Riverside Brookfield High School senior boys basketball player Vince Dockendorf began seeing more playing time as a reserve last season during York’s annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic. With the Bulldogs again among the 32 teams for the 50th Tosh Classic, Dockendorf is now a starter.
“I’m super-excited. I know we go there every year, but it’s one of the best, if not the best moments in the entire season,” Dockendorf said. “The atmosphere is just amazing with all of the people there and all of the teams. It’s one of the best, if not the best, tournament in the state.”
The Bulldogs (7-4) and Lyons Township (4-5) begin action Thursday and will play at least four games. In the bottom half of the bracket, the Bulldogs open against Christ the King at noon and the Lions play St. Laurence at 5 p.m.
Both teams have built upon Tosh performances the past couple of years. Last season, the Bulldogs beat the Lions 71-56 in the third round and tied for ninth with a 3-1 overall record, losing only 53-51 on a buzzer-beater to Palatine, which finished fourth in Class 4A. LT was 2-2 and tied for 13th.
The Bulldogs have won four of their last five games and are 5-0 in the Upstate Eight Conference East Division after defeating Streamwood 69-49, Friday, and Elmwood Park 77-56, Dec. 17.
The Lions have won three of their last four and earned their first West Suburban Conference Silver Division victory Friday, 54-34, over Glenbard West in La Grange.
RBHS senior Danny Loftus and junior Cam Mercer, the Bulldogs’ two returning starting guards, continue to lead the way. Loftus burned Elmwood Park for a career-high 44 points on 18-for-24 shooting from the field with one three.
Mercer had 26 points Friday with four of the Bulldogs’ 10 threes for their best collective outside shooting game as a team. Dockendorf had 16 points with 4 threes.
“It’s really fun [this season] because now I have a bigger role,” Dockendorf said. “There’s a lot more pressure, but that’s what I love about basketball. I get to play and we have such a good schedule. Some of them we’ve wanted to win. But that’s just part of playing basketball, and we’ll get better as the season goes on.”
Colin Cimino and Brycen Grove also hit threes against Streamwood, and Mantas Sleinys added a conventional three-point play. Loftus (12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Mercer (3 assists, 3 steals) and Dockendorf (4 assists) contributed to the strong passing.
The Bulldogs made one free throw over their first five possessions but then scored 36 points on their next 17 to pull ahead 37-19 in the second quarter.
“I thought our ball movement today was as good as it’s been all season. That led to wide open looks from the perimeter,” RBHS coach Mike Reingruber said.
“We had a good combination of inside-outside play. I was real happy offensively.”
Dockendorf, a key contributor to the outside attack, was pleased about going 4-for-4 on his threes.
“For the team it’s been a bit iffy (at times). My main thing is just get good shots and the better shots you get, the higher the percentage,” he said.
“I just think we moved the ball well, especially when they went to zone. Passing through that leads to open threes because guys have to scramble [defensively].”
Other contributors against Elmwood Park included Mercer (14 points with 2 threes, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) and Dockendorf (8 points with 2 threes, 4 assists) and Cimino (7 rebounds) and Sleinys (5 points).
LTHS seniors Ian Polonowski (17 points, 5 rebounds), Bobby Vespa (15 points, 4 assists) and junior Owen Carroll (12 points, 5 rebounds) reached double figures Friday for the Lions (1-2 in Silver). Marshaun Russell (4 points, 4 rebounds), Danny Janiszewski (6 rebounds) and Josh Gutierrez (6 assists) also contributed.
Like last season, the Lions have predominantly a senior lineup with little pervious varsity experience. Only Polonowski played significant minutes as a junior.
“We’re still figuring a lot of stuff out right now,” LTHS coach Tom Sloan said.
“My motto in life, in general, is a John Wooden quote, ‘Get 1 percent better every day.’ I feel like every practice, every game, we’re getting a little bit better. We play good teams, so it might not look like it when we’re playing, but if we just chip away and get a little bit better every day over the course of the season, we can make some really big improvements.”
The Lions lost to Oak Lawn 55-37, Saturday, at Sandburg’s Shot Clock Shootout. Vespa (11 points, 4 rebounds), Russell (10 points, 6 rebounds), Janiszewski (7 points) and Polonowski (5 rebounds) led LTHS.