,” head coach Kevin Ecker said. “It just opens things up, not just for him but for everybody.”

Central’s Chandler passes the torch to Podowicz for tournament finale

Central lost a couple of tough games on the first two days of the tournament, falling 71-54 against Manteno on Thursday and 53-44 to Herscher on Friday.

Junior Blake Chandler managed to find some success in those games, however, scoring 23 against Manteno and 16 against Herscher.

In the tournament finale against Grant Park on Saturday, Chandler was held in check with seven points. It was senior Aidan Podowicz who led the team in scoring Saturday, tallying 16 points to lead the Comets to a 57-55 overtime win.

Blake Brown, Grant Park’s all-time leading scorer, does what he does best

It was tough sledding in the Kankakee Holiday Tournament for a short-handed Grant Park team. The Dragons ended tournament play with three losses and without three of their top eight players, but senior guard Blake Brown remained a constant.

Brown had 18 points in the Dragons’ 65-45 loss to Joliet Catholic on Thursday. His 35 points against Momence on Friday nearly led the team to victory, but they came up just short in a 60-56 loss.

He scored 20 points against Central on Saturday, a game in which the Dragons came up just short again in a 57-55 overtime loss.

“He’s every bit as good as advertised,” head coach Matt Russell said. “It’s fun to watch him play and see how he can carry a team. I know the kids enjoy playing with him. He’s really fun to watch and he had a nice tournament.”

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