Here are 7 important things from the 2023 holiday basketball tournaments

High school basketball holiday tournaments were a perfect cap to 2023.

Soon the focus will turn to the final months of the season with mid-winter shootouts, conference matchups, rivalry games and eventually the postseason. But until that happens, here are some takeaways from last week's action involving Peoria-area boys and girls hoops teams.

All the scores: Boys holiday tournaments | Girls holiday tournaments

Manual boys make a statement at Pontiac

After losing in the opening round of the 92nd Pontiac Holiday Tournament, the Rams bounced back to win the consolation championship. Manual pulled off double-digit victories in its three victories, highlighted by a 12-point victory over Plainfield North for the consolation title. Division-I prospect Dietrich Richardson was the tourney's second-leading scorer with a 19.5 points-per-game average. The 6-foot-5 junior guard went off for 32 points in a consolation semifinal win over Pontiac. He followed that up with 25 points in the title game. Gerrell Trapps, Daniel Finley and Josh Humbles all were key contributors for Marvin Jordan's squad.

Metamora boys make history up north

Metamora became the first downstate team to win the 49th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament hosted by York High School in Elmhurst. The Redbirds (12-3), on a nine-game win streak, won five games in five days including a thrilling championship victory over Bolingbrook. Iowa recruit Cooper Koch drained a late 3-pointer to give Metamora a 72-71 overtime victory. Reigning player of the year Tyler Mason was named tournament MVP after averaging 19.0 points and 6.2 rebounds during the Jack Tosh. Koch (15.8 points, 6.0 rebounds) and Luke Hopp (11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds) also joined Mason on the all-tourney team.

Morton girls make a run in Bloomington-Normal

Morton more than proved itself as a legit Class 3A regional contender during its run to the State Farm Holiday Classic large-school championship game. Despite losing to reigning tourney champ Normal Community, 51-46, Bob Becker's team came up with back-to-back quarterfinal and semifinal victories against state-ranked teams. The seventh-seed Potters (14-4) blew out 3A fifth-ranked Chicago Hyde Park, then needed OT to take down Class 4A No. 10 Quincy by two. All-tournament selection Addy Engel was the leading scorer for their entire tournament, putting up 17.5 points a game including a 21-point effort against Quincy.

Microscope now on one local sectional

If Peoria High senior guard Aaliyah Guyton's knee injury is season-ending, that puts a very interesting twist on the sub-sectional feeding into the East Peoria Sectional. The Iowa recruit left at the 3:42 mark of the second quarter in Lincoln's 57-25 title game victory at the Manual Holiday Tournament. This No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup would have gone a long way in deciding the top seed with regionals hosted by Galesburg and Geneseo. Peoria High, which is set to face Lincoln again on Jan. 20, will still likely be the second seed with victories over Morton, Richwoods and Dunlap. The Lions do go to Richwoods on Jan. 11 for a return game.

PND girls, Morton boys end with victories

Peoria Notre Dame took third place at one of the state's most elite girls events — the Morton College Christmas Tournament. The Irish's lone loss came to current 4A third-ranked Alton, 61-55, after playing them 13 days prior. All-tournament team selections Mya Wardle (first team) and Lexi Baer (second team) helped PND bounce back to third place after a win against Palatine Fremd, which is receiving votes in the latest poll. As for Morton, the boys used the services of Gus Rugaard, who was named Mr. Hustle, and his 21 points to beat eighth-ranked East St. Louis, 62-58 in the third-place game. Morton is now 15-2.

Four other teams won holiday tournament titles

El Paso-Gridley and Princeville were both boys tournament winners, taking titles at the State Farm Holiday Classic and the 95th annual Princeville Holiday Tournament, respectively. EPG's victory came behind the heroics of Chancesaye Mixon Jr., who hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat St. Joseph-Ogden, 49-48. Micah Meiss and Jonah Funk were both all-tourney picks. Princeville took its own tourney for the first time since 2019, winning its three games by an average of 23.3 points a game. The Elmwood girls grabbed the Princeville title in the first edition of the event being a bracketed tournament. Eighth-seed Abingdon-Avon made a Cinderella run to win the 41st annual Lady Tiger Classic. Freshman Kennedy Quinn became the first freshman in the history of the tournament to win MVP. A-Town, which knocked off top-seeded Warsaw West Hancock in the quarterfinals, upset No. 2-seeded Illini Bluffs in the title game.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA basketball holiday tournament takeaways with Peoria-area teams