2024 Tournament Preview - Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament
Macomb, Ill. — The bracket is set for the 2024 edition of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. Three consecutive days of high school boys’ basketball are set for December 26-28 on the campus of Western Illinois University.
This year’s field features three Sweet 16 teams from their respective classes from last season, the debut of a pair of newcomers to the field: Peoria Christian and Mercer County, and the return of Bushnell-Prairie City.
The West Hancock Titans will attempt to repeat what they accomplished in 2018: winning the tournament as the No. 1 seed. In fact, it has been that long – 6 years – since the top seed has prevailed in the championship game.
The Titans come in as the lone ranked team in the latest AP poll, earning the #8 ranking in 2A. West Hancock has played a challenging pre-tournament slate, most recently falling to the top ranked team in 2A, Peoria Manual, in the Great Western Shootout, halting the Titans’ 8-game winning streak.
West Hancock, which was last the first seed in 2019, is led by 2023 all-tournament team member senior guard Lewis Siegfried and 6-9 center Cooper Knowles.
West Hancock will take the floor at 7:00 pm in the first round versus Bushnell-P.C. The Spartans, who have won two titles in their long tournament history, are making their first appearance since 2009. B-PC, which began the season with five straight losses, has shown improved results since, winning three out of the last six contests.
Fans might want to take it easy on their Christmas dinner leftovers as the opening game of the tournament set for 9:00 am on Dec. 26 might well be the best of the first round. The Brown County Hornets and Illini West Chargers will bring a combined 15-5 record into a much anticipated lid-lifter.
Indeed, both squads came firing out of the gates this season, winning their Thanksgiving tournaments. Brown County prevailed in Beardstown, taking down the defending Class 1A state champs from Winchester West Central in the championship game, while Illini West emerged from a messy three-team tie-breaker in the Bushnell Tip-off. The Chargers’ prevailed 31-29 in a slugfest over Illini Bluffs, which still stands at the only loss Illini Bluffs has suffered this year.
It will be a contrast in styles, to say the least, as Illini West has allowed more than 42 points in a game just once all season, while Brown County’s new coach, Jeff Bottorf’s up-tempo style has led to a scoring average of over 59 points for the Hornets. Brown County has a nice mix of veterans and newcomers, but watch out for the sophomore duo of Carter Havens and Jackson McNeff, who was named tournament MVP at Beardstown.
The 10:30 am game will feature a pair of Sweet 16 finalists from last postseason in Camp Point Central and No. 3 seed Rockridge. As usual, the Central Panthers got a bit of a late start to the basketball season due to another deep postseason run in football. Two of the best defenders in the area on that team, junior Kadin Niekamp and senior Elijah Genenbacher, will try to extend Central’s winning streak in the first round to 4 years against a highly regarded Rockridge squad, which has earned a top 4 seed in the tournament six times in a row.
The Rockets have captured 5 of the last 10 tournament titles, including last year’s with a 36-33 triumph over Macomb. Rockridge certainly hasn’t ducked any competition prior to the tournament, compiling a 7-4 record against seven opponents with at least 8 wins already. Senior forward Landon Bull will be a marked man after winning tournament MVP last year, but look out for senior sharp-shooter Caleb Cunico, who set a school record, sinking nine three-pointers in his most recent effort at the Great Western Shootout.
Winners of five consecutive regional titles, the Peoria Christian Chargers will make their first tournament appearance in the Noon game versus Farmington. Christian earned the #2 seed with a 10-3 pre-tournament record, including a run to the championship game at the Peoria Heights Thanksgiving Tournament. The Chargers are led by 2023-24 IBCA First Team All-Stater Malachi Persinger, who nearly posted a triple-double last time out in a blowout victory over 9-2 Seneca at the Eureka College Shootout.
Farmington will need to pull off a big upset to continue what has been an outstanding run of success in tournament play. The Farmers have not lost in the first round in nine years and have landed in the championship game in two of the last four attempts. Despite a run to the semifinals in football, Farmington began with a third-place finish in the Fulton County tournament before losing five straight, including four to fellow tournament members. They got back on track in their last contest, however, topping Southeastern 66-52 at the Great Western Shootout.
Liberty and Monmouth-Roseville will square off in the 1:30 game, closing out the first session of Day 1. Both squads are under new management this season, although Liberty head coach Dan Sparrow and Mon-Rose boss Check Grant are hardly newcomers to the scene.
Liberty will look to end a six-game tournament losing streak, which includes a loss to Monmouth-Roseville in the consolation round two years ago. The Eagles made a run to the title game of the Pittsfield Turkey Tournament before falling to the hosts 45-39. They have won 5 out of 7 since, with each win coming by double digits. Monmouth-Roseville also comes into the holidays playing well. The Titans have won six out of their last seven games, including a rare matchup with their cross-town rivals from Monmouth United, 52-38 at the Great Western Shootout.
The evening session of the opening round will begin with a 4:00 pm tip-off between Mercer County and Pittsfield. This is yet another matchup between a pair of Thanksgiving tournament champs. The Golden Eagles will make their tournament debut this season, although Aledo, which is part of the Mercer Co. consolidation, played in the tournament in the past. Mercer blazed through the Orion Tip-Off Tournament, capturing the first place trophy with four consecutive double-digit wins. Pittsfield won its home Turkey Tournament with a six-point decision over Liberty.
The Macomb Bombers and Canton Little Giants will tee it up at 5:30 pm in a rare first round matchup between traditional tournament powers. The Bombers are coming off the most successful campaign of Jeremy Anderson’s tenure as head coach. Macomb was at its best in tournament play last season, advancing to the holiday tournament championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2010, and then closing out the season with a supersectional appearance in the Elite 8 round of the postseason. The Bombers boast a veteran backcourt with seniors Braden Holthaus and Malachi Conley, and junior Drew Watson. They come into the holidays at 8-2, including two impressive wins over Illini West.
Canton has been the victim of a rugged Mid-illini schedule recently, but the Little Giants should not be underestimated, given their performance at the Fulton County Tournament, which resulted in a first place finish. The strength for Canton lies in the backcourt as well, with senior Logan Nichols and juniors Gavin Otto and Lakon Otto.
The nightcap has a scheduled tip-off of 8:30, a fan friendly hour earlier with the revamped schedule this season. It will be a green-out as the Eureka Hornets and A-Town Tornadoes take the floor. The last game of Day 1 is traditionally a toss-up game, and who knows what might happen here as both sides come in at just under .500 on the year?
Eureka came into last year’s tournament looking to become the third ever three-time champions. That dream ended quickly with a first round loss to Farmington, but the Hornets pulled together, winning the consolation bracket, giving them a tremendous 11-1 record in tournament play over the last three years. The matchup with A-Town could be a good omen for Eureka, who last played the Tornadoes in the first round in 2021. Eureka survived a buzzer-beater to win 43-41 before reeling off three more wins for its first ever tournament title. While Abingdon/Avon may be just 4-6, the Tornadoes have played seven games versus teams with winning records thus far, including Monmouth-Roseville, Elmwood, and Ridgewood, who A-Town has all beaten.
Tournament play will continue December 27 and 28, beginning at 9:00 am each day. New this year is an all-tournament pass, as well as mobile ticket pay. You can catch the action at Western Hall at WIU in person
Pictured (From left to right): Dr. Yoon Hang Kim, MD, Chief Wellness Officer at Memorial Hospital; Ada Bair, MHA, CEO at Memorial Hospital; and Raigan Brown, MHA, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Memorial Hospital
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