Boys Holiday Hoops: New Trier lets it fly in Pontiac, Loyola comes home with a title, Highland Park ends strong

New Trier boys basketball has long been known for its perimeter shooting, but never like this.

The facts speak for themselves. The Trevians put on an unrivaled shooting show in the 92nd Annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament, breaking the event’s record for three-point field goals in a game (15, 66-38 victory against Bloom) and in a tournament (45, four games).

The 15 threes and 33 attempts (45.4%) in the Bloom win are also both New Trier program records, besting previous marks of 13 and 28, respectively, set in 1992.

New Trier rode its three-point excellence to a third-place finish in the power-packed tournament. It is the Trevians, who were seeded fourth, best finish in the tournament since the 1970s.

The Trevians began the special run with dominating wins against Bloomington (89-49) and Joliet West (66-34) to set up a date with top-seeded Curie on Friday, Dec. 29.

In the semifinal clash, New Trier built a nine-point lead, 28-19, by halftime on the back of six three-pointers — three from sophomore Danny Houlihan.

But the Condors returned the favor to begin the second half, using the three-ball to go on a 13-0 burst to take a lead it never gave back.

The Trevians hung in, however, and had a game-tying shot in the final minute. But it was off the mark, and Curie held on for a 52-47 win to precede its double-overtime championship victory over Benet Academy.

New Trier came out firing in the third-place bout against Bloom, which was coming off a double-overtime loss to Benet. The Trevians drained 16 of their 33 three-point attempts, led by Houlihan’s 5-of-12 performance (game-high 19 points), Ian Brown’s 4-of-7 outing and Chris Kirkpatrick’s 4-of-6 night.

Houlihan led the tournament with 15 threes (30 attempts, 50%), while Brown and Kirkpatrick hit 9 apiece in the four games. Brown (10.75 points per game) was named to the All-Tournament First Team, becoming the third straight Trevian (Jake Fiegen in 2022, Jackson Munro in 2021) to make the exclusive five-person squad. Kirkpatrick (10.5 ppg) was a special mention.

In the tournament, New Trier hit 45 — or 48.3 percent — of its 93 three-point attempts, making at least nine in each of its four games.

Houlihan led the Trevians in scoring with 12.25 ppg. Senior Logan Feller scored 8 points per game while shooting 74 percent from the field. Senior Will Leemaster averaged 6 rebounds a game and 3.5 assists per game.

New Trier is now 14-2 on the season and goes on the road Friday, Jan. 5, for a big league matchup with Glenbrook North (14-2). Tipoff is 12:30 p.m. in Northbrook.

Boland’s 17 takes Loyola to tourney title in Florida

Loyola Academy basketball is bringing home a special souvenir from its trip to Florida.

The Ramblers went 4-0 to win the Holiday Hoopfest at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Meyers, topping Evans High School (Orlando) 41-35 in the finale.

Loyola senior Miles Boland scored 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the championship and afterward was named the tournament’s MVP. Junior Donovan Robinson, who scored double-digit points in three of Loyola’s four games, also made the All-Tournament team.

The Ramblers defense was on full display in Florida. Loyola allowed just 27.7 points per game in its four wins. They began the tournament with a 41-27 victory on Dec. 27, and followed with a 43-21 win on Dec. 28 and 42-28 victory on Dec. 29 to advance to the championship.

Loyola is 14-3 and next travels to Providence Catholic for a league matchup at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, in New Lenox and then takes on Glenbrook North at noon on Saturday, Jan. 6, in the Pappas Shootout at Depaul Prep.

Highland Park finishes Tosh with a victory

The Jack Tosh Holiday Classic has become one of the top winter hoops tournaments around, and Highland Park got a major taste of why this year.

The Giants first three opponents came into the event with a combined record of 26-6 and made for a tough 0-3 start, but Highland Park regrouped to finish on a positive note.

In its final game of the Tosh, the Giants topped Glenbard East 58-46. Griffin Killeen went 9-of-12 from the field to tally a team-high 21 points to go with 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Simon Moschin chipped in 14 points and 5 assists, while Gabe Shamberg added 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

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