St. Joseph-Ogden's Parker Fitch releases a shot between Carsen Dudley and Alex Wallace in the first quarter of their Toyota of Danville Classic game on Friday. Picking up their third win of the season, the Spartans defeated the Comets 79-46 and advanced to Saturday's championship game against Bishop McNamara. Here are more photos from Friday's pool game.
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St. Joseph-Ogden's Kaden Wedig goes up to force the ball away from Oakwood's Ben Darling during second half action of their pool game on Friday.
TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden basketball, Oakwood Comets basketball, Toyota of Danville Classic basketball tournament, SJO sports, high school basketball
St. Joseph-Ogden and Bishop McNamara each swept their pool play games to reach the Toyota of Danville Classic championship. The full day of basketball begins with the seventh-place game between Cissna Park and Watseka. The night concludes with awards, including tournament MVP recognition.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Oakwood's Xander Wilson tries to dribble around the defensive efforts of St. Joseph-Ogden's Tyler Hess in the final pool play game at the Toyota of Danville Classic basketball tournament at St. Joseph-Ogden High School on Friday. The Spartans defeated the Comets 79-46, improving to 3-0 on the season and securing their spot in today's championship game, a rematch against Kankakee's Bishop McNamara. Wilson and the Comets will play the third-place game agaisnt Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Hess led the Spartan offensive effort with 17 points.
ST. JOSEPH - Host St. Joseph-Ogden (3-0) and Bishop McNamara won all three of their pool play games, earning the right to meet in this year's Toyota of Danville Classic championship. The Fightin’ Irish, last year’s champions, are 6-0 heading into the title match between the tournament heavyweights.
Seven hours of non-stop basketball action begins at 1 p.m. at St. Joseph-Ogden High School with the seventh-place game between Cissna Park and Watseka. Cissna Park struggled this week, dropping all three pool play games. The Timberwolves look to get back on track against conference foe Watseka, which finished with one win in Pool B behind Payton Schaumburg’s 30-point performance in a one-point victory.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., the only two teams in the annual tournament located south of Illinois Route 150 square off in the fifth-place game. Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond faces Charleston. The Trojans and Knights, both of whom defeated one of the teams playing for seventh place, lost two games in their respective pools.
The third-place game features an Illini Prairie vs. Vermilion Valley matchup between Oakwood and Paxton-Buckley-Loda in a contest that may be decided in the final quarter. PBL earned wins over Charleston and Cissna Park in pool play. Oakwood dropped a one-point heartbreaker to Watseka and fell to the red-hot Spartans by 33 points on Friday night.
The main event between the Spartans and the defending champion Fightin’ Irish will be an early season battle between two teams expected to make deep postseason runs. There is a sense of revenge for SJO, which, after winning three consecutive tournament titles since the pandemic, lost last year's championship to B-Mac in a physical 57-48 showdown.
After the championship game, the tournament director will present runner-up and championship awards and announce the Toyota of Danville Classic All-Tournament Team. A tournament MVP and the free throw percentage champion will also be recognized.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students, covering all four games scheduled today.
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TAGS: Toyota of Danville Classic championship game preview, St. Joseph-Ogden vs Bishop McNamara basketball matchup, Illinois high school holiday basketball tournament schedule, Oakwood and Paxton-Buckley-Loda third place game analysis, Cissna Park vs Watseka placement game breakdown
The Toyota of Danville Classic returns to St. Joseph-Ogden next week where basketball fans can enjoy the mix of high-energy basketball, strategy, and fast breaks.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden's Ryker Lockhart fights to snag a rebound with McNamara's Callaghan O'Connor under the rim during the Toyota of Danville Classic championship match in 2024. The Fightin' Irish defeated the 2023 champion Spartans in a fierce battle 57-48. O'Conner finished with seven points, while Lockhart led SJO with 12 points. The two juniors and their teams are projected to square off again in the title game on December 6.
ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden High School will welcome some of the region’s top teams next week for the annual Toyota of Danville Classic, an early-season basketball tournament that promises five days of fast-paced action and intense competition. Known as The Leader Classic for nearly three decades before being renamed in 2018, this year’s tournament runs Tuesday, Dec. 2, through Saturday, Dec. 6.
