Posts Tagged ‘State Farm Holiday Classic’
Central-Southeastern slays another monster in winning State Farm Holiday Classic championship
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach Matt Long referred to top-seeded Paris as “a monster.” Consider his squad the beast slayers then. The Panthers completed a remarkable run to the State Farm Holiday Classic championship Friday afternoon, making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 18.2 seconds to hand the Tigers their first…
Read MoreRaiders enjoy sweet rewards after capping State Farm Holiday Classic with back-to-back wins
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Christina Meyer made a promise the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball players intended her to keep. So after beating Kankakee Bishop McNamara 53-46 in Thursday night’s fifth-place game of the State Farm Holiday Classic, the Raiders reminded Meyer’s husband — QND coach Kevin Meyer — she said she’d buy the team milkshakes…
Read MoreLockdown defense carries Central-Southeastern into State Farm Holiday Classic title tilt
NORMAL, Ill. — Because of the widespread success of the Central-Southeastern girls basketball players across all sports, it’s easy to forget how youthful the Panthers are. “I know,” C-SE coach Matt Long said. Still, a majority of the time, C-SE has three sophomores, sometimes four, on the floor. That makes this week’s run to the…
Read MoreC-SE knocks off SHG with dynamic defensive effort in second half of tourney quarterfinal
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Matt Long made it sound so simple. “In the second half, I thought we had a lot of energy and effort and it turned the game for us,” the veteran Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach said. The tenaciousness defensively brought about by playing with more energy and effort certainly did that. A five-point…
Read MoreTurnovers, miscues leave QND boys basketball team with empty feeling after quarterfinal loss
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — A game of chase morphed into a game of giveaway Wednesday night. After opening the State Farm Holiday Classic with an aggressive, transition-based effort offensively that led to its highest scoring game of the season, the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team allowed two many empty possessions to derail it in a…
Read MorePanthers lock down in closing stretch to quell Fightin’ Irish comeback
NORMAL, Ill. — Having watched a nine-point advantage dwindle to three, the Central-Southeastern girls basketball players simply refused to let Kankakee Bishop McNamara draw any closer. The Panthers made their free throws, too. Central-Southeastern outscored Bishop McNamara 8-2 over the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds of regulation Tuesday night and earned a 36-27 victory in…
Read MoreCatch me if you can: Raiders accept challenge to chase down point guard, thrive in transition
NORMAL, Ill. — Fully aware his team’s offense needed to ratchet everything up a notch or two, Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer presented the Raiders with a challenge heading into the State Farm Holiday Classic. Catch Jake. Meyer told his point guard — senior Jake Hoyt — to push the pace at…
Read MoreRaiders show growth, see potential for more after splitting final two games in Bloomington
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer never saw the absence of two starters as a ready-made excuse for any setback. He viewed it more as a chance to grow. Having split two games Wednesday in the small-school bracket of the State Farm Holiday Classic, the Raiders showed considerable growth and…
Read MoreAfter St. Joseph-Ogden star gets loose in third quarter, Raiders miss chance to complete comeback victory
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — It might not look like it in the scorebook, but Quincy Notre Dame actually did a good job keeping St. Joseph-Ogden star Ty Pence in check. Well, except for the final three minutes of the third quarter. Pence, a 6-foot-6 junior, scored 11 of his 26 points during that time frame, turning…
Read MoreAfter loss in State Farm quarterfinals, Central-Southeastern coach questions if Winnebago is top Class 2A team in state
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Central-Southeastern coach Matt Long has a pretty good idea of what a good Class 2A girls basketball looks like. He guided the Panthers to third-place and fourth-place finishes at the state tournament in 2016 and 2017. So after his team lost 33-21 to Winnebago, ranked No. 1 in the latest Class 2A…
Read MoreAfter forcing 29 turnovers in victory over Stanford Olympia, C-SE girls earn shot at No. 1-ranked Winnebago
NORMAL, Ill. — Central-Southeastern gets a crack on Tuesday against Winnebago, the No. 1 seed in the small-school girls bracket at the State Farm Holiday Classic and the No. 1-ranked team in the Class 2A state poll. Don’t be surprised if the Panthers throw a scare at the undefeated Indians. C-SE forced 29 turnovers in…
Read MoreHoliday tournament guide: State Farm Holiday Classic small-school boys
QUINCY — Anyone associated with the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball program understands how on-point a team is going to have to be to win the State Farm Holiday Classic small-school bracket. The Raiders have seen the top-seeded team at its best. QND lost to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 66-42 at the Pit on December 3…
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