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By Jim Wieners

Central 6-peats Vianney Invite, Trinity Gets 1^{st At Valley Park}

Last week Hazelwood Central boys basketball went to St. John Vianney for the sixth consecutive year as the Hawks participated in the 43 Annual Vianney/Jerry Boeckman Invitational and for the sixth consecutive year the Hawks come home with a first-place plaque.

Central has won 18 straight in the Boeckman Invitational with six of those wins came against Vianney including the last five in the tournament championship. This year the tournament had only six teams and Hazelwood Central, the tournament’s top seed, played in Pool A, defeating Suburban North Conference rival Riverview Gardens, 80-55 on Nov. 30, and Clayton, 73-60 on Dec. 2. Last Friday the Hawks defeated the top team in Pool B and the host team, Vianney, 66-59.

B.J. Young  had 21 points and six assists against Riverview, Chris Babbitt scored 20 against Clayton and  Jordan Wilson scored 27 against Vianney, including the Hawks first 17 points. “Vianney is a tough place to play on a Friday night,” said Hazelwood Central head coach Josh Martin, who has coached the Hawks to the last five straight Boeckman Invitational titles and played Vianney the last five title games, four of them on a Friday night. “Anytime you can get a win there, in a great atmosphere,” is a plus, said Martin.

Prior to the Boeckman Invite Hazelwood Central opened the season Nov. 24 with a 65-50 win at Troy Buchanan then on Nov. 25, at the Peoria Shootout, defeated Limestone, 89-55. Central was at Rockwood-Marquette Dec. 8 and will play their home opener Dec. 18, 6 p.m. against Jefferson City.

Meanwhile Trinity Catholic was opening the season with their fourth straight trip to the Valley Park Invitational but was going without Kelly Thames, who became head coach at Pattonville. So with Mark Decker as the new head coach the Titans’ fourth trip to Valley Park resulted in their first tournament title there. The Titans defeated Construction Careers Center, 75-32 on Nov. 30, Metro, 58-49 on Dec. 2, and The Principia, 60-52 on Dec 4.

ELSEWHERE — McCLUER was runner up at the Pattonville Tournament, losing to defending Class Five State Champion Chaminade, 69-53, last Friday, after the Comets defeated CBC, 72-71 on Dec. 2, and St. Charles High, 82-35 on Nov. 30. NORTH TECHNICAL took third place at the Bank of Old Monroe Tip-Off Classic in Winfield defeating Warrenton, 65-52 on Dec. 1, lost to Wright City, 45-44 on Dec. 2, and defeated Winfield, 70-58 on Dec. 4. HAZELWOOD WEST was consolation runner up at the Pattonville Tournament, losing to Chaminade, 58-30 on Nov. 30, defeating Pattonville, 63-56 on Dec. 2, and losing to Jennings, 45-54 last Friday. RIVERVIEW GARDENS took fifth place last Friday at Vianney with a 69-45 win over Fort Zumwalt South after losing to Hazelwood Central and Clayton, 69-63 on Dec. 1, in Pool A.

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