Tournaments Help Harlem Kick Off New Basketball Season

By Bob Balgemann, REPORTER

CHRIS ANDERSON, PHOTO – The Journal.
Harlem’s Larontaye Spates (1) takes the ball to the basket during first half action of the Huskies’ 67-55 opening loss to East on Nov. 30.

Tournaments at Burlington Central and LaSalle-Peru gave Harlem’s Boys and Girls Basketball Teams a look at out-of-the-area squads, while opening the 2016-17 varsity season. They did pretty well while away from home, combining for a 6-2 record.

The Lady Huskies took on some successful programs and emerged with victories. The list included Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge, who they beat, 52-49 in overtime; DeKalb, who they edged, 36-30; and Elgin Larkin, who they also defeated in a close one, 48-44. Against Prairie Ridge, Harlem rallied from a 40-31 deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime. There they outscored the Wolves by a decisive 6-3 for the win. The only game in which they had a breather was against Woodstock, which was a 61-35 Harlem victory. The Huskies had strong first and second quarters in that one, leading 32-12 at halftime. In the finals, host Burlington Central, a small school (1,046 enrollment) that typically fields strong basketball teams, defeated Harlem in a defensive battle, 32-26.

Senior Kahley Logan, in her fourth year with the Harlem Varsity, and Junior Paige Scneider were named to the All-Tournament Team. The Lady Huskies (4-3) opened the new NIC-10 season against two strong teams, Rockford East and Boylan Catholic, and lost both games. The Lady E-Rabs and Lady Titans remained undefeated with those victories. They’ll be back in action Friday (Dec. 9), at Belvidere, and next Wednesday (Dec. 14), at home against Rockford Jefferson.

Thriller in L-P

Harlem’s boys went 2-1 at the LaSalle-Peru Tournament with wins over the host team in a nail-biter, 65-63, and then a more relaxed 62-34 victory in their last game. Senior Allen White III, back for his third year with the varsity, led the win over L-P with 21 points. He was followed closely by classmate Larontaye Spates with 20. Sophomore David Williams Jr. bagged a varsity memory by scoring the game-winner in the final minute of play. For the night he accumulated 10 points. Other contributions came from Sophomore Arthur Daniels Jr. with seven points; Senior Javier Montaya with five and Senior Austin Navickis with two. Williams opened up for 16 points in the 62-34 rout while Spates chipped in a dozen.

On Nov. 29 the Huskies (2-3) dropped their NIC-10 opener to undefeated Rockford East, 67-55. They outscored the E-Rabs, 32-26, in the second half but fell just short. They took on another tough conference opponent Friday night – Boylan Catholic – and also lost. The Titans improved to 5-1 with the victory. Belvidere will be next up for Harlem Friday night, at home. Next Wednesday (Dec. 14), the Huskies will travel to Rockford Jefferson for another conference duel.