Last year’s champion, Bishop McNamara, who edged St. Joseph-Ogden 57-48 in the title game, returns along with all seven teams from the previous field. Pool A features Cissna Park, Charleston, PBL, and Bishop McNamara, while Pool B includes Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond, Oakwood, host St. Joseph-Ogden, and Watseka.
Fans can look forward to 16 games over the course of the tournament, highlighted by the 35-second shot clock and the usual mix of high-energy play and early-season matchups. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students per night, covering all three games scheduled each evening. Tournament play opens Tuesday at 5 p.m., kicking off what promises to be another memorable edition of the Classic.
2025 Toyota of Danville Classic Schedule
Pool A:
Cissna Park
Charleston
PBL
Kankakee Bishop McNamara
Pool B:
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond
Oakwood
St. Joseph-Ogden
Watseka
Tuesday, 12/2/25:
5:00 PM: Kankakee Bishop McNamara vs. Charleston
6:30 PM: ALAH vs. St. Joseph-Ogden
8:00 PM: Cissna Park vs. PBL
Wednesday, 12/3/25:
5:00 PM: Watseka vs. Oakwood
6:30 PM: PBL vs. Kankakee Bishop McNamara
8:00 PM: Charleston vs. Cissna Park
Thursday, 12/4/25:
5:00 PM: Oakwood vs. ALAH
6:30 PM: Watseka vs. St. Joseph-Ogden
8:00 PM: Charleston vs. PBL
Friday, 12/5/25:
5:00 PM: Cissna Park vs. Kankakee Bishop McNamara
6:30 PM: ALAH vs. Watseka
8:00 PM: Oakwood vs. St. Joseph-Ogden
Saturday, 12/6/25:
1:00 PM: 7th Place Game
2:30 PM: 5th Place Game
4:00 PM: 3rd Place Game
5:30 PM: 1st Place Game
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TAGS: Toyota of Danville Classic 2025, St. Joseph-Ogden basketball tournament schedule, Bishop McNamara high school basketball, IHSA early-season basketball games, high school basketball 35-second shot clock, St. Joseph-Ogden basketball tickets, Charleston vs Cissna Park game, Oakwood vs ALAH matchup, Watseka vs St. Joseph-Ogden, PBL vs Bishop McNamara
Braydon Rupert goes up for a shot against a Longwood player at the Toyota of Danville Classic basketball game in December of last year. Rupert, who will be senior, and the Spartans will face three new teams at this year's installment of the holiday tournament. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
In a little more than four months from today, St. Joseph-Ogden and five other teams will compete in SJO's annual holiday tournament starting on Tuesday, December 3. The Spartan basketball program will host The Toyota of Danville Classic on December 3, 4, 6 and 7.
Fifteen games are scheduled over the four days with three contests will be held daily on each of the first three days of the tournament. All teams will play twice on December 7 with a total of six games going back-to-back on that Saturday.
Three familiar teams from the past several years, Chicago CICS Longwood, Oakwood and Armstrong-Potomac will not return to holiday tourney. New teams include Georgetown-Ridge Farm, who will represent the Vermilion Valley Conference and former Sangamon Valley Conference foe Watseka.
Also, joining the field of competition will be Lions of La Salette, who lost a one-point decision to Watseka in their last meeting on December 19 last year.
First year head coach and SJO alum Kiel Duval keeps a close eye on his team during their game against CIS Longwood at the Toyota of Danville Classic. SJO kicks off their tournament opener against Georgetown-Ridge Farm on December 3. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
The Spartans will open pool play against Georgetown-Ridge Farm at 6:30 pm on December 3 and a day later face La Salette in the 8 pm nightcap on December 4. After 48 hours of rest, head coach Kiel Duval's team will square off against 2019 Class 1A runner-up Cissna Park at 8 pm on December 6.
SJO will close out the Classic on December 7 in an 11:30 am matchup against the Hilltoppers of Schlarman and play the tournament finale at 7 pm against Watseka.
Jordan Kelly goes up for a shot in the second half during the Spartans' Toyota of Danville Classic basketball game against Cissna Park on December 21. SJO, who hope to rebound later this year and win this year's title, fell 66-37 to the Timberwolves, who went on to become a final four team in Class 1A and IHSA runner-up in the March 2019 state basketball finals. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
2019 Toyota of Danville Classic Schedule
(All games at St. Joseph-Ogden High School)
Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019
Game 1: Cissna Park vs. La Salette, 5 p.m.
