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By Jim Wieners

Two years ago North Technical Boys Basketball ended a tournament title drought by winning the Lutheran St. Charles County Cougar Classic, and then added a second tournament title a month later by winning at Orchard Farm.

North Tech duplicated that performance last year by winning tournaments at Lutheran St. Charles County and Orchard Farm. In each of the last two seasons the Golden Eagles finished with a 20-7 record and ended their seasons each year with a second-round district loss to Lutheran North.

This year North Tech now aims for their third straight Lutheran St. Charles County Cougar Classic title which begins Thursday (Dec. 18). It will be the only tournament the Golden Eagles will be seeking a three-peat since they will not return to Orchard Farm because the Cougar Classic is the third tournament in the 2014-15 season, the maximum allowed before districts by the Missouri High School Activities Association.

North Tech opens the Cougar Classic at 3:30 Thursday as the tournaments top seed and will play against Barat Academy, a Catholic high school that originated in St. Charles County but moved to Chesterfield in West St. Louis County. North Tech or Barat will play Orchard Farm or Lift for Life Academy Charter Friday (Dec. 19), winners playing at 6:30 while the losers play at 3:30. Orchard Farm and Lift for Life play Thursday at 5 p.m.

In the bottom half of the bracket Elsberry, who won the Cougar Classic in 2011, faces second-seeded Priory Thursday at 6:30 while tourney host Lutheran St. Charles County, runner up to North Tech the last two years, plays at 8:15 against Principia. Friday the winners of the two games play at 8:15 while the losers play at 5 p.m.

All eight teams play on Saturday (Dec.20) beginning with the seventh-place game at 3:30, followed by the consolation championship at 5 p.m. and the third-place game at 6:30 and the tournament wraps up with the championship game at 8:15.

Last year North Tech overcame a 13-point deficit with in the last 2:30 of the fourth quarter against Lutheran St. Charles County to force overtime and won the championship game, 72-69. Two years ago the Golden Eagles trailed the Cougars for most of three quarters but took the lead in the fourth and managed to pull off a tug-of-war period and won 63-60.

North Tech heads to Lutheran St. Charles County, in St. Peters, with an 8-1 record and a seven-game winning streak after losing Nov. 27 in the St. Francis Borgia Thanksgiving Tournament to the host Knights.

Two days after winning the Winfield Tournament, Dec. 8, North Tech rolled to a 73-42 win at Trinity Catholic as Jontae Huntspon had 22 points, Tyree White had 20 points and 16 rebounds and Mike Henderson-Burt added 16 points. Two days after that, Dec. 10, North Tech won their home opener 52-41 over McCluer South-Berkeley thanks to 15 points each from Jontae Huntspon (13 rebounds), White (10 rebounds) and Henderson-Burt. And the Golden Eagles wrapped up the week Dec. 13 at Vashon in a 66-51 win over Northwest Academy of Law in the Midwest Showdown Shootout as Erik Hicks scored 19 points,   Henderson-Burt 16 and White added 13.

ROUTE 66 SHOOTOUT AT WAYNESVILLE DEC. 19-20 — HAZELWOOD CENTRAL, HAZELWOOD WEST and McCLUER NORTH will each be playing in this weekend’s event in South-Central Missouri. Hazelwood Central plays St. Louis Christian Academy Friday at 9 p.m. and Waynesville Saturday at 6:30, Hazelwood West plays Republic Friday at 3 p.m. and McCluer North plays Parkview Friday at 6 p.m. and St. Louis Christian Academy Saturday at 2 p.m. Before playing in the Route 66 Shootout Hazelwood West hosts Hazelwood Central, Thursday at 7 p.m. in a Suburban XII North Conference opener for both.

Hazelwood Central played Dec. 13 in the Midwest Showdown Shootout at Vashon against Memphis (Tenn.) Houston . Hazelwood West was 1-2 in the Webster Groves Classic — winning 58-51 over Rockwood-Marquette while losing 79-39 to host Webster Groves and 48-23 to Maplewood-Richmond Heights — and hosted Normandy Dec. 15 while McCluer North won 53-51 at home over Ladue-Horton Watkins.

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