2014 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic nears
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’ 2014 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic tournaments will be held Friday, December 26 and Saturday, December 27 at the New Castle Fieldhouse featuring the top teams, talent, and coaching in the state.
2014 Girls’ City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
New Castle Fieldhouse – Friday, December 26, 2014
11:00 AM (ET) Mooresville vs. Center Grove
to follow Heritage Christian vs. Gary West
6:07 PM Consolation Game
to follow Championship Game
Another outstanding group of teams comes to the New Castle Fieldhouse on Friday, December 26 for the 2014 City Securities Girls’ Hall of Fame Classic. Entering the tournament the field sports a combined 37-7 record.
The first game begins at 11:00 a.m. (ET) with Mooresville (10-2) taking on Center Grove (9-2). The second game will feature Heritage Christian (11-0) versus Gary West (7-3). Losers of the afternoon games will meet in the consolation game at 6:07 PM with the championship contest to follow.
Mooresville (10-2, IBCA #15, ICGSA 4A #11) has returned all five starters from their 19-4 sectional championship team that also won a Mid-State Conference championship a season ago.
5’9” senior Sarah Corbin averages 14.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game, while 5’8” junior Lauren McBryar averages 12.1 points and 3.0 steals, 5’10” junior Morgan Matt averages 11.8 points and 5’7” senior Kellie Cavanaugh averages 6.1 points, 3.0 assists and 3.7 steals per game.
The Pioneers have won 19 or more games five of the last six seasons and have claimed six consecutive sectional championships.
Head Coach Mark Hurt is in his 18th year at Mooresville with a 298-92 record (.764) with the Pioneers. He has 360 victories overall in a 22-year career. He is the 9th winningest active Indiana high school girls coach and is the one of 26 coaches in Indiana high school girls basketball history to have reached 360 career wins.
Mooresville makes their 3rd appearance in the girls Classic. Hurt’s team was 2003 runners-up and participated in the 2009 event as well.
Center Grove (9-2, IBCA #10, ICGSA 4A #10) has started strong with eight holdovers from last season’s 16-4 record and 6-1 finish in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference.
5’5” junior point guard Lauren Rau averages 12.9 points and 4.8 assists, 5’7” senior Jessica Norris averages 11.6 points, 6’1” senior Regan Wentland (Indiana State University) averages 10.0 points and 3.3 steals, 5’10” senior Bri Gliesmann averages 9.9 points and 4.0 steals and 6’2” senior Ali Line averages 7.6 points and a team-best 5.3 rebounds per game.
Head coach Shawn Sanders is 73-47 in his 7th season as head coach at Center Grove and led the Trojans to a 31-10 record over the past two seasons. He led his 2010-2011 team to a sectional championship.
Center Grove makes their third appearance in the girls Classic. They were the 1996 girls HOF Classic champions and the 2000 girls Classic runners-up. The Center Grove boys team won the 2010 Classic.
Heritage Christian (11-0, IBCA #3, ICGSA 2A #1) is off to a perfect start with four returning starters from their 27-1 2014 2A state championship squad.
5’9” junior Tyasha Harris averages 19.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, 5’6” senior guard Sydney Hall (IUPUI) averages 11.9 points and 3.3 assists, 6’3” junior Darby Foresman (Indiana Univ.) averages 10.9 points and 5.1 rebounds, 5’10” senior Peyton Fallis (IPFW) averages 10.1 points and 3.4 rebounds and 5’10” senior Allison Schofield averages (Valparaiso Univ.) 7.2 points for the Eagles.
Heritage Christian has a 62-4 (.939) record since the beginning of the 2012-13 season and is 2nd in the state this season scoring 78.2 points per game while winning games by an average margin of 38.6 points per game (3rd in state). Since the start of the 2000-01 season, they are 299-65 (.821), which is best in girls basketball in the state for wins and winning percentage over that period.
Heritage Christian has won five 2A championships in the past 8 years, all under head coach Rick Risinger. Risinger has a 214-37 (.853) record over his 10.5 seasons leading the program and has the highest winning percentage of any active coach in the state with 10 or more years of experience.
Heritage Christian makes their second appearance in the girls Classic. The Eagles were the 2006 consolation game winners.
