Filippone leads Antioch to pair of wins
Antioch's boys basketball team picked up a pair of wins downstate on Friday to advance to the consolation championship of The Christmas Classic co-hosted by Effingham and Teutopolis.
Dan Filippone scored 34 points, tying his season and career high, as Antioch started the day by defeating Altamont 79-52 at Teutopolis. The senior guard then scored 22 points in a 60-50 victory over Brooks.
Antioch (9-4, 2-1 tourney) plays Oak Lawn at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Effingham.
Austin Andrew added 18 points for the Sequoits against Altamont, and Eli Vanderwagen added 11. Against Brooks, Robbie Christiansen had 9 points, while Vanderwagen and Kevin Tebbe chipped in eight apiece.
Alton 51, Carmel 45: At Centralia, the Corsairs dropped their first game in the 76th annual tournament.
Kimahri Wilson's 15 points led Carmel (10-5, 1-1 tourney), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Johnny Roeser and Damone Williams-Gray added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Carmel plays Centralia at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
Mundelein 59, Carbondale 45: At Carbondale, the Mustangs trailed 24-19 at halftime but outscored Carbondale 40-19 in the second half.
Scottie Ebube had 17 points and 7 rebounds for Mundelein (8-5), which improved to 2-0 in the tournament. Jack Bikus added 14 points, Conor Enright had 11, and Andrew Gonzalez chipped in 7 points and 7 rebounds.
Mundelein plays Marion in the semifinals at noon on Saturday at Southern Illinois University.
Warren 58, Peoria Manual 56: At Pontiac, the Blue Devils bounced back from their tournament-opening loss by rallying in the second half to pull out the win.
Adnan Sarancic had 18 points and 5 rebounds for Warren (5-6, 1-1 tourney), which trailed 25-18 at halftime but outscored Manual 21-15 in the third quarter and 19-16 in the fourth.
Jordan Johnson added 11 points for the Blue Devils, who play in the consolation-bracket semifinals at 8 a.m. Saturday against West Aurora.
Grant 55, Payton Prep 46: At Jacobs, Hunter Waszkowski scored 16 points, and the Bulldogs improved to 2-2 in the Hinkle Holiday Classic.
Grant (8-7) also got 10 points from Henry Kusiak and 7 points apiece from Tavarus Williams and Joe Gorden. The Bulldogs wrap up the tournament against Johnsburg at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Taft 53, Grayslake Central 44: At Wheeling, the Rams fell to 0-3 in the Hardwood Classic, despite Antonio Crews' game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers, and 4 assists.
Daniel Guckenberger had 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for Grayslake Central (6-7), which plays Wheeling at 9 a.m. Saturday in its tournament finale.
Taft was led by Jared Bandi's 18 points (four 3-pointers) and 7 rebounds.
Round Lake 59, Geneseo 57: At Marengo, Hakim Williams scored 23 points, as the Panthers picked up their first win in the E.C. Nichols tournament.
Kevonne Peterson added 11 points for Round Lake (6-8, 1-2 tourney), and Musiq Brantley had 8 points.
Wauconda 75, Rockford Christian 56: At Marengo, Donovan Carter scored 22 points, including two 3-pointers and an 8-of-8 showing from the foul line, as the Bulldogs improved to 2-1 in the E.C. Nichols tournament.
Nick Bulgarelli added 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for Wauconda (5-7). Benji Chung scored 17 points (three 3-pointers) for the Bulldogs.
Vernon Hills 54, Argo 45: At Maine East, Ryan Jacobson's 15 points led the Cougars to their first win in the tournament.
Joey Levitan added 13 points for Vernon Hills (3-12, 1-2 tourney), which had lost seven games in a row.
Chicago Bulls Prep 60, Lakes 51: At Maine East, the Eagles dropped their third game in the tournament.
Brad Cherry scored 15 points to lead Lakes (2-10, 1-2 in the tourney).
United Township 73, Lake Zurich 50: At Pekin, the Bears lost their first of two games on the day.
J.R. Cison scored 18 points for the Bears (3-11, 1-1 tourney).