Basketball: Teams prepare for area holiday tournaments

LAKE COUNTY – The holiday season is here. Along with presents, good food and plenty of family time, this is also the season for high school basketball tournaments. The next two weeks will be chalked full of action. Here is a look at where the teams of Lake County will be playing.

BOYS BASKETBALL

2015 Tartan Varsity Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament

Carmel will be one of the teams in the eight-team field at Tartan High School. The tournament runs Dec. 28 - 30, and each team is guaranteed three games. Carmel will begin play at 6:15 p.m. Dec. 28 against Centennial. If Carmel wins, they will play on at the same time Dec. 29. If they lose, the game will be at 2:45 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Dec. 30.

Hinkle Holiday Classic

Jacobs High School will once again host its annual holiday tournament. The dates of the tournament this year are Dec. 19, 21, 22, 23 and 26. The 16-team field is broken down into four pools. Grant and Lakes are the two area teams who will be competing this year. Grant will open pool play on at 9 a.m. Dec. 19 against Cary-Grove. On Dec. 21, Grant will face Zion-Benton at 3 p.m.. Grant will finish pool play at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 22 against Marian Central.

Lakes will begin pool play at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 19 against Barrington. On Dec. 21, the Eagles will face Corliss at 10:30 a.m. and will finish pool play at 3 p.m. Dec. 22 against Crystal Lake South.

After pool play is completed, the teams will be matched up against teams from the other pools who finished in similar spots in the standings. The final round will take place throughout the day Dec. 26 with the championship game scheduled for 7:30 p.m.. All games in the tournament will be played in the main gym at Jacobs High School.

87th Annual Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic

One of the longest running tournaments will once again be taking place at DeKalb High School. This year’s edition will begin on Dec. 26 and run through Dec. 30. Grayslake Central and Mundelein will be competing in this year’s tournament. The Rams will begin play at 4:45 p.m. Dec. 26 against Winnebago. The Rams will face the winner or loser of West Chicago and Harlem on Dec. 28, depending on if they win or lose the opening game.

Mundelein will face the host Barbs at 5:45 p.m. Dec. 6 as well. On Dec. 28, the Mustangs will face the winner or loser of the Belvidere Schurz matchup.

The finals of the tournament will be held Dec. 30 with the championship game scheduled for 8:15 p.m.

38th Annual Wildcat Hardwood Classic

Libertyville and Vernon Hills will be two of the 16 teams at Wheeling High School. The tournament runs Dec. 21 - 23, and finishes Dec. 26. In the opening game, Libertyville will play Prospect at 3:45 p.m. Dec. 21, while Vernon Hills will play Waukegan at 5:30 p.m. The finals are set for Dec. 26.

66th Annual E.C. Nichols Basketball Tournament

Antioch, Round Lake and Wauconda will all be at Marengo High School for tournament play. The tournament runs Dec. 19 - 23. In the opening round Dec. 19, Antioch will face Rockford Christian at 10:30 a.m, Round Lake will face Marengo at 6 p.m., and Wauconda will face North Boone at 7:30 p.m. The finals are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 23.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Mundelein Holiday Tournament

Mundelein High School will once again be the site of a holiday tournament. The Mustangs host a Thanksgiving and Christmas tournament each year and this year will be more of the same. Sixteen teams will play at the Mundelein Holiday Tournament, which starts Dec. 21 and runs through Dec. 26. Each day there will be eight games beginning at 9 a.m. The final game will take place at 8 p.m.

Lake County will be well represented once again at this year’s tournament with five teams taking part in the 16-team field. Grayslake North will face Hoffman Estates at 9 a.m. Dec. 21 to kick off the day's action. Grant will face Cary-Grove in its opening game at noon. Libertyville will face Streamwood at 1:30 p.m. and Vernon Hills will play against Lake Park at 6:30 p.m. The opening day will conclude with the host Mustangs facing Conant at 8 p.m.

The tournament will run all week with the exception of the Dec. 24 and 25, with the championship round scheduled for Dec. 26.

Blue Devil Classic Girls Basketball Tournament

Eight teams will take part in the holiday tournament scheduled at Warren High School. The format will feature two four-team divisions where each team will face play three games in pool play. The tournament runs Dec. 19 - 26.

Carmel will face Warren on Dec. 19, Elgin Larkin on Dec. 21 and Deerfield on Dec. 22. All games will be at 3 p.m.

Warren, in addition to playing Carmel on Dec. 19, will face Deerfield at 4:30 p.m Dec. 21 and Elgin Larkin at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 22.

Grayslake Central will face Lake Forest at noon Dec. 19, Phillips at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 21 and Wheeling at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 22.

The tournament will conclude Dec. 26 with the championship game scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Northern Illinois Holiday Classic

Lake County will have three teams in the 16-team tournament held at various sites throughout McHenry County. The tournament will begin Dec. 18 and concludes Dec. 22.

Lakes will begin play at 7 p.m. Dec. 18 against Crystal Lake South at Richmond-Burton High School. On Dec. 19, Lakes will play two games at Richmond-Burton with the first game at 10:30 a.m. against Marian Central, and the second game at 1 p.m. against Belvidere.

Round Lake opens at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 18 against Marengo in a game at McHenry High School. The Panthers return to McHenry on Dec. 19 for games at 10:30 a.m. against Crystal Lake Central and at 2:30 p.m. against McHenry.

Wauconda will begin play at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at Richmond-Burton against Rockford Jefferson. The Bulldogs' two games Dec. 19 will be at 10:30 a.m. against Woodstock North and at 2:30 p.m. against Richmond-Burton. Both of these games will be at Richmond-Burton.

The championship game is set for 12:30 p.m. Dec. 22 at McHenry High School.

Antioch will be playing in the Lisle High School Holiday Invite over break. Brackets for the tournament haven’t been released as of press time.