The Kaneland Knights defeated the Yorkville Christian Mustangs 91-85 on Saturday, Dec. 28, at Plano High School in the 61st annual Plano Christmas Classic, earning the Knights their second consecutive championship and their record-setting fifth in program history.
The 16-team tournament began on Monday, Dec. 23, before resuming on Thursday, Dec. 26 and concluding on Saturday, Dec. 28.
In last year’s championship game, the Knights defeated Plano, the tournament host, 55-53 on a nearly game-ending three-pointer by all-time leading scorer and current University of Wisconsin-Whitewater quarterback Troyer Carlson. After earning the tournament’s number one overall seed for the second year in a row, preparation to compete against this many teams looking to take them down was important to the players and staff.
“The staff prepare the same for every game by watching film of our opponents…we also try to keep the team focused on getting a little bit better every day via practice,” head coach Ernie Colombe said.
The Knights played three games in order to get to the championship. They opened with Gardner-South Wilmington before taking on conference opponent LaSalle-Peru in the second round. The Knights then had a rematch of last year’s semi final against Streator, and the Knights won 70-44 to advance to Saturday’s championship. In each of their first three games, Kaneland won by a differential of at least 25 points.
In the championship game against Yorkville Christian, the stands were packed.
“I felt really good about playing in this big stage atmosphere,” junior point guard Marshawn Cocroft said. “Before the game, I just had [my] mindset locked in on just getting the trophy.”
To push their record to 12-1, the Knights prepared before the game, both mentally and by practicing certain skills they thought were needed to win.
“Before the game, I went to the gym to get shots up since my threes weren’t falling during the tournament,” said senior guard Luke Reinert, who finished with 14 points. “This got me prepared and confident for the game.”
As the teams took the court, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and energy. As the game went on, there were certain moments that changed the momentum in favor of the Knights. Several dunks by senior forward Freddy Hassan and his sophomore brother and center Jeffrey Hassan impacted the energy of the crowd.
“The highlight of the game for the team as a whole was Jefferey’s dunk over the defender,” Cocroft said. “That dunk gave the entire gym energy and to us as a team.”
Not only did these dunks provide energy for the crowd and team, but Kaneland’s ability to get key Yorkville Christian players into foul trouble made a difference as well. .
“The highlight of the game for myself was taking a charge on the baseline while holding a slight lead with little time in the fourth,” Reinert said. “Also, getting [Yorkville Christian senior] Noah Aguado in foul trouble, and eventually getting him to foul out of the game…really changed the game [for us] and allowed our bigs to go to work.”
The Knights had 14 total fouls by the end of the game. The Mustangs had 20 team fouls and two players – Aguado and junior point guard Jayden Riley – foul out in the fourth quarter.
The game’s score consistently went back-and-forth. By halftime, everyone in the gym seemed to have a sense that the game would come down to the final moments. .
“Coaching is a passion for most of us,” Colombe said. “In the middle of the game you have to be able to stay focused on what you’re trying to accomplish and stay one step ahead of [the] opponent.”
Freddy Hassan finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds, earning him All-Tournament honors a year after winning the tournament’s MVP award. Cocroft scored 20 points and was recognized as this year’s tournament MVP. Reinert had four assists in addition to his 14 points, and Jeffrey Hassan finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Riley led all scorers with 39 points, while Yorkville Christian sophomore guard Tray Alford added 23 in the losing effort.
The Knights will next take the court on Saturday, Jan. 4, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee in a rematch of last season’s Sectional semifinal against Belvidere North.
