BELLEVILLE EAST LANCERS, BELLEVILLE, IL .: The fourth-place Lancers finished with a record of 2-2 in their first appearance in the Methodist Medical Center Invitational. Belleville East posted two victories in the event, with their first win coming over Springfield, 57-44 as 6’6” Jr. Malcolm Hill led the team with 30 points. The Lancers then disposed of Peoria Notre Dame 55-49 as Hill poured in a game-high 27 points. Hill proved to be one of the elite players in Illinois as he averaged 25.5 points per game in the MMCI. Hill could have used a little more assistance from his teammates in his other two games. Hill fired in 22 points against the feisty defense of Proviso East, but the Lancers lost the game, 79-61. Hill scored a hard-earned 23 points against Washington, despite being locked up in a box-and-one defense, but the Lancers lost by the score of 60-50 to the host school Panthers. 6’5” Sr. Timmy Goodwin averaged 10.7 points and eight rebounds for the tournament, while 6’4” Sr. Stephen Brock and 6’3” So. Darreon Reddick showed signs of future star power for East. The Illini-bound Hill was named to the MMCI All-Tournament team.
CHAMPAIGN CENTRAL MAROONS, CHAMPAIGN, IL .: The Maroons made quite a statement in their first game of the MMCI as they steam-rolled East Peoria, 109-48. The 109 points were the highest point total ever scored in the State Farm Tournament of Champions. 6’0” Sr. Clayton Jones was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points, while 6’6” Sr. Corvon Butler dominated the paint with 19 points and 12 boards. The Maroons were defeated in their next two outings to two extremely talented squads- Washington (65-58) and Montgomery Carver, AL (76-59).
The Maroons (2-2) finished the MMCI in 5th place with a very strong showing against Peoria Notre Dame, 78-44. Jones finished the tournament as the Maroons’ top scorer with a 19.3 scoring average. Butler averaged 12.3 points and 6’5” So. Jordan Caroline, 10.0 for Central. 5’10” Sr. Chris Freeman (13 steals) and 6’0” Sr. Andrew Miller were key defenders for the Maroons throughout the week. Clayton Jones finished his ToC career as the 7th All-Time leading career scorer with 138 points and the event’s 4th All-Time leading career Assist-Man with 31 dimes in his 3-year tournament career.
EAST PEORIA RAIDERS, EAST PEORIA, IL .: 6’0” Sr. Corey Crotz (19 ppg) was a one-man wrecking crew for the Raiders during this year’s MMCI as he scored 76 points in four games. Crotz went coast to coast against some serious competition on a nightly basis, and still managed to fire in 26 points against Montgomery Carver and 25 points against Champaign Central. The 6-foot guard led his team in every statistical category, except blocked shots. 6’5” Jr. Adam Sommer showed some flashes in the lane and 5’9” So. Sean Mulhern exhibited a nice shooting touch from the perimeter. Crotz finished the ToC as the event’s 6th All-Time leading career scorer with 139 points. The Raiders went 0-4 in the MMCI with losses to Champaign Central, Washington, Montgomery Carver and Springfield.
MONTGOMERY CARVER WOLVERINES, MONTGOMERY, AL .: The Wolverines proved to be one of the most talented teams to ever play in the MMCI! If Craig Sword wasn’t draining long distance jumpers from 25 feet, he was attacking opponents with his acrobatic finishes HIGH above the rim. The 6’3” Sr. Sword (17 ppg) was incredible throughout the event, but his 3-point jumper at the buzzer against Washington will go down as one of the greatest shots ever made in the ToC. But, Sword was not a one-man team by any stretch of the imagination! 6’6” Jr. Jeremy Johnson (15.5 ppg- 8.0 rpg) was a human highlight film with his athletic takes to the bucket and his long-range shooting. The All-American Football Quarterback (Johnson) showed his leadership qualities and imposing athleticism on both ends of the court. 6’5” Sr. Tony Armstrong (10.3 ppg- 8.8 rpg) was a warrior on the boards and with his defensive play inside. Junior guards Zach Rumph and Anthony Jarrett were clutch performers throughout the tournament, but the Wolverines were tripped up in the MMCI championship game by the Proviso East Pirates, 72-60. Sword and Johnson were both named to the MMCI All-Tournament Team. Future Mississippi State guard- Craig Sword was named the MMCI’s “Most Outstanding Player”
PEORIA NOTRE DAME IRISH, PEORIA , IL .: Many people believed the Irish would be undergoing a total reconstruction with their hoops program this year. Coach Tom Lacher proved otherwise as the Irish battled strong throughout the MMCI. The Irish started off this year’s ToC with a hard-earned 72-71 overtime, comeback win against Springfield. The Irish then matched up with three exceptional teams in their remaining games and found themselves on the short end of the stick in each of these matchups: Proviso East (88-56), Belleville East (55-49) and Champaign Central (78-44). The Irish showed balanced scoring throughout the tournament as 6’2” Jr. Nic Reynolds (11 ppg), 6’1” So. Shea Feehan (10.8) and 6’7” Sr. Jack Stephens (10.5 ppg) provided inspired individual outbursts at certain times throughout the week. However, it was the rugged play of Junior Nick Bell (12.3 ppg- 5.0 rpg) that reverberated with fans inside Washington’s Den. Bell battled from the opening tip to the last whistle, as he drove the lane like a run-away freight train. At 6’0”, Bell was the shortest post man in the event by far- but he dominated in low, rarely getting his shot blocked against his taller foes. He was fun to watch!
