It was a fitting conclusion to the George Montgomery era in Effingham.
The former Fighting Illini standout and basketball coach at Chicago Brooks has announced his retirement. So his final trip south was a memorable one, as he guided his talented Eagles squad to the championship of the 8th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
Brooks led by double digits on numerous occasions, but had to play to the end, finishing with a 53-46 victory Thursday night over Lincoln-Way East, the defending tournament champs.
Many will remember Montgomery from his playing days in Champaign from 1981-1985. He was recognized by the tournament committee prior to the championship contest and thanked everyone associated with the tournament for their kindness and support in the six years Brooks has participated.
It appeared it might be an easy game midway through the second period. Three-pointers by Anthony Vaval, Kendall Larry and Ryan Little had the Eagles on top, 28-13, with about three minutes left. But the Griffins closed out the first half on an 8-0 run to get within 28-21.
A basket by Kyle Olabegi got LWE within five to open the second half, but back-to-back threes by Olitimi Taiwo and Vaval, got the lead back to double digits, 34-23. The Griffins were within nine, 41-32, heading into the final eight minutes.
Three pointers by Jerrett Moore and Vaval provided Brooks a pair of 12-point leads, but a three-point play by Olabegi, a short jumper by Mac Hagemaster and a basket by George Bellevue after grabbing an offensive rebound, trimmed the margin to eight, 47-39, with 4:56 left in the game.
A jumper by Tylon Toliver and a three from Kaiden Ross got the Griffins within five, 51-46, but there was only 19 seconds remaining. A pair of foul shots 10 seconds later by Larry sealed the win and the tournament championship.
As they did throughout the tournament, the Eagles relied heavily on their three-point shooting. They had 20 total baskets in the final game; nine of them came from behind the arc. They hit 56 percent of their shots from long range, making 9-of-16.
Vaval led Brooks and all scorers with 18 points, while Larry had 12 and Moore added 11. Olagbegi finished with 13 points for Lincoln-Way East and Ross added 10.
Here is a brief recap of the other games played Thursday.
For the second time in two days, the Effingham Hearts survived a two-point game.
Wednesday night, the Hearts rallied from a halftime deficit and managed to make enough free throws down the stretch to hang on for a 48-46 win over Knoxville.
The Hearts, now 2-1 in tourney play, will face Cross Creek rival Teutopolis in the fifth place game today (Thursday). That game is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Effingham High School.
EHS led 13-9 after the opening eight minutes, but the Blue Bullets responded by outscoring the hosts 12-5 to take a 21-18 advantage at halftime. The Hearts held a slim 34-33 lead heading into the final quarter.
“This was a tough game, but the kids just kept playing,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “The game just kept going back-and-forth. We got up by four late and did enough good things to get the win.
“We didn’t play very well in the first half,” Farmer added. “But we played with more energy in the second half. We made some adjustments and the kids stepped up and got the job done.”
Jett Volpi and Garrett Wolfe both knocked down three shots from long range and led the Hearts in scoring. Volpi finished with 19 points and Wolfe added 14. Armando Estrada also reached double figures with 12 points.
“Armando gave us some great minutes,” Farmer noted. “Anytime you get that kind of production off the bench it’s a huge lift. He really played well.”
David Hise led Knoxville with 19 points.
The Hearts, who improved to 4-9, will now face Teutopolis for the second time this season. The Shoes posted a 46-37 win just a couple weeks ago.
“I hope our kids are as confident as I am,” Farmer said. “I’m glad to have another opportunity to play them.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Before Chicago Brooks took a single shot or grabbed a rebound or applied any defensive pressure, Obie Farmer knew his team faced a tough task Wednesday afternoon.
And then the Eagles came out and hit their first seven three-pointers, built a quick lead and were never threatened.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Effingham Hearts became the second team in two days to discover just how talented the team from Chicago was, dropping a 67-42 decision in a quarterfinal game of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
Brooks advanced to the semifinals, where they were scheduled to face Oak Lawn at 7:30 tonight (Wednesday). The winner of that game will play for the tournament championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Hearts, now 1-1 in tourney play, returned to action at 6 p.m. against Knoxville.
“Before you even talk about their efficiency on offense or how well they rebound the ball, you know their aggressiveness and their style of play is going to be tough to adjust to,” Farmer said. “They are long, lengthy and quick. You see that about this team before you even discuss the other things that make them a good basketball team.”
But the three-point shooting was an early dagger for the Hearts.
The game wasn’t even 3½ minutes old and the Eagles had already drained four shots from behind the arc and led 14-1. By the end of the first period, they had made two more and led 24-11. And then Jerrett Moore knocked down another one to open the second period. That was followed by a rebound basket by 6’7” Kyle McElroy and a layup following an EHS turnover by Ryan Little.
Less than 10 minutes into the game and Brooks had a commanding 31-11 edge.
“If you get up on them tight, they can beat you off the dribble. But if you lay back, they can make the three,” Farmer explained. “They are a tough team to guard.”
It will be Lincoln-Way East and Chicago Brooks in the championship game of the 8th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
Both teams won a pair of games Wednesday to reach the tourney finals.
There were 24 games played Wednesday. Here’s a brief recap of those contests.
Game 23
Lincoln-Way East 58; Newton 43
The Griffins needed a big second half to pull away from the Eagles and earn a berth in the championship game for the second straight year.
Newton actually held a slim 29-28 lead at halftime. But Lincoln-Way then outscored the Eagles 18-5 in the third period and 12-9 over the final eight minutes to post the 15-point win, 58-43.
LWE had four players in double figures – Kaiden Ross with 15, Tylon Toliver 12, Tommy Cheney 11 and George Bellevue 10. Newton’s Evan Shafer led all scorers with 17 points.
Lincoln-Way East will play Chicago Brooks at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Effingham High School.
Newton will play Oak Lawn in the third place game at 6 p.m.
Game 24
Chicago Brooks 57; Oak Lawn 53 (OT)
The Eagles needed a fourth-quarter rally to survive Oak Lawn and reach the finals.
The Spartans led most of the game and were up 37-30 heading into the final eight minutes. But Brooks outscored Oak Lawn 14-7 to knot the score at 44-44 and then outscored the Spartans 13-9 in the overtime period.
Jerrett Moore led Brooks and all scorers with 18 points, while Oltimi Taiwo scored 15 and Kendall Larry added 12. Oak Lawn got 14 points from John McGowan and 11 from Nicco Reyes.
Brooks will play Lincoln-Way East for the tournament championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Effingham High School.
Oak Lawn will face Newton in the third place game at 6 p.m.
The 8th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic resumed play Wednesday.
Here’s a brief recap of those contests.
Game 9
Champaign Centennial 50; Pleasant Plains 49
The Centennial Chargers put together a fourth quarter rally that notched their first win in the tournament.
Trailing 37-29 after three periods, Centennial outscored the Cardinals 21-12 in the final eight minutes to come away with the close 50-49 decision.
David Hubbard led Centennial with 18 points, while Zach Powell took game scoring honors with 24 for Pleasant Plains. Cooper Schallenberg added 14 for the Cardinals.
Game 10
Mattoon 59; Horizon Science Academy 24
The Mattoon Green Wave broke out to an early lead and were threatened, en route to a 59-24 decision over Horizon Academy.
Mattoon built a 15-5 lead after the first period and expanded their advantage to 33-9 at halftime.
Eleven different Green Wave cracked the scoring column, led by Christian Larson’s 10 points. Kamren Cook had seven points for Horizon.
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