advertisement

York denies Naperville North tournament title

York's self-proclaimed "no-name gang" stood tall one last time to cut down the nets in their own gymnasium.

Surviving a grueling five-day tournament with 31 other teams in their wake, the Dukes emerged as the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic champions with Thursday's 45-40 victory over Naperville North in Elmhurst.

Other teams came in with star players and state-ranked reputations, but York (10-3) defended its home court five straight times to claim its fourth Tosh title and its first since 2012.

"It's nice when you don't have anyone who's a big name or a (Division I) commit because you've got a team that comes together and knows how to play together," said Dukes senior Ryan Camp, the Tosh MVP.

Both teams looked tired after a long week, but the energy remained strong to the final buzzer. The lead changed hands six times until York scored 10 straight points - 6 on a pair of Nick Kosich 3-pointers - to take the lead for good at 31-25 late in the third quarter.

Naperville North (9-3), held scoreless for nearly five minutes during the Dukes' run, kept it a one-possession game throughout the fourth quarter and pulled within 41-40 in the final minute on back-to-back Chris Johnson buckets.

York, however, closed out the win with four straight free throws from Jack Julian and Camp, who scored 7 of his 9 points in the fourth quarter.

"It was grueling but at the same time it's a lot of fun winning and winning," said Johnson, who led all scorers with 13 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. "Obviously, this isn't where we wanted to end, but we've made lots of improvements and we're proud of that."

Despite the tired legs the teams showed tremendous composure while combining for only 7 turnovers. Tyler Carlson had 9 points and E.J. Vaughn scored 8 for the Huskies. Patrick Grabowski paced York with 12 points.

"Every possession, every moment counted," Vaughn said. "We knew that coming in. We slipped up a little bit but we made a lot of improvements this tournament."

Carlson and Winston Elston were named to the all-tournament team for Naperville North. Jack Morrissey and Camp earned the honor for York.

"There's no kid that receives a lot of accolades," said York coach Vince Doran. "Just a bunch of great kids who work real hard."

Both teams now get a much needed week off to prepare for conference games next Friday.

"My boys play their hearts out," said Naperville North coach Jeff Powers. "It's fun to watch basketball like that when two teams are playing that hard."

Follow Kevin on Twitter

@kevin_schmit

  Naperville North's Camaron Hardy looks for an opening around York's Patrick Grabowski during at Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament championship game. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  York's Nick Trapani and Jordan Gray celebrate winning the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament championship game over Naperville North. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.