Game 2: St. Joseph-Ogden vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 6:30 p.m.
Game 3: Schlarman vs. Watseka, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, December 4
Game 4: Cissna Park vs. Watseka, 5 p.m.
Game 5: Schlarman vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 6:30 p.m.
Game 6: St. Joseph-Ogden vs. La Salette, 8 p.m.
Friday, December 6
Game 7: La Salette vs. Schlarman, 5 p.m.
Game 8: Georgetown-Ridge Farm vs. Watseka, 6:30 p.m.
Game 9: St. Joseph-Ogden vs. Cissna Park, 8 p.m.
Saturday, December 7
Game 10: Cissna Park vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 10 a.m.
Game 11: St. Joseph-Ogden vs. Schlarman, 11:30 a.m.
Game 12: La Salette vs. Watseka, 1 p.m.
Game 13: Schlarman vs. Cissna Park, 4 p.m.
Game 14: Georgetown-Ridge Farm vs. La Salette, 5:30 p.m.
Game 15: Watseka vs. St. Joseph-Ogden, 7 p.m.
ST. JOSEPH - Formerly known as The Leader Classic, the annual Toyota of Danville Classic boys basketball tournament will tip off at 5pm tomorrow with the opening game between the Timberwolves of Cissna Park and the Panthers of Paxton-Buckley-Loda.
Now playing at Illinois State University, St. Joseph-Ogden's Ty Pence goes up for a dunk over Oakwood's Dalton Hobick during last year's Toyota of Danville Classic championship game. Pence, who finished with 33 points and was named All-Tournament MVP, won't be back this season. What will be new this year is the use a 35-second shot clock for all 16 tournament contests.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
This year's eight teams include 2022 runner-up Oakwood, Cissna Park, PBL, and St. Teresa in Pool A.
Pool B teams include Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond, Charleston, Watseka, and the hosts and 2022 champions, St. Joseph-Ogden.
St. Joseph-Ogden will play their first pool game on tomorrow evening against Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at 6:30pm. After a day of rest, SJO are on the hardwood three consecutive days starting on Thursday with the day's matinee against Watseka at 5pm. The Spartans will play their final pool game against Charleston, who make their first appearance in the holiday tournament on Friday.
Spectators and basketball fans can expect lots of fast-paced action. The tournament will be using an IHSA approved shot clock for all 16 contests this year.
Admission fees for this year's tournament are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Tickets will be available at the ticket booth at the main entrance before each game.
2023 Toyota of Danville Classic Schedule
(All games at St. Joseph-Ogden High School)Tuesday, 11/28/23:
5:00 PM: Cissna Park vs. PBL
6:30 PM: ALAH vs. St. Joseph-Ogden
8:00 PM: St. Teresa vs. Oakwood
Wednesday, 11/29/23:
5:00 PM: Watseka vs. Charleston
6:30 PM: PBL vs. St. Teresa
8:00 PM: Oakwood vs. Cissna Park
Thursday, 11/30/23:
5:00 PM: Watseka vs. St. Joseph-Ogden
6:30 PM: Charleston vs. ALAH
8:00 PM: Oakwood vs. PBL
Friday, 12/1/23:
5:00 PM: Cissna Park vs. St. Teresa
6:30 PM: ALAH vs. Watseka
8:00 PM: Charleston vs. St. Joseph-Ogden
Saturday, 12/2/23:
2:00 PM: 7th Place Game
3:30 PM: 5th Place Game
5:00 PM: 3rd Place Game
6:30 PM: 1st Place Game
The Spartans dominated the first half of their SJO Toyota of Danville Classic opener against Chicago Longwood galloping to a 17 point lead at the half against in their game on Friday night. The Panthers clawed their way back to get with in six points in the second half, but could not put the brakes on the Spartans, who picked up their third W of the season with a 72-64 win.
Sailing past Longwood's Amari Jordan, St. Joseph-Ogden's Jack Cook goes up for a shot in the first half of their SJO Toyota of Danville Classic basketball game on Friday. Cook, who hit 5 of his 6 free throw attempts, lead all scorers with 33 points. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
Entering their annual tournament at just 2-4, the victory was a confidence booster for the SJO basketball team who have the talent and depth, but are off to a ragged start this season.
