The Belleville West Maroons enter the week with a 17-0 and a No. 1 ranking in the latest IHSA Class 4A state polls. This is on top of winning a state championship last season.
Those gaudy marks will be put to the rest this weekend as they will participate in the prestigious Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Missouri.
The Tournament of Champions is annually one of the top in-season tournaments in the country and the local fans in the Ozark region sell out the J.Q.H. Arena at Missouri State University every night.
Belleville West will face Shadow Mountain (Arizona) in the first round on Thursday night at 9 p.m. The field is also littered with national powerhouse programs such as Memphis East (Tennessee), McEachern (Georgia), Rainier Beach (Washington) and Sunrise Christian (Kansas). Rounding out the field are local teams Springfield Parkview and Springfield Catholic.
The Maroons are led by 6’7” All-State performer E.J. Liddell, who is averaging 22.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and nearly four blocks a game. Senior point guard Lawrence Brazil III is averaging 13 points and four assists a game while providing backcourt leadership. Will Shumpert, Keith Randolph, Jr. and Jaylin Mosby are all seniors who have been vital to the team’s success.
The championship game is set for Saturday at 9 p.m.
MLK Events In area next week
There will be two excellent events being held next Monday on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s holiday.
St. Louis University High will be the host of the Remembering the Dream Classic, which features four boys’ games.
In the first game, Bishop DuBourg will take on Riverview Gardens. That game will be followed by Cahokia vs Ritenour; host SLUH vs. University City and Soldan vs. Hazelwood East.
Miller Career Academy will be hosting a two-day, girls’ Martin Luther King event that will be held on Sunday, January 20 and Monday, January 21. The girls’ event features schools from Missouri, Illinois and Alabama.
There are three games scheduled for Sunday, beginning with Hyde Park (Illinois) vs Cardinal Ritter at 1 p.m. Metro east area power Edwardsville will take on Gateway STEM at 2:30 p.m. with Lift for Life taking on Lincoln Prep at 4 p.m.
Host Miller Career Academy kicks off Monday’s action against Huntsville Columbia (Alabama) at 11 a.m. Hyde Park will face Huntsville Lee At 12:30 p.m. with Lincoln Prep taking on East St. Louis at 2 p.m. in the finale, Cardinal Ritter will take on two-time Class 3 state champion Strafford.
Tournament make up dates are set
Last weekend’s big snowstorm wreaked havoc on the area basketball schedule, causing the postponement of some tournament championship games.
The makeup dates have been set. Host Whitfield will take on Christian-O’Fallon in the championship game of the Rotating 8 Tournament on Saturday at noon.
St. Francis Borgia will take on St. Dominic in the championship game of the Washington Tournament on Wednesday, January 30 at 8:30 p.m.
Belleville East Tournament highlights weekend
The Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East is a strong late season tournament that brings together top teams from the two-state area.
The featured teams in this year’s event are defending champion Chaminade, Trinity, Alton, Soldan and Champaign Central. The championship game is set for Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
