Boys Hoops Wrap | Mt. Carmel wins Pekin Holiday Tourney; Brother Rice’s 15-game win streak ends at Hinsdale

By Xavier Sanchez
Correspondent

Mount Carmel extended its win streak to five games after defeating Normal West, East St. Louis and Lake Park at the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament. The Caravan’s 60-41 win over Lake Park earned them their third straight Pekin title.

In the title game, Angelo Ciaravino finished with nine points, eight rebounds, eight assists and a steal. Grant Best scored a team-high 15 points, Cameron Thomas had 11 and Noah Mister finished with nine.

Angelo Ciaravino was named the MVP of the event. He averaged 13 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

The Caravan head into 2024 at 16-2 overall and 2-0 in the Chicago Catholic Blue.

Argo (4-9, 0-3 SSC Red)
Argo went 2-1 at the Maine East Holiday tournament. The Argonauts suffered a loss to the host in their first game before beating against Butler College Prep and Northside Prep. Kasem Saleh averaged 20.5 points in Argo’s two wins and finished with a 24 in the win over Butler.

Bogan (8-9, 5-0 CPL White)
Bogan competed in the 80th Annual Centralia Tournament. The Bengals went 1-2, with their only win coming against KIPP St. Louis (Missouri).

Brother Rice (15-2, 4-0 CCL Blue)
Brother Rice entered the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic unbeaten, but went 2-2 and finished in fourth place. The Crusaders battled in all their matchups with wins over Plainfield East and Rockford Auburn before having their 15-game winning streak snapped in a 75-74 loss to Marian Catholic before snapping their 15-game win streak. Cale Cosme and Zavier Fitch were selected for the All-Tournament Team. Cosme averaged 18.3 points and 3.8 rebounds. Fitch averaged a double-double (17 points-12.8 rebounds). Fitch’s 51 rebounds set a new tournament record.

Chicago Christian (3-8, 0-3 Chicagoland Christian)
The Knights headed down south to play at the KSA Christmas Tourney in Florida. They began the tournament with two straight losses before a 45-42 overtime win over Chamberlain (Florida). Niko Griggs had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win and earned All-Tourney honors. The Van Dellen brothers — senior AJ and junior Ed — combined for 22 points.

Curie (14-1, 3-0 CPL Red)
Curie went 4-0 to extend its winning streak to 10 games and win the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. The Condors off their title run with a 69-66 double overtime win over Benet. It’s Condors’ fifth Pontiac title and the win marked the 13th consecutive season a Chicago Public League team has won the tournament. Carlos Harris won the AC Williamson award after averaging 18 points during the tournament and being the X-factor in the final quarters of their double-OT win over Benet. Harris had back-to-back 22-point performances in the Condors’ wins over New Trier and Benet.

De La Salle (10-5, 2-1 CCL Blue)
The Meteors were in Florida to play at the Battle at the Villages tournament, and went 2-1 with a third place finish. They closed out the year with a 66-62 win over FSU School (Florida).

Evergreen Park (11-5, 1-2 SSC Red)
Evergreen Park defeated Eisenhower 69-60 to win the Big Dipper Consolation Bracket Championship at Rich. Lonnie Mosely and Ulises Cardenas combined for 46 points in the win. Nolan Sexton was named to the Big Dipper All-Tournament team.

Marist (13-3, 3-2 ESCC)
Marist went 3-1 to finish second at the 80th Annual Centralia Holiday Tournament. The RedHawks dropped the title game, 50-40, to host Centralia. Darshan Thomas averaged 12.5 points and was named to the All-Tournament team.

Morton (3-10, 0-3 West Suburban Gold)
The Mustangs went 0-4 at the Hinsdale Holiday Classic.

Oak Lawn (10-5, 3-0 SSC Red)
Oak Lawn went 1-3 at the 10th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic. The Spartans’ lone win came in their opening game against Brooks, 57-43. Junior guard Donté Montgomery was named to the All-Tournament teams after finishing near the top of the tournament’s scoring leaders.

Reavis (8-5, 2-1 SSC Red)
The Rams went 1-3 at the ICCP/Westmont Christmas Classic. Their only win came against Alcott, 72-35, Yigit Akgunlu, Gabe Hernandez, and Angel Fernandez led the scoring attack.

Richards (7-9, 0-3 SSC Red)
Richards went 3-1 at the Elgin Christmas Tournament, defeating Walther Christian, Woodstock and St. Edward. In the win over St. Edward, three Bulldogs scored in double figures, including senior Camren King, who capped off 2023 with a 25-point performance.

St. Rita (1-14, 0-4 CCL Blue)
The Mustangs went 0-2 at the Pontiac Holiday Classic, with losses to Curie and Peoria Manual.

Sandburg (8-7, 0-3 Southwest Suburban- Blue)
Sandburg went 2-2 at the Maine East Holiday Tournament, with wins over Northside and Grayslake North. The Eagles best game of the tourney was a 69-54 win over the Knights. David Vargas scored 20 points, Paulius Mizeras had 17, Yanal Swaiss finished with 14 and Ryan Tomczak had 12 points in the win. They closed the tournament out with a 75-69 loss to Niles West. Vargas averaged 19 points during the tournament and was named to the all-tournament team.

Shepard (4-10, 0-3 SSC Red)
Shepard went 2-2 at the Elgin Christmas Tournament, defeating Elgin and Elgin Academy. The Astros, who start three sophomores, battled in a 57-51 overtime loss to Aurora Central Catholic. Their other loss came against Lake View, a game in which they cut a 22-point deficit to just five before succumbing, 70-60. Peter Primbas scored in double-figures in both of the wins and Danny McGovern contributed 18 in the Astros’ 65-57 victory over Elgin Academy

“We are getting better each and every day,” said Astros coach Anthony Chiuccariello. “The guys are playing hard and figuring some things out.”