2012 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic Approaching
NEW CASTLE – With the approaching holidays, another edition of the most prestigious regular season tournament in Indiana high school basketball – the City Securities Hall of Fame Classic – is near.
The girls- and boys- 2012 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic tournaments will be held Thursday, December 27 and Friday, December 28 at the New Castle Fieldhouse featuring the top teams, talent, and coaching in the state.
2012 Girls- City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
New Castle Fieldhouse – Thursday, December 27, 2012
11:00 AM (ET) Hamilton Southeastern vs. Columbus North
to follow Evansville Mater Dei vs. Logansport
6:00 PM Consolation Game
to follow Championship Game
Another outstanding group of teams comes to the New Castle Fieldhouse on Thursday, December 27 for the 2012 City Securities Girls- Hall of Fame Classic. Through December 18, all four teams are undefeated, ranked in the state-s Top 7 and sport a combined 37-0 record.
The first game begins at 11:00 a.m. (ET) with Hamilton Southeastern (10-0, IBCA #2) taking on Columbus North (8-0, IBCA #1). The second game will feature Evansville Mater Dei (9-0, IBCA #6) versus Logansport (10-0, IBCA #7). Losers of the afternoon games will meet in the consolation game at 6:00 PM with the championship contest to follow.
On the heels of an undefeated 2011-12 regular season, Hamilton Southeastern has won 34 consecutive regular season contests, dating back to January 11, 2011. The Royals are led by Miss Basketball candidate Taya Reimer (committed to Notre Dame), a 6-4- senior, who is averaging 22.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game and recently scored her 1,000th career point. 6-2- classmate Jessica Pongonis (St. Joseph-s (PA)) is averaging 10.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
Over the last 10 seasons, the Royals have the state-s best winning percentage (171-33, .838) and head coach Chris Huppenthal (314-67, .842) has the best career winning percentage amongst active coaches of 10 or more seasons. The Hamilton Southeastern girls make their 2nd appearance in the girls- Classic; they were champions of the 2004 event. Huppenthal enters having coached a Classic champion – he led Highland H.S. to the 2000 girls- Classic title.
Columbus North lost just one senior from last season-s 4A runner-up squad and holds a regular season winning streak of their own. Reeling off 19 straight wins to reach the 2012 4A championship game, the Bull Dogs have won 22 consecutive regular season games and 27 of their last 28 overall. Sophomore point guard Ali Patberg averages 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists, while junior Tayler Goodall contributes 10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
Columbus North makes their first ever appearance in the girls- Classic and their girls program has never faced Classic competitors Hamilton Southeastern, Evansville Mater Dei or Logansport. Head coach Pat McKee is a 2008 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, as a recipient of the St.Vincent Health Silver Medal for contributions to Indiana high school basketball. A former sportswriter with the Indianapolis Star, McKee is in his 3rd season as head coach at Columbus North, where his record is 50-11.
Defending 2A champion Evansville Mater Dei has won 37 of their last 38 contests and has defeated every program they have faced in the past calendar year (their lone defeat last season was avenged in a city tournament rematch with Evansville Bosse). Their 36-1 (.973) record since the start of last season is the best mark in the state. Junior Maura Muensterman shoots 59% from the field on her way to averages of 22.6 points, 10.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 steals per game. Sophomore center Tori Schickel averages 18.8 points and 8.1 rebounds.
Evansville Mater Dei is 10th in the state averaging 70.56 points per game and has the 5th largest margin of victory (32.56). They make their first ever appearance in either the girls- or boys- Classic. Their head coach is Steve Goans, who has a career record of 162-118 at his alma mater over 15 seasons and led them to their first ever girls- basketball regional, semi-state and state championships last season.
Logansport has returned a majority of their 20-4 North Central Conference champion squad from a year ago. Junior point guard Whitney Jennings (Iowa) averages 25.5 points, 8.8 assists, 4.6 steals and 3.6 rebounds, senior Rachel Jennings averages 16.4 points and 2.6 assists, while sophomore post Nakeya Penny averages 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds.
The Berries have the 7th highest scoring offense in the state (71.2 ppg) and have the state-s largest margin of victory (36.7 ppg). Also among the state-s best, Logansport is 85-16 (.842) since the beginning of the 2008-09 season. Logansport makes their first ever appearance in either the girls- or boys- Classic. Logansport coach Jerry Hoover is in his 11th year with the girls program and has 30 years as a high school boys and girls head coach. He has 368 career wins, 132 at Logansport.
The 2012 edition is the 29th girls- City Securities Hall of Fame Classic and 23rd played in New Castle. The girls- tournament has included 15 teams that went on to win a state championship that season, including eight state champions and five state runner-up teams in the past 10 years alone.
2012 Boys- City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
New Castle Fieldhouse – Friday, December 28, 2012
11:00 AM (ET) Cathedral vs. Jay County
to follow Indianapolis Tech vs. Fort Wayne Northrop
6:00 PM Consolation Game
to follow Championship Game
The 2012 Boys- City Securities Hall of Fame Classic will pit four teams who have been ranked highly in statewide polls and have talent and coaching poised to put them in position for another outstanding season. Through December 18, the teams hold a combined record of 17-4.
The day begins with an 11:00 a.m (ET) meeting between Cathedral (2-2, IBCA #15) and Jay County (5-0, AP 4A #11). The second game will match Indianapolis Tech (5-1, IBCA #7) and Fort Wayne Northrop (5-1, IBCA #3). The losers will play at 6:00 that evening in the consolation game, with the championship game to follow.