Gary West (7-3) lost just one senior from last year’s 18-4 sectional championship roster, and has already faced a daunting midseason schedule. The Cougars have lost to South Bend St. Joe’s, defending 4A and Hall of Fame Classic champion Bedford North Lawrence and Fort Wayne Canterbury this season – teams that are currently a combined 31-0.
5’6” sophomore star Dana Evans averages 21.5 points, 4.1 steals, 3.9 assists and 2.3 rebounds this season, shooting 52.8% from the field. 5’6” senior Lexus Fox averages 14.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals, while 5’5” senior Amari Ferguson averages 7.9 points, 5’7” senior Ashley Danzy scores 7.7 points and 5’10” junior Jerrica Neal averages 7.5 points per game.
The Cougars have lost seven or fewer games for 14 consecutive years. Since the beginning of the 2000-01 season, they are 268-72 (.788), which is the 4th highest winning percentage in the state in that span, with seven sectional championships, including a 2005 4A state runner-up finish.
Head coach Rodney Fisher is in the midst of his 31st season at Gary West, where he is 488-128 (.792). His 607-185 (.766) career record makes him the 3rd winningest coach in Indiana high school girls history.
Gary West makes their first ever appearance in either the girls or boys Classic.
The 2014 edition is the 31st girls’ City Securities Hall of Fame Classic and 25th played in New Castle. The girls’ tournament has included 17 teams that went on to win a state championship that season, including 10 state champions and five state runner-up teams in the past 12 years alone.
21 young women who went on to win Indiana’s Miss Basketball title have participated in the girls Classic, including each of the last six Miss Basketball winners (Skylar Diggins, Courtney Moses, Bria Goss, Jessica Rupright, Stephanie Mavunga and Whitney Jennings). Girls legends who have played in the Classic include Stephanie White, Katie Gearlds, Shanna Zolman, Lisa Shepherd, Abby Conklin, April McDivitt, Kelly Faris, Jennifer Jacoby, Jodie Whitaker, Shrya Ely and Tiffany Gooden, among others.
2014 Boys’ City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
New Castle Fieldhouse – Saturday, December 27, 2014
11:00 AM (ET) Southport vs. Batesville
to follow Brownsburg vs. Penn
6:07 PM Consolation Game
to follow Championship Game
The 2014 Boys’ City Securities Hall of Fame Classic will feature four outstanding teams vying for the prestigious holiday tournament championship. Entering the tournament, the teams have a combined record of 21-5.
The day begins with an 11:00 a.m (ET) meeting between Southport (6-0) versus Batesville (3-3). The second game will match Brownsburg (6-1) and Penn (6-1). The losers will play at 6:07 that evening in the consolation game, with the championship game to follow.
Southport (6-0, IBCA #1, AP 4A #1) returned five starters from last year’s 15-8 campaign and turnaround effort.
5’10” senior guard Malik Bennett averages 17.3 points and 3.5 assists, 6’10” junior Joey Brunk averages 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 75% from the field, and 6’3” sophomore Paul Scruggs averages 13.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game.
Southport was the most improved team in the state last season, recording 14 wins more than their 1-18 mark during the 2012-13 season. Their 2013-14 campaign was their first winning season in five years.
Kyle Simpson (22-27) is in his third season as head coach at Southport. A former Bloomington South assistant coach, Simpson was on the bench for the Panthers’ 2005 and 2010 Classic runner-up teams.
Southport makes their second appearance in the boys Classic. The Cardinals won the 1990 consolation game.
Batesville (3-3) enters the Classic dealing with the loss of star senior Bryan Hoeing, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on December 6. The Bulldogs were 18-4 last season, with three of those losses coming to 3A state champion and last year’s HOF Classic champion, Greensburg.
Hoeing averaged 19.1 points and 8.0 rebounds last season and scored 32 points in this season’s opening win versus Jac-Cen-Del. 6’6” senior Blake Walsman averages 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals, 6’1” senior Jacob Vogelsang averages 8.0 points and 6’6” senior Matt Dennis averages 7.3 points and and 6.3 rebounds.
Long established as one of the state’s yearly contending programs, the Bulldogs have recorded nine consecutive winning seasons and have won 15 or more games 16 of the last 21 years.
