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 members 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 in practice,” head coach Ernie Colombe said.
The Knights won 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 as the fans who could not find seats stood rows deep alongside the court.
“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.”
Before pushing their record to 12-1, the Knights prepared for the game by going through walk-throughs and taking plenty of shots in their gym back at Kaneland.
“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.”
Even before the teams took the court, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and energy. As the back-and-forth game went on, there were certain moments that Kaneland players thought changed the momentum in their favor.
“The highlight of the game for the team as a whole was [sophomore center] Jeffrey Hassan’s dunk over the defender,” Cocroft said. “That dunk gave the entire gym energy and lifted us as a team.”
Not only did dunks from Jeffrey and his older brother, senior forward Freddy Hassan, 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 me was taking a charge on the baseline while holding a slight lead with a little time left 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 Mustangs had 20 team fouls and two players, Aguado and junior point guard Jayden Riley, foul out in the fourth quarter. Riley earned All-Tournament honors after the game.
The game’s score consistently went back-and-forth, with no team ever holding a lead greater than 10. By halftime, everyone in the gym seemed to have a sense that the game would come down to the final moments. Colombe and his staff entered the halftime locker room with a few adjustments they wanted to make.
“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,” Colombe said.
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.
