Hickory Creek Middle School 8th grade boys' basketball

The Hickory Creek Middle School 8th Grade Boys Basketball team placed second in the Des Plaines Valley Conference with 10 wins and 4 losses, an overall record of 18 wins and 6 losses.

Hickory Creek 34 – Minooka 30 (OT)

Key wins during the season included an overtime win over Minooka Junior High 34-30. Trailing by 5 at half (12-17) the Tigers tied it up at 19 all entering the 4th quarter. Tyler Vaundry’s basket just beat the horn to tie the score at 28 overall to send the game into overtime. Austin Evans led the way with 16 pts. Vaundry added 8 pts., Alex Helmin added 5 pts. Chase Anderson’s 3 pointer and his only basket in the game got the Tigers within 2 before Vaundry’s tying basket.

Hickory Creek 45 – Hufford Junior High 35

The Tigers jumped out to a 12 -1 lead against Hufford and cruised to a 45 to 35 win. Evans again led the way with 18 pts., Vaundry and Helmin added 9 and 7 pts. Anderson added 5 pts., off the bench while Ike Mahajan scored 4 pts., and Randy Johnson add a basket. Dan Clarke added a free-throw to round out the scoring.

Hickory Creek 45 – Manteno Middle School 15

Leading by 5 at half (14-9), the Tigers outscored the Panthers 31 to 6 in the second half for the win. A balanced scoring attack was led by Evans with 11 pts., Vaundry scored 6 pts., Casey Schilf, and Anderson each scored 5 pts. Barry White, Quinton Stringfellow, and Johnson scored 4 pts. each. Clarke and Dylan Shelton each added 3 pts., and Mahajan added a basket to round out the scoring. Others who contributed to the win were Chase Blatzer, and Helmin. The win over Manteno was Coach Greg Rigoni’s 500th win as a coach.

Hickory Creek 47 – Mokena 22

The Tigers led from the opening tip for a 47 to 22 win over the Meteors. Vaundry led the way with 11 pts., Helmin and Clarke each scored 10 pts. Chase Blatzer, Evans, and Mahajan each scored 4 pts. Stringfellow rounded out the scoring by adding a free-throw.

The Tigers defeated Oak Prairie 42-34 in the opening round of the IESA Regional but lost to Colin Powell in the semi-final 42-28.