Kahok Hoopers Battle Top Level Squads In Tournament

By Anthony Jones, Reporter

Collinsville’s boys basketball squad recently trekked north to the 34th Annual Morris Shootout. The tournament featured 32 top teams from various areas of the state. Many of the teams present made deep runs into the playoffs this past season and the most notable was Belleville West who have now won back to back state championships in Class 4A.

The teams were grouped into 8 different pools and 4 teams were in each one. The teams battled it out on the court with the other 3 teams in their respective pools to determine rankings for each pool. The top 2 programs in all of the pools was then placed in the Gold tournament and the other half of the teams were placed in the Maroon tournament. Both of these tournaments were bracketed and had consolation brackets.

The Kahoks were in Pool H alongside with Plainfield North, Washington, and West Aurora. Washington proved to be their toughest foe of the pool as the Kahoks narrowly defeated their squad by a score of 52-51. Plainfield North and West Aurora were less formidable opponents as they were defeated 48-33 and 51-39, respectively. As the top team in Pool H, the Kahok’s moved to the Gold tournament. After having to play the two time defending tournament champions,Bolingbrook, Collinsville lost a tightly contested contest by a score of 51-49. Following the loss, the team faced Normal in the first round of the consolation bracket, which proved to be their last game after they lost 56-50.