One of the last big showcase events of the season will be the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout, which will be held on Friday and Saturday at O’Fallon High School’s Panther Dome.
It will be the first time that the event has adopted the two-day format with seven games scheduled. The shootout features several nice matchups with teams from Missouri against teams from Illinois.
The marquee game on the schedule will be Saturday night’s finale between Webster Groves and Belleville West in a battle of two of the top teams in the metro area. Tip-off for that game will be at 8:30 p.m.
Here is a look at the schedule for the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout:
Friday, February 2
Jennings vs. Decatur McArthur, 5:30 p.m. – Jennings has been rolling along this season with an 18-2 record. The Warriors are a veteran team led by 5’9” senior guard Kyle Younge and 6’3” junior forward Elijah Hicks. McArthur is led by 6’4” senior twins Armon and Amir Brummett. Armon is headed to Bradley to play basketball while Amir will play football at Northern Illinois.
Belleville West vs. O’Fallon, 7 p.m. – This will be a battle between two Southwestern Conference schools. West is led by 6’7” junior forward E.J. Liddell, who has picked up more than a dozen Division I scholarship offers, and 6’3” senior guard Malachi Smith, who is headed to Wright State. Host O’Fallon is led by talented 6’1” senior guard Jalen Hodge.
Whitfield vs. Pinckneyville (Ill.), 8:30 p.m. – Whitfield is paced by 6’5” Mizzou signee Torrence Watson, who is averaging 30 points a game to lead the St. Louis metro area in scoring. Pinckneyville is a perennial small-school power in Southern Illinois. The Panthers are led by senior guards Grant Jausel and J.C. Moll.
Saturday, February 3
O’Fallon vs. Normal West, 4 p.m. – Host O’Fallon is led by the aforementioned Jalen Hodge. Normal West is led by 6’9” junior forward Frances Okoro, who is one of the top players in the state.
Bolingbrook (Ill.) vs. Springfield Lanphier (Ill.), 5:30 p.m. – It’s Northern Illinois vs. Central Illinois in this one. Bolingbrook is led by 6’7” senior forward Joey Saracco and junior point guard Joseph Yesufu. Lanphier is led by 6’4” senior guard Cardell McGee and 6’1” senior guard James Jones.
Chaminade vs. Chicago Curie, 7 p.m. – The Red Devils will take on their fourth opponent from Chicago in this one. After dropping an early game to Simeon, Chaminade has defeated Morgan Park and Whitney Young in blowouts. They have been a machine this year with 6’7’ senior North Carolina State signee Jericole Hellems leading the way. Curie is led by 6’8” senior twins Tyree and Treavon Martin, who have both signed with Tennessee State.
Belleville West vs. Webster Groves, 8:30 p.m. – This game features plenty of star power on both sides as Belleville West has the aforementioned E.J. Liddell and Malachi Smith. Webster Groves will counter with five-star point guard Courtney Ramey, who has been on a tear since returning from his wrist injury in early January. The status of 6’8” SLU signee Carte’are Gordon for Saturday is still unclear as he was serving a suspension this week.
Vashon hits the road
The Vashon Wolverines will be headed to Hagerstown, Maryland this weekend to compete in the St. James Invitational Tournament, which is absolutely loaded with national-level programs. Vashon will open the tournament against undefeated St. Benedict’s Prep (New Jersey) on Thursday at 4 p.m. Also playing in the tournament are top programs such as Findlay Prep (Nevada) and Sunrise Christian Academy (Kansas).