The opening game includes the Cathedral Irish, who were the preseason #1 team in the state. While playing without standout Collin Hartman, the Irish have lost early games against highly ranked Warren Central and to fellow Classic competitor Indianapolis Tech by a combined four points. The 6-6- senior forward Hartman (Indiana University) scored 18 points in his season debut against Louisville Ballard on December 15. 6-0- senior point guard Mo Evans (IPFW) and 6-2- sophomore guard Jalen Coleman help pace the Irish.
The Irish have won 17 or more games 10 of the past 12 seasons and their .753 winning percentage over the past 20 seasons (since 1993) is 4th best in the state. The Irish make their 3rd appearance in the boys- Classic, having won both previous events (in 1982 and 2006). Head coach Andy Fagan is in his 3rd year at his alma mater with a 39-10 record there and 73-42 career record in six seasons.
Jay County returns five starters and seven of their top eight players from last season-s 18-4 squad. Under head coach Craig Teagle the Patriots have had 11 consecutive winning seasons and have won 15 or more games in eight of the last 10 seasons. 6-0- senior guard Brock McFarland (Grace College) led the Patriots last season at 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and 6-1- senior guard Kegan Comer (St. Francis) averaged 12.7 points and a team-high 4.6 last season.
Jay County led the state defensively in the 2011-12 season, allowing just 35 points per game and are 4th in the state this season, allowing 35.4 points per contest. Patriots head coach Craig Teagle opened the season notching his 200th win at Jay County; he is 204-119 in 15 seasons at the school and 280-172 in 21 seasons overall. Jay County makes their 2nd appearance in the boys- Classic; they were runner-up in the 1987 event.
A program on the upswing, the Indianapolis Tech Titans have returned their top five scorers from last season-s 16-5 squad; Tech had won 17 games in the previous three seasons combined. The Titans- main cog is 6-10- junior Trey Lyles, who averaged 21.0 points, 14.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks last season. He recorded 24 points and 12 rebounds in Tech-s December 15 victory over Chicago Curie H.S. 6-0- senior guard Leo Williams has averaged 13.8 points per game so far this season.
Tech makes their first ever appearance in either the boys- or girls- Classic. They are the 2nd Indianapolis Public Schools team to participate in the boys- Classic, the first since Howe in 1978. Having led the Titans to their most successful season in the last 22 years, Jason Delaney recorded his 100th career victory at Cathedral on December 7. Delaney began his career leading Waldron to a 27-0 1A championship in 2004. He is 21-6 in his 2nd season at Tech and 102-84 overall in nine seasons.
Led by the dynamic Scott twins, Fort Wayne Northrop has won two consecutive sectional championships. 6-2- senior guard Bryson Scott (Purdue University) entered the season having already scored a school record 1,400 career points; he averaged 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 3.1 assists in his junior year. 6-0- twin brother Brenton Scott (Indiana State) had eclipsed 1,000 career points before beginning this season; he averaged 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals last season.
Northrop makes their first appearance in the boys- Classic. Their girls program won the 1986 event in the midst of their record-setting 57-game winning streak. Northrop is the first member of the Summit Athletic Conference to appear in the boys- Classic since 1978. Head coach Barak Coolman is 66-31 in five seasons at Northrop.
The 2012 Boys- City Securities Hall of Fame Classic is the 36th edition of the boys- tournament. 12 participating teams have gone on to win their state championship, with four more finishing as state runner-up that season. 22 men who have played in the Boys Classic have been named Indiana Mr. Basketball (including nine of the last 12 Mr. Basketballs), 22 have been named McDonald-s All-Americans, and 14 have been NBA draft picks (two #1 overall picks).
For the 16th consecutive season, City Securities Corporation is the title sponsor of the event. Founded in 1924, City Securities Corporation is the oldest and largest independent, full-service investment firm in Indiana. Having financed more projects for Indiana schools and municipalities than any other firm in history, City Securities has, quite literally, helped build the State of Indiana. Since 1980, the firm has helped underwrite over $45 billion for state and local projects. Today, City Securities is still a leader in municipal bonds (underwriting 50% of all competitive and negotiated bids), but is also so much more – offering full-service personal investment advisors, as well as expertise in corporate and public finance. A wholly-owned subsidiary of City Financial Corporation, City Securities is headquartered in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.
Tickets for the event are available through the participating schools, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, and at the New Castle Fieldhouse on the day of the games. Order girls’ or boys’ tickets online or for more information, call (765) 529-1891 or email info@hoopshall.com
In-game entertainment will include Tony Hoard and the K9 Crew. Hoard, a New Castle native, has made appearances with his dogs on ABC-s -Good Morning America- and made a long run on NBC-s -America-s Got Talent.-
Musical performances of the National Anthem will include 1972 Indiana Mr. Basketball and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Phil Cox; Pendleton native and Nashville artist Corey Cox; Connersville-s Stan Howard, father of former Butler University star Matt Howard; Shenandoah High School-s Ivy Walker; Sherry Sutton of Indianapolis; and representatives of the participating schools.
All games will be televised in Central Indiana on WHMB TV-40 Sports. Morning games will air tape-delayed at 2:00 and 3:30 that afternoon with live coverage of the consolation and championship games each night.