What to watch for with busy weekend of South Bend area basketball upcoming

A fascinating weekend of basketball is on tap for the South Bend area.

Along with some major conference games, there are a few non-conference showcases that area teams will have a chance to make a statement in.

Here are the top three storylines going into a busy two days of high school basketball action across the area.

More: Here are your Tuesday night high school basketball scores

South Bend Riley, Saint Joseph boys battle to stay unbeaten in NIC

It’s still early in the season, but a huge game that could help shape the Northern Indiana Conference boys basketball title race happens Friday on the south side when Riley hosts St. Joseph.

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The Wildcats (5-1, 3-0 NIC), ranked 17th in the single-class Indiana Basketball Coaches Association poll this week, suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday against Northridge. Raiders junior Mason Bales made two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to give his team a 42-41 victory over Riley.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph (3-2, 2-0 NIC) will have had six days off since its loss to Goshen this past Saturday. It dominated in its two conference wins, beating South Bend Adams by 24 and Jimtown by 32.

Leading the way for Riley are Marvin Schindler, Payton Baird and Mancell Hill, while top scoring threats for Saint Joseph are Chase Konieczny and Jayce Lee.

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Northern Lakes Conference boys basketball action begins

It’s been an impressive start to the non-conference slate for the NLC. In the last week, Mishawaka beat rival Marian for the first time in eight years, Concord beat Penn for the first time since 2012, Goshen knocked off Saint Joseph and Clay, and Northridge topped Riley. After the completion of Tuesday night’s games, all eight NLC teams have winning records.

They will finally start playing against each other this weekend, with three games Friday (Concord at Mishawaka, Plymouth at NorthWood, Wawasee at Warsaw) and one Saturday (Northridge at Goshen). Three of the teams have played six games already, with Concord and Northridge both 5-1 and Goshen 4-2. Mishawaka and Warsaw are both 3-1, NorthWood 2-1, and Plymouth and Wawasee 3-2.

Showcase events to spotlight area teams over the weekend

Three Indiana area boys basketball teams will compete at the Champions of Character Classic at Grace College, three Michigan teams at the Tri-State Classic at Southwestern Michigan College and South Bend Washington girls head to the Detroit area to compete in the Michigan Holliday Classic.

At Grace College, Concord will face East Noble (2-2) at 1 p.m., St. Joseph will take on Fort Wayne Concordia (1-1) at 4 p.m. and South Bend Washington (5-1) will battle Warsaw at 6 p.m. It’s part of an all-day event that features five total games.

At Southwestern Michigan College, the action starts Friday night with the Dowagiac boys (2-1) playing Chicago North Lawndale at 7 p.m. The Niles boys (3-2) start the action Saturday morning with an 11 a.m. game against Lawndale, followed by the Edwardsburg girls (2-1) taking on Hillcrest (IL).

Finally, the Washington girls basketball team gets its second marquee matchup in as many Saturdays, as they’ll take on Western Reserve Academy (OH) at 4 p.m. at Bellville High School in Michigan. Last week, the Panthers (10-2) defeated Kenwood Academy (IL), 71-68, at the Showcase in the Park Girls Basketball Shootout in Hyde Park in Chicago.

South Bend area weekend basketball schedule (all times Eastern)

Friday, Dec. 15

BOYS

Indiana

Adams at Clay, 7:30 p.m. (NIC)

