For Riverside Brookfield High School rising senior boys basketball players Vince Dockendorf and Danny Loftus, the 21st annual RBHS Summer Shootout brought all of the heat and enthusiasm of the regular season.
The Bulldogs’ third game Saturday not only was against rival Lyons Township but in the packed east gym.
“The atmosphere was great. Being in the east gym, you could just feel the crowd,” Dockendorf said. “It was something I was looking forward to for weeks now. It’s a rival and one that you always want to win.”
The Bulldogs prevailed 52-43 for their one victory at the premier three-day event that provided 84 Illinois teams four games (two 20-minute halves with running clocks) and attracted approximately 200 college coaches.
The Bulldogs lost their final game Saturday to Peoria Manual 70-63 and to Neuqua Valley 64-35 and Maine South 68-61 Friday.
RBHS’s Vince Dockendorf attempts to dribble past two LT defenders during action at RBHS on Saturday June 22 2024. | Ian McLeod 
RBHS’s Maurice Turner works his way around an LT defender in the first half of game action at RBHS on Saturday June 22 2024. | Ian McLeod 
LT’s Marshaun Russell goes up to thwart a RBHS scoring attempt early in the first half at RBHS on Saturday June 22 2024. | Ian McLeod 
Mayhem ensues under the LT basket in the second half of game action at RBHS on Saturday June 22 2024 at RBHS. | Ian McLeod 
LT’s Gavin Carolan looks for options while being closely guarded by RBHS’s Ben Biskupic during action at RBHS on Saturday June 22 2024. | Ian McLeod
The Lions went 0-4, losing to Niles Notre Dame, 52-40 in Saturday’s finale, and to Joliet West 54-38 and Mt. Carmel 66-55 on Friday.
Most important, both teams gained experience after several key graduations.
“One of the great things about this tournament is you get to play all different styles. I thought we did a really good job of handling the ball versus pressure and coming together through the good and the bad,” RBHS boys basketball coach Mike Reingruber said. “When some plays weren’t going our way [Friday], we started to feel sorry for ourselves. [Saturday] we played through mistakes and stayed really locked in. We pulled for each other a little bit more.”
Even with the Bulldogs’ busy summer, Reingruber continues organizing one of the state’s top summer basketball events. The long list of helpers includes his wife and father.
“This whole tournament starts with the administration. And great staff — coaches, volunteers, former players, parents,” Reingruber said. “Our RB basketball community is something special. I’m really glad to be a part of it. It can’t be done without them.”
Rising junior guard Cam Mercer, the Bulldogs’ top returnee, had a team-best 67 points for the Shootout, including 28 against Maine South and 16 in one half against Manual.
Other top scorers were Loftus (50 points), Dockendorf (20) and rising seniors Mo Turner (21) and Mantas Sleinys (18) from last season’s varsity, and rising junior Colin Cimino (24) who played last season with the sophomores. Other players included rising seniors Brycen Grove and Noah Wzorek and rising juniors Walker Burns, Ben Biskupic, Liam Enright, Aaron Guzman, Max Perez, Niko Bruno and Blake Wilson.
Mercer (16 points with 2 three-pointers), Loftus (13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) and Turner (11 points with 2 threes) led the victory over LTHS.
The game was tied 34-34 with 10:42 left, but the Bulldogs scored the next 13 points starting with back-to-back threes by Turner.
“The RB tournament is always super-fun. This year, we made a lot of improvements,” Loftus said. “It’s always great to play LT. During the season, that’s something you kind of mark on the calendar as a big game. It’s even better to beat them.”
LTHS rising senior Ian Polonowski, a key reserve for the Lions’ all-senior starting lineup last season, had 44 points, including 19 against Mt. Carmel.
Other top scorers were rising seniors Josh Gutierrez (22), Bobby Vespa (21), Marshaun Russell (17), Dylan Hall (13), Luca Bade (12) and Andrew Carlisle (11). Also playing were rising seniors Julian Padilla and Danny Janiszewski and rising junior Owen Carroll (11 points) from last season’s sophomore team.
The Lions previously played three weeks in the Downers Grove South summer league.
“We’ve seen a bunch of improvement,” Polonowski said. “Everyone here was on [varsity and mostly junior varsity], except for Owen, and part of the culture last year. It’s different roles for everybody, but through those three weeks to now, we’ve kind of figured stuff out.”
Gutierrez (12 points with 2 threes, 6 rebounds), Polonowski (8 points with 2 threes, 5 rebounds) and Russell (8 points) were top performers against RBHS.
“It’s always fun to play them,” Polonowski said. “The energy in that gym. It’s loud in there. I think it was just really fun for the experience.”
The Lions generally have been subbing five players at a time. Against Notre Dame, the Lions led 32-29 until the Dons scored the next 12 points to initiate a 20-2 run.
“For the most part, this is new territory playing against varsity-level athletes, competition,” LTHS coach Tom Sloan said.
“What I told the guys [Saturday] is we did a lot of good things but not enough to win. The things we did well we need to do throughout the entire game and then we need to eliminate some of the mistakes that we made in the middle of the second half and beyond. That’s all part of the learning process.”
The Bulldogs and Lions are at Ridgewood’s live event Friday through Sunday, June 28-30.