See how the Cougars earned an 'A+' grade from their coach after big wins in Northwest Indiana. Also, see a full holiday tourney schedule.
Bloomington North boys basketball coach Jason Speer received an early Christmas present.
It was a long drive back home down I-65 Tuesday, Dec. 23, but a happy one filled with thoughts of sugar plums and candy canes ― no scratch that, two well-played wins by his 5-1 Cougars at East Chicago Central on Monday and previously undefeated Class 4A No. 8 Chesterton on Tuesday.
Speer has taken his team up to the Fishers Tournament the past two seasons but decided on a different tact this year, instead planning a team bonding road trip to The Region prior to the holiday break.
It could have not worked out better as North hammered ECC in its historic 8,000-seat gym, 68-41, then took down Chesterton, 63-55, leading the entire way, in a pair of well-attended matinees.
"What a fantastic experience for us," Speer said. "We wanted to kind of have the holiday tourney experience and did, playing four games in five days and against two teams we hadn't seen.
"I think a lot of East Chicago Central and what a great opportunity there in Chesterton. I was grateful for the two wins. We certainly got better."
For Speer, coaching at ECC was "kind of bucket list sort of thing." East Chicago basketball was a hot bed in the late 1960s and early 70s with Roosevelt and Washington winning back-to-back in '70-71. North guard Nate Walker's dad went to high school there.
As for the game, North started slowly after the long, big ride and coming off a tough loss Friday at Southport, followed by a tough one-point win the next night against Franklin.
"The objective was to hit the wall," Speer said. "When you're tired, mentally and physically, how will you respond? My grade is an A+."
Against Chesterton, the fouls were 12-2 in the Trojans favor in the first half, which allowed the home team to cut a 19-8 deficit to 25-21 by halftime. But this Cougar team, starters and reserves, was playing at peak performance and pulled away in the second half.
A report on X listed Levi Lindeman with 22 points and six rebounds and Derrick Cross 11 points despite both sitting much of the first half. It turned into a great experience that could be used down the road as Walker had 13 points, five assists. Ka"Mareon Washington, John Bargan and Tevin Bridgwaters showed well as did freshman Tal Shoulberg.
"The guys who came off the bench did a fantastic job," Speer said. "Chesterton is a top 10 team and we're four hours away from home, great crowd into it. There was a girls game after. Everybody was into it, and we led from start to finish.
"We were a different team. It's kind of where we were the wrong team to play today. Our heart, our determination, our connectiveness offensively and defensively, we left it all out there. It was really a program win. Four games in five days, we challenged them and met our expectations."
Now if they can just bottle that up and open it before every tip-off. Some eyes were definitely opened as to what the Cougars can be. They'll rest up and hit it again on Jan. 6 with a road game at Mooresville then the rivalry game with South on Jan. 9 (Maybe. Word is it could be moved if Indiana's football team is in the Peach Bowl that same night).
"Driving four hours, it could have gone bad," Speer said. "Snow. Us not playing well. But if we're going to be a competitive championship sort of team, this is the challenge we had to go through and I'm super happy."
Eastern Greene reunion
Eastern Greene (5-2) is also eschewing tourney play the next two weeks, instead lining up Monrovia on Dec. 27, North Knox on Dec. 30 and 1A No. 1 Barr-Reeve (7-0) on Jan. 2, all at home.
The showdown with the Vikings will include a reunion celebration for the 2001 regional champion boys basketball team that finished 23-2. All players, coaches, managers and cheerleaders are invited back to be honored between the JV and varsity games.
Holiday tourney guide
After the traditional Christmas feast comes a feast of hoops for high school basketball fans in Indiana.
Here's a quick look at where the rest of our area boys teams are playing this year, as North takes a break.
EDGEWOOD at Wabash Valley Classic: The Mustangs (4-1) ended the pre-holiday portion of the schedule on a high note with a weekend sweep of Indian Creek and Sullivan. They'll need to continue to be at their best heading to Terre Haute South, where a number of teams could pull out the title.
Edgewood will start with 2A No. 6 Linton (4-1), which opened the season with a win over 4A Terre Haute South but was tripped up by South Knox. Shakamak (2-3) and Martinsville (2-3) meet in the opener setting up a potential rematch with the Arties on Saturday. The rest of the upper bracket is absolutely loaded. Casey-Westfield (8-1) from Illinois faces Blake Neill and 1A No. 4 Bloomfield (5-1) then Cloverdale (4-2) takes on Terre Haute North (2-3), still stinging from an OT loss at South.
2A No. 1 Parke Heritage (6-0) and defending champ 3A No. 3 Northview (5-2), coming off losses to 4A No. 7 Mt. Vernon and 3A No. 2 Silver Creek, will be the two favorites to meet in the semifinals of the bottom bracket. The tournament will conclude on Tuesday, Dec. 30.
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH COMMUNITY CARS HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT: South will play in two tournaments again this year, starting with a four-teamer at home on Saturday, Dec. 27.
The Panthers (3-2) will start the day at 10 a.m. against well-regarded 6-4 sophomore Jaxson Johnson (15 ppg) and Muncie Central (3-1), followed by Perry Meridian (2-5) vs. Avon (2-3) at 11:30. The Falcons are led by 6-3 senior Ezra Ceasar (10 ppg, 5 rpg) and the Orioles' top player is 6-2 senior Jedidiah Minnett (19 ppg).
Third place game is at 5:30 p.m. and the title game at 7:15. A JV tourney will run concurrently in the auxiliary gym. Tickets are $7 or $12 for the day.
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH at Lawrenceburg Tournament: A strong field at this 12-team tournament on Jan. 2-3 is divided into four pools and at two locations, Lawrenceburg High School and the middle school. South will open at the middle school against 2A No. 3 Centerville (6-0) at 3 p.m. followed by the host Tigers (2-2) at 7. Pool B is a toughie with 3A No. 2 Silver Creek (8-1), West Lafayette Harrison (5-1) and Indianapolis Shortridge (3-2), which played 4A No. 1 Fishers to a 64-62 loss. New Palestine (4-2) and Ft. Wayne Blackhawk (5-2) highlight Pool C, while 4A No. 4 Plainfield (7-0) and 3A No. 8 Guerin Catholic (4-3) are in Pool D.
Crossover games on Jan. 3 will provide two more games for the Panthers, with Pool A matched up against Pool B counterparts in the openers.
LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN, SEVEN OAKS at Eminence Tournament: The LCA Lions (2-3) will have two pool play games on opening day, Sat. Dec. 27, starting at 10 a.m. vs. Riverton Parke (2-3) and then Mooresville Christian (2-1) at 2 p.m. Seven Oaks (0-4) plays the host Eels (3-2) at noon and Attica (0-4) at 4 p.m. in the other pool.
On Monday, Dec. 29, the third and fourth place teams will get one more game in at 10 a.m. while the first-place teams in each pool play the second-place teams at 2 p.m. The winners come back for the title at 6.
OWEN VALLEY at Clay City Tourament: JB Neill's rebuilding job at Owen Valley sends the Patriots (1-4) to what looks like a balanced field at Clay City where pool play games vs. North Vermillion (2-3) and Scottsburg (2-3) await on Monday, Dec. 29 at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. The Eels will have North Putnam and North Central in the other pool.
Crossover finals will take place on Dec. 30 at 4, 5:30 and 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington boys basketball holiday tournament schedule 2025
Category: General Sports