Under head coach Aaron Garrett, the Bulldogs are 111-31 (.782) in his seventh season, including a 2011 3A semi-state appearance.
The Batesville boys program makes its’ third appearance in the boys Classic. They won the 1996 championship led by star Michael Menser and Garrett was an assistant coach to Mel Siefert when the Bulldogs were the 2006 Classic runners-up. The Batesville girls team won the 1989 Classic.
Brownsburg (6-1, IBCA #8, AP 4A #7) continues to flourish in the 2nd season of the Steve Lynch era, following last year’s 21-3 sectional championship effort.
6’3” senior guard K.J. Walton has averaged 24.6 points and 6.4 rebounds this season, 6’3” senior guard Darrian Ringo has returned from injury to put up 9.3 points, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game, while 6’4” senior forward Jordache Mavunga averages 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds and 6’3” sophomore Landon Hall contributes 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds.
The Bulldogs won 12 straight games last season leading into their regional loss to Pike and ended the season ranked AP 4A #5 and IBCA #7. Giving up just 43.8 points a game, their defense ranked 10th in the state last season.
Lynch is now 27-4 at Brownsburg and 130-56 (.699) in his nine-year career at Mt. Vernon (Fortville) and Brownsburg, leading teams to back-to-back sectional titles (Mt. Vernon in 2013 and Brownsburg in 2014).
The Brownsburg boys team makes their 2nd ever appearance in the boys Classic. They were the 1991 Classic runners-up. Lynch is no stranger to the Classic, having led his Mt. Vernon team to the 2009 championship. The Brownsburg girls won the 2010 girls Classic.
Penn (6-1, IBCA #11, AP 4A #18) appears in the Classic on the heels of last season’s 23-2 4A regional finals appearance with a trio of experienced seniors.
6’3” senior Ryan Lutz averages 15.3 points and 3.3 assists, 6’0” senior Billy Doslak averages 12.4 points and 3.3 assists, 5’8” senior Nate Miller averages 8.4 points and 2.6 assists, 6’3” junior Trey Burns averages 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds and 6’5” junior Camden Bohn averages 6.4 points and 5.3 rebounds.
The Kingsmen are 46-8 since the start of the 2012-13 season, including a 2013-14 Northern Indiana Conference title and 4A sectional championship.
Penn is led by Hall of Fame coach Al Rhodes. In his seventh season at his alma mater, his teams are 91-52. In 34 years overall, Rhodes has a 545-244 (.691) record. Rhodes is a 1970 graduate of Penn High School, coached the 1984 Warsaw state champions and was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Penn makes their first appearance in the boys Classic. Penn’s girls team won the 2011 Girls Classic. Rhodes has previous success in the Classic – his Warsaw team won the 1994 championship, defeating Madison and eventual state champion Ben Davis on December 28, 1994.
The 2014 Boys’ City Securities Hall of Fame Classic is the 37th edition of the boys’ tournament. 13 participating teams have gone on to win their state championship, with four more finishing as state runner-up that season. 24 men who have played in the Boys Classic have been named Indiana Mr. Basketball (including 11 of the last 14 Mr. Basketballs), 23 have been named McDonald’s All-Americans, and 16 have been NBA draft picks (two #1 overall picks).
For the 18th 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.
Tickets for the event are available through the participating schools and at the New Castle Fieldhouse on the day of the games.
In-game entertainment will feature world-renowned Tanya Crevier and her nephew Caleb performing the most “spintacular” basketball show that has ever been seen. Crevier, a native of South Dakota, has been considered the world’s finest female basketball handler and is known for her longtime association of performing at the Taylor University basketball camp. She has performed at numerous NBA and major college basketball events.
All games will be televised in Central Indiana on WHMB TV-40 Sports, available on all major cable and satellite providers and concurrently in Northern Indiana on WHME-TV 46 for the boys games. Friday’s girls semifinals games will broadcast at 3:00 PM (ET) and 4:30 PM with the consolation at 8:30 PM and championship at 10:30 PM. The boys semifinals will air on Saturday on WHMB and WHME at 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM with the consolation at 8:00 PM and championship at 9:30 PM. Each game will be available live via video webcast at http://www.ihigh.com/whmb/index.html