Cook County boys basketball notes: No titles, plenty of highlights at holiday tournaments

As holiday decorations are being put away until next year, here is a wrap-up of how area teams faired in their annual holiday tournaments.

Barrington: The Broncos (10-3, 4-0) finished fifth at the Hinkle Holiday Classic at Jacobs. Barrington beat Elk Grove in their opener before losing to Crystal Lake South in the second round. The Broncos then rallied in the final two days of the tournament to win convincingly over Jacobs and Cary-Grove. Oliver Gray, who scored 76 points, and Alec Schmidts, who had 60 points, were both named to the all-tournament team.

Buffalo Grove: The Bison (7-8, 2-2) finished on a high note at the Wheeling Hardwood Classic with a win over Streamwood to end at 1-3 in the tournament. The Bison were led by Connor Woodin, who was second in scoring in the tournament with 82 points, and Lucas Anam-Ndu, who finished with 67 points. Wooding also led the tournament with 15 three-pointers.

Conant: The Cougars did what they always seem to do at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York: Spring an upset. Conant stunned one-loss Glenbard North in the opening round of the 32-round tournament. Unfortunately, the Cougars could not maintain that momentum, losing to host York in the next round. The Cougars then split their final two games to go 2-2. Camden Lathos, who averaged 16 points and 5 rebounds, was named to the all-tournament team.

They Cougars also announced good news after the tournament when guard Yusef Ciese committed to Washington University in St. Louis.

Elk Grove: The Grenadiers (2-12) went 1-3 at the Hinkle tournament. After an opening game loss to Barrington, Elk Grove knocked off Larkin 54-48 before closing out the tourney with losses to Prairie Ridge and Marian Central. The Grens were led by Amir Hussein, who finished with 52 points, including 17 in the Larkin game. Devin Wildi scored 33 points.

Fremd: The Vikings (10-5, 2-2) went 3-1 to finish third at the Hardwood Classic. They battled back after a tough semifinal loss to Glenbrook North to win the third-place game over Hampshire. Jordan Williams scored 58 points in the tournament and had 32 rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team. Fremd coach Bob Widlowski, who is retiring at the end of the season, was honored before the Vikings’ opening tournament game by the Wheeling staff and presented with a game ball.

Hersey: After losing their opening game at the Pekin tournament to Lake Park, which would go on to finish second, Hersey (7-9, 2-2) exploded. Led by Jared Ry, who averaged 17.8 points and made 10 three-pointers, the Huskies won their final three games to claim the consolation title. Logan Luxem, who played in just three games, was second in the tournament with 11 assists.

Hoffman Estates: The Hawks (9-6, 1-3) had a slow start but then finished strong in the Hinkle tournament. Hoffman lost its first two games to Cary-Grove and Bartlett. But they were able to rally in the final two games of the tournament with solid wins over South Elgin and Johnsburg. Daiquan Daniels led the Hawks with 59 points while Torey Baskin had 51 points.

Leyden: It was strange journey to a second-place finish for the Eagles (12-3, 2-1). They opened the Maine East tournament with a forfeit win over Round Lake. They then had a pair of close wins over Ridgewood (64-53) and Providence (71-67). The win over Providence was the 1,400th in school history. But the Eagles couldn’t get ,1401 in the title game. Playing without Michel Medious, who was out with an ankle injury, Leyden fell to Vernon Hills 52-41.

Maine East: The Demons (10-6, 2-2) finished third in their own tournament. They opened the tournament with impressive wins over Argo and Grayslake North. They then dropped a close contest to eventual tournament champion Vernon Hills before handling Providence in the third-place game. Tristan Walson had a big tournament for the Demons with 72 points.

Maine West: The Warriors (2-11, 0-4) were able to play their best basketball in their final two games at the Hardwood Classic to finish 1-3 in the tournament. Maine West dropped its first two games before blasting Streamwood 75-28 behind David Hutchinson and Frankie Ferrialo, who each had 16 points and David Diaz who had 14 points. Maine West then lost to Wauconda in a game that Hutchinson scored 20 points and had 14 rebounds.

Maine South: The Hawks (8-8, 0-4) had a tough finish at Hinsdale Central. After a solid win over Lane Tech in their opener, Maine South dropped their final three games to Oswego East, Hinsdale Central and Niles North. Panayiotis Sotos led Maine South with 70 points while Tyler Sierra had 51 points and 20 assists.

Palatine: The Pirates enjoyed their best finish ever when they finished fourth in the 32-team Tosh Classic. Palatine upended eventual consolation champion Lake Forest in the first round before beating one-loss Riverside-Brookfield and Yorkville to get to the semifinals. There, they trailed Bolingbrook by three points with just over three minutes remaining before losing by eight. They then played Downers Grove North even for over three quarters before losing in the third-place game. Connor May averaged 18.6 points and 8.2 rebounds while Carter Monroe averaged 9.4 points. Both were named to the all-tournament team.

Prospect: After an opening game loss at the Hardwood Classic, the Knights (12-4, 3-1) regrouped to win their final three games. That included a 51-46 win over Notre Dame in the consolation final. Drew Terpins, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored 17 of his 49 points in the tournament against Notre Dame.

Rolling Meadows: The Tosh Tournament defending champion Mustangs (12-2, 4-0) knocked off Glenbard West in the opening game before bowing out of the winner’s bracket to St. Laurence in the second round. Meadows then beat Stagg by seven and Fenwick by three to finish 3-1 at York. Ian Miletic had a terrific tournament for the Mustangs. He was second in scoring, averaging 21.3 points, along with 8.5 rebounds.

Schaumburg: Schaumburg’s first trip to the Hinsdale Central tournament began as slow as a team could get. The Saxons (11-6, 1-3) scored just one point in the first quarter against the hosts before losing that game. They also fell in the next game to Lincoln-Way Central before rebounding in their final two games to beat Morton and Plainfield East. Jordan Tunis paced the Saxons with 51 points while Tyler March stepped up huge with 45 points and 33 rebounds.

St. Viator: The Lions (10-5, 3-3) had a roller coaster of a tournament at Wheeling to finish 2-2. Viator blew out Streamwood in the opener before losing to Fremd in the quarterfinals. The Lions then beat Libertyville for the second time this season, before dropping their final game to Deerfield 46-36. Dayvion Ellis was amongst the tournament leaders with 11 steals while Ryan Jackson was just a notch behind with 10. Mitch Humphrey and Brandyn Michales each had 8 three-pointers in the tournament.

Wheeling: The host Wildcats (5-11, 1-3) went 1-3 in their own tournament, losing their final game 56-44 in overtime to Antioch. Despite the losses, Wheeling had some great individual performances in the tournament. Zach Neukirch was the tournament leader in rebounds with 45. Both Brent Collar (54 points) and Pawel Rakoczy (51 points) finished in the top 10 in scoring for the tournament.

MSL-WSC conference challenge

The first conference challenge will take place this weekend at Addison Trail. There are eight games with the first game featuring Elk Grove and Leyden beginning at 9:30 a.m.