Timing could be just right for Waubonsie

This time Waubonsie Valley boys basketball coach Steve Weemer hopes it's his team making plays down the stretch.

The Warriors enter Saturday's 6 p.m. Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division game at Neuqua Valley with a tight 12-11 edge in the Indian Prairie District 204 rivalry. Waubonsie (12-6, 2-2) aims to forget its Dec. 10 meeting with the Wildcats, who extended a 43-41 late third-quarter lead into a resounding 72-55 victory.

"I never thought we'd lose by 17 when it was a 2-point game," Weemer said.

Neuqua Valley (17-3, 5-1 heading to Bartlett on Thursday) used two Alex Karkazis free throws, a Jim Stocki bank shot, a pair of Sam Johnson 3-pointers and a Tyler Sutton 3 to put the jump on the Warriors.

"They took off like a freight train and we were the caboose," Weemer said.

At the time Weemer extolled Johnson's leadership and sought more from his club. Waubonsie does have that potential in such players as tough guard Jakobi Johnson and, off the bench, sparkplugs like Tyler Yanisch and Austin Keys. Sophomore Jared Brownridge will draw a crowd launching baseline 3s as he did Dec. 10 trying to keep Waubonsie alive.

"I think we're playing much better right now and some guys have stepped up and are playing extremely well for us," Weemer said. "I like where we're at, at this point in time."

For Neuqua's part, coach Todd Sutton said, "we seem to be slumping right now." The Wildcats come off a 3-3 stretch including a last-second loss to UEC Valley leader East Aurora and a 2-2 split at Rockton Hononegah's Martin Luther King Jr. tournament.

"Waubonsie Valley presents us with all kinds of problems," Sutton said. "They are so much bigger than us, they can hurt us on the boards. They are so much quicker than us, so their pressure defense can really hurt our offense."

He noted the Wildcats will have played 18 of 21 games on the road. Saturday, though, Neuqua's gym will be packed.

"It would be nice to have a home game," Sutton said.

Blazing schedule:

As Addison Trail seeks momentum in the second half of the regular season, now is the perfect time to get the ball rolling.

The Blazers (6-11) are in the midst of a rough slate of schedule with six games in 11 days. Four games into the grind, Addison Trail has a split so far.

"We're at the crossroads of our season," said Blazers coach Brendan Lyons. "We're looking at a stretch of nine games in January, including the rest of our nonconference games."

Addison Trail's January performance includes wins over Fenton and Universal and losses to Morton and St. Laurence. This weekend is a big one in the West Suburban Gold with a Friday game against District 88 rival Willowbrook and a Saturday game against Downers Grove South.

The Blazers close play in January with Gold games next weekend against Leyden and Proviso East.

"It's more games and less practice, so this is a key time for us," Lyons said. "We've got some really tough teams ahead, and we need to be ready every time we come out."

Fresh field:

For years Hinsdale South coach Vince Doran has wanted to play host to a holiday tournament.

Next season he'll get the chance.

The Hinsdale South Holiday Classic debuts Dec. 27-30 with a 16-team bracketed field of teams and a guarantee of four games apiece. It took nearly a year to make it happen, but Doran couldn't be happier with the results.

"We're real excited with the teams we've got," Doran said. "Our goal was to have a lot of the Chicagoland area represented, and I think we did a nice job of that."

The diversity of the field is amazing. The 16 teams represent 15 different conferences or different divisions within conferences, the only repeat being Catholic League teams Brother Rice and Providence.

The tournament features: Downers North, Hinsdale South, Metea Valley, Wheaton North, Brother Rice, Eisenhower, Glenbrook South, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Minooka, Nazareth, Providence, Rolling Meadows, Sandburg, Schaumburg and Stagg.

Acquiring teams from the Elgin, York, Waubonsie Valley and Lemont tournaments, among others, the tournament actually came together rather smoothly. Hinsdale South received the final commitment last week, and the field became official.

"I was really pleasantly surprised at the immediate interest we received," Doran said. "We're hoping to make this an annual tradition in the area."

Sullivan shines:

Everyone knew it was coming, and on Monday it finally happened.

Will Sullivan became the all-time scoring leader at York, breaking a record that stood more than 40 years.

"We knew he'd break the record at some point, it was just a matter of when," said York coach Dominic Cannon.

With a 16-point performance in Monday's game against Galesburg the Dukes' second game of the day and fourth in three days Sullivan eclipsed Chris Schweer's mark of 1,431 points set between 1965 and 1968.

Sullivan, a 6-foot-3 senior guard and a starter since his freshman year, now has 1,443 points with at least 11 games still to play. He'll be honored for his achievement before Friday's West Suburban Silver game against Downers North as the Dukes seek their eighth win in 10 games.

After missing three games all losses with a calf injury, Sullivan's return has sparked York into its best basketball of the season.

"His body and his health are back to where it used to be, and you can see the difference in how we're playing," Cannon said. "We're really playing well right now."

The Essig Report:

Benet Academy (19-0) heads local teams listed in the latest installment of the Essig Report, a database of Class 3A and 4A teams heavily weighing strength of schedule.

The Redwings, No. 3, trail only leader Simeon and Lyons Twp. in the rankings compiled through Jan. 15 by Essig, an Aurora-based analyst.

There is solid local representation at the top. Glenbard East (14-2) is ranked fifth, behind O'Fallon, with Neuqua Valley 10th after Warren, Homewood-Flossmoor, St. Ignatius and DeLaSalle. Downers Grove South (14-3) is close behind at No. 13, despite beating Lyons in York's holiday championship.

No. 36 Waubonsie Valley is the only other DuPage team in the Essig Top 50. Upstart Metea Valley (11-8 going into Thursday's game at Lake Park) pulls in at No. 52, right ahead of York (11-7).