PROVISO EAST PIRATES, MAYWOOD, IL .: The Pirates became the fourth Illinois team to win the MMCI crown as they used their slew of ultra-quick backcourt defenders to rip their opponents apart for fast break baskets after fast break baskets. 6’1” Sr. Keith Carter (17.5 ppg- 3.8 apg- 11 steals) was the leader of the Pirates’ vicious “Shock and Awe” attack! Carter defended, scored and dished to his teammates with high regularity, which ultimately led to him being named the MMCI’s “Most Valuable Player”. The Pirates recorded 77 steals in four games for an average of 19.3 steals per ball game! 5’10” Sr. Paris Burns (11 ppg- 11 steals), 5’11” Jr. Paris Lee (10.5 ppg- 14 steals), 6’0” Jr. Michael Nicholas (10.3 ppg) and 6’0” So. Jevon Carter (10 steals) were the guards most responsible for wreaking holy havoc on their four opponents. 6’4” Jr. Sterling Brown (12.5 ppg- 7.8 rpg- 12 steals) was the top interior provider for the Pirates and was named to the MMCI All-Tournament team for his efforts. Burns was also named to the MMCI All-Tournament team and received the “Bronze Medal” for best dunk in the ToC- when the 5’10” guard exploded through the air for an alley-oop dunk in transition against Belleville East.
SPRINGFIELD SENATORS, SPRINGFIELD, IL .: What can you say about 6’7” Sr. Willie Wiley and his 12-game career in the State Farm ToC? How about- REMARKABLE! After starting off this year’s event with a sub-par performance (5 pts- 9 rbs) against Peoria Notre Dame, Wiley came out on fire in his next three games. Wiley scored 16 pts and grabbed 11 boards against Belleville East. He scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Proviso East and finished up his ToC career with 22 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in his Senators’ 60-50 win against East Peoria. Wiley finished his State Farm ToC career as the event’s All-Time leading career rebounder (136 rebounds), the event’s 2nd All-Time leading career scorer (175 points) and the event’s 2nd All-Time career leader in blocked shots with 29. Wiley was honored after his final outing, by being named to the “ALL-TIME TOC TEAM”. Wiley (16.8 ppg- 11.5 rpg) was not the only Senator player that starred in this year’s event. 5’11” Jr. Isaiah Nelson averaged 16 points a game, and had a game high 29 points in his team’s overtime loss to Notre Dame.
WASHINGTON PANTHERS, WASHINGTON , IL .: The Panthers were a team on a mission in this year’s MMCI! The Panthers buzzed past East Peoria (79-32) as 6’5” Sr. Ben Ryan scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Panthers then defeated a strong, athletic Champaign Central in their second game, 65-58- behind the strong play of 6’7” Jr. Alec Peters who torched the Maroons for 26 points and 14 rebounds. Coach Kevin Brown changed his style of play in his team’s third matchup against Montgomery Carver, and was dominating the game with his back door cuts, expert passing and tough-nosed defensive sets. But, with 1.5 seconds on the clock, Carver’s All-America guard Craig Sword hit a fade-away 3-pointer with Panther guard Mason Mc Coy directly in his face, to defeat the Panthers, 44-43. Washington bounced back in the 3rd place game and defeated Belleville East, 60-50 as Peters poured in 30 points for the Orange and Black. Peters (20.8 ppg- 8.8 rpg) and Ryan (16.0 ppg- 7.8 rpg) were both named to the MMCI All-Tournament Team. Ben Ryan was named to the “ALL-TIME TOC TEAM” as he became the event’s 3rd All-Time leading career rebounder (81 rebounds) and the event’s 9th All-Time leading career scorer with 136 points.