"We did some good things in the first half," said head coach Kiel Duval praising his team's effort early in the game. "In the second half we struggled a little bit, turned the ball over and we didn't rebound at all."
He pointed out that his guards are learning to grow into their role on the court. Duval and every player on the roster know they have a lot to work on before postseason play in February. Rebounding and doing it aggressively will be a priority on the SJO's to-do list.
"We've got to learn to finish well," explained Duval, now seven games into his head coaching career. "We didn't screen out and gave them (Longwood) extra opportunities. We gave them too many extra possessions."
Spartan senior Jack Cook led the way in scoring for his team with 33 points. The game-high performance was 5 points shy of his career-high 38 points against Heritage last season.
From his perspective, the victory was a confidence booster and one step toward the team's goal of getting their record out of the red.
"This is a big win for us. We are trying to get above .500 by the end of the tournament," Cook said. "It's a big come back (for us) after playing so bad last week."
Cook scored on five of six attempts from the charity stripe.
SJO also received double digit scoring from two other seniors. After a silent second quarter, Joel Orcutt scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half. Keanen Swanson chipped in 10 points.
Longwood also had three players in double figures. Damari Fonza scored a team-high 19 points for the Panthers. Senior Nurell Lacey added 15 points and Marshawn Holliday rounded out top three scorers with 10 points.
Both teams will play two tournament games on Saturday.
Longwood will face Armstrong-Potomac at 10am and finish out their day going head-to-head with the Timberwolves of Cissna Park at 4pm.
Meanwhile, the Spartans Saturday SJO Toyota of Danville Classic campaign starts at 1pm against the Oakwood Comets and will conclude in showdown against Schlarman.
St. Joseph-Ogden's Coy Taylor tries to force a turnover while playing defense on Oakwood's Brody Taflinger in the 2023 Toyota of Danville Classic championship game. SJO beat the Comets, the number one team from Pool A, 74-42.
ST. JOSEPH - Months away, the eight-team lineup for this year's Toyota of Danville Basketball Classic was released earlier this week. The annual early season hoops tournament opens at St. Joseph-Ogden High School on December 2, and the championship games will take place five days later on December 7.
New to the tournament this year, Kankakee Bishop McNamara will join Cissna Park, Oakwood, and Paxton-Buckley-Loda in Pool A.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Charleston's Mikey Myers and ALAH's Colin Smith go up for a rebound at last year's pool play. The Trojans defeated the Knights, 59-26.
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond, Charleston, and Watseka return to Pool B with last year's champions St. Joseph-Ogden. The Spartans defeated Oakwood in the title game in the high school's main gym, 74-42.
Once again, spectators and basketball fans can expect 16 exciting, fast-paced games with the return of the 35-second shot clock.
Admission fees for this year's tournament are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Tickets will be available at the ticket booth at the main entrance before each game.
2024 Toyota of Danville Classic Schedule
Pool A:
Cissna Park
Oakwood
PBL
Kankakee Bishop McNamara Pool B:
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond
Charleston
St. Joseph-Ogden
Watseka Monday, 12/2/24:
5:00 PM: Kankakee Bishop McNamara vs. Oakwood
6:30 PM: ALAH vs. St. Joseph-Ogden
8:00 PM: Cissna Park vs. PBL Tuesday, 12/3/24:
5:00 PM: Charleston vs. ALAH
6:30 PM: Watseka vs. St. Joseph-Ogden
8:00 PM: Oakwood vs. PBL Wednesday, 12/4/24:
5:00 PM: Watseka vs. Charleston
6:30 PM: PBL vs. Kankakee Bishop McNamara
8:00 PM: Oakwood vs. Cissna Park Friday, 12/6/24:
5:00 PM: Cissna Park vs. Kankakee Bishop McNamara
6:30 PM: ALAH vs. Watseka
8:00 PM: Charleston vs. St. Joseph-Ogden Saturday, 12/7/24:
1:00 PM: 7 th Place Game
2:30 PM: 5 th Place Game
4:00 PM: 3 rd Place Game
5:30 PM: 1 st Place Game
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