ROXANA – The premier of the area’s newest high school basketball tournament is on the horizon, as the first-ever Roxana High School Hoopsgiving Basketball Classic. presented by Dwight Tungett State Farm Insurance and Winning Streak Sports Apparel in Dupo, is set to begin on Monday at both Larry Milazzo Memorial Gym and the Roxana Junior High gym.
Twelve schools will compete in the first-ever tournament, which is set to conclude on Saturday evening with the championship game. In addition to the host Shells, Maryville Christian, East Alton-Wood River, Piasa Southwestern, Bunker Hill, Jersey, Marquette Catholic and White Hall North Greene will be the local school set to play, along with a pair of schools from the St. Louis area and two more from southern Illinois.
Along with the basketball, a fund-raising challenge has been added to the festivities, with 1965-68 Shells’ great Don Tuttle challenging Roxana alumni to match his $1,000 donation made by his Don Tuttle Venture Group to the tournament. All Shell Pride $1,000 donations will be matched by him, up to $5,000. For more information, a personal letter from Tuttle is at the bottom of the story.
“As a former athlete, like you, at Roxana High School, I have always wanted to find a platform in which to “give back” to the school and the athletics program,” Tuttle said in a statement.
The 12 teams have been divided up into four groups of three, with the group stage games to be played Monday-Wednesday. Group A has Gateway Legacy of St. Louis, Maryville Christian and EAWR, Group B will have Centralia, Southwestern and Bunker Hill, playing in Group C will be Jersey, KIPP Charter School of St. Louis and Roxana and Group D will have Marquette, Carbondale and North Greene.
The group stage games will be played at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and start Monday with the Shells and Panthers, followed by the Minutemen and Orphans at Larry Milazzo Gym, with the Oilers meeting Gateway, followed by the Terriers taking on the Spartans in the junior high gym. On Tuesday at the Larry Milazzo Gym, Bunker Hill meets the Piasa Birds, followed by the Explorers against North Greene, while over in the junior high gym, Roxana plays against the Wolves and EAWR goes against Maryville. On the final day of the group stage on Wednesday, the Larry Milazzo Gym will feature Southwestern against Centralia, followed by Carbondale against Marquette, while in the junior high gym, Maryville plays against Gateway, while KIPP takes on Jersey.
The semifinals will be played on Friday, with the Group A winner playing the Group D winner at 6 p.m. and the Group B winner taking on the Group C winner at 7:30 p.m. at Larry Milazzo Gym. The second and third place teams from all four groups will play in their semifinals at the junior high gym, with the groups A and D teams playing at 3 p.m and the Groups B and C teams going at 4:30 p.m. The second place teams in Group A and D will play at 6 p.m, with the Groups B and C teams meeting at 7:30 p.m.
On the final day on Saturday, the 11th place game will go at 3 p.m. at the junior high gym, with the ninth place game tipping off at 4:30 p.m. The seventh place game will be played at Larry Milazzo Gym at 4 p.m., while the fifth place game starts at 6 p.m. in the junior high gym. The third place playoff game starts at 5:30 p.m. at Larry Milazzo Gym, with the final set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
In addition, a three-day junior varsity round-robin tournament will be played at the same time Monday-Wednesday at the Larry Milazzo, junior high and auxiliary gyms. The tournament features EAWR, Roxana, Maryville, Southwestern, North Greene, Marquette, Gateway and Jersey.
For more information about the tournament, please call Roxana High Athletic Director and boys basketball coach Mark Briggs at (618) 254-7561.
This is a personal letter from former Roxana star Don Tuttle:
Today, I am asking (and challenging) former Roxana Shells athletes to join me in sponsoring the Thanksgiving Basketball Classic Tournament November 22-27, 2021 whereby 12 basketball teams will participate in this exciting tournament.
The Challenge: I am asking former athletes/businesses to be a “Shell Pride Sponsor” and donate $1,000 to this great cause to offset costs of this tournament and allow the current athletes to display their talents at this major tournament. My pledge is to match these donations up to $5,000.
A $1,000 “Shell Pride Sponsor” of this tournament will receive:
- T-Shirts will be printed with the name of the Sponsor.
- Tournament results reported to the media with the Sponsor name.
- Sponsor will receive a commercial spot on our Gametime music station.
- Banner with logo printed and displayed in the gym.
- Tournament Program printed with Sponsor name and advertisement.
- Tournament game passes.
- Tournament admission to the VIP Hospitality Room.
- Regular Season game passes.
Please make checks payable to: ROXANA HIGH SCHOOL
Please submit donation and advertisement to: Roxana High School 401 Chaffer Avenue Roxana, Illinois 62084
(Donations are tax deductible)
If you need additional information please contact:
- Mark Briggs, Roxana High Athletic Director & Boys Basketball Coach: [email protected]; 618-254-7558
- Don Tuttle, 1968 Alumni, [email protected]; Cell: 214-914-2190
Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness and generosity and hope to see you at the tournament!
Regards,
Don Tuttle
