On Thursday, December 27, the tournament started, and continued into December 18. The annual Jim Gruca Basketball Tournament has been going on for over 20 years. There were four teams entered into the tournament: Northwestern Wildcats, Eisenhower Nights, Clymer Pirates, and your Corry Beavers.
On the first day of the tournament the Pirates went up against the Knights. The varsity team started at 6:30 p.m., and then the Beavers varsity followed at 7:30 p.m. and they went up against the Wildcats. For day two of the tournament the Pirates went up against the Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. to fight for either third or fourth place in the tournament, and then for the winners bracket fighting to be the champion were the Knights and the Beavers playing at 7:30 p.m.
The starting line up for the Knights during the tournament was: Senior Forward #2 Kyler Black, Senior Forward #12 Chris Bunk, Junior Guard #13 Case Seymour, Sophomore Forward #24 Gavin Groomeruth, and Freshman Guard #14 Austin Hanson.
The starting line up for the Pirates during the tournament was: Senior Guard #11 Tanner Milhako, Senior Guard Senior Guard #15 Lucas Dunnewold, Senior Guard #20 Kaden Beckerink, Senior Forward #21 Jon Massing, and Senior Forward #32 Weston Mitchell.
The starting line up for the Wildcats during the tournament was Senior Guard #11 Cole Wickervitch, Senior Guard #3 Blake Gonzales, Senior Center #12 Caleb Glasl, Senior Guard #13 Jake Reigalman, and Senior Guard #34 Jack Miller.
The starting line up for the Beavers for the tournament was Senior Forward #15 Markus Lambert, Senior Guard #23 Rylan Smith, Senior Guard #4 Tavon Kornikoski, Junior Guard #3 Karson Chamberlin, and Sophomore Guard #2 Kamdyn Moon.
On the first day the Knights went up against the Pirates at 6:30 p.m. The JV played earlier and Eisenhower won with the score being 25-23. Then later for the varsity game Eisenhower also won with the score being 54-37. Then later on at 7:30 the Beavers played against the Wildcats, but the JV played earlier. For JV Corry won with the score being 43-20, and then for the varsity game Corry won with the score being 58-21. The Player of The Game chosen by Deej Experience Broadcasting was Rylan Smith, and he also received Offensive play of the game for his constant three point shots. Then the Defensive Play of the Game was shared between two players, Kamdyn Moon and Karson Chamberlin. The stat points for the Beavers was Smith leading with 20 points, Lambert with 10 points, Moon with nine points, Chamberlin with eight points, , Keaton Frisina with four points, Kornikoski, Cameron Ricketts, Parker Trask, and Landon Deane all had one bucket under their belts for the game. The leading scorer for the Wildcats was Caleb Glasl. The Beavers were all over the board with a majority of the players contributing at least one point.
On the second day at 6:30 Clymer and Northwestern played against each other in the loser bracket. Northwestern’s JV beat Clymer’s JV 41-27, then to follow the varsity played and Clymer beat Northwestern varsity 41-24. The player that was chosen by Deej Experience Broadcasting was from Clymer #20 Kaden Beckerink and he also earned offensive play of the game.
The defensive play of the game went to Northwestern Senior Caleb Glasl. Following that game at 7:30 p.m. was varsity Corry against Eisenhower to see who will be the champion of the tournament. Earlier that day the JV played and Corry won 63-31. Varsity’s game was a nail biter and even went into overtime, but in the end the boys pulled out a win the score being 74-66. Meaning the Beavers were yet again the winner of the annual Jim Gruca Christmas Tournament. The player of the game chosen by Deej Experience Broadcasting was #2 Sophomore Kamdyn Moon, and also got offensive play for the game. Defensive player of the game was Senior #4 Tavon Korniksoki. The stat points for the game from Eisenhower were: Black with 20 points, Seymour with 20 points, Hanson with 11 points, Bunk with 10 points, and Lindamooth with three points. Then the stat points for Corry was Lambert with 27 points, Smith with 21 points, Moon with 18 points, Chamberlin with two points, and Kornikoski with 2 points.
At the end of the tournament they had an award ceremony where they announced the all-tournament team and the Academic Gruca-Klapthor award. On the all- tournament team their were five players chosen: from Clymer Senior #20 Kaden Beckerink, from Northwestern Senior #12 Caleb Glasl, from Eisenhower #2 Kyler Black, from Corry Senior #23 Rylan Smith, and Senior #15 Markus Lambert. The Academic Gruca-Klapthor award was presented to Senior #4 Tavon Korniksoki for having the highest GPA on the team and for his academic excellence.
Coach Bailey gave an input on how he believes the tournament went. Bailey stated, “It went well we won, and it’s always a good feeling to win your own home tournament. We’ve been on a winning streak for 4-5 years straight, which is good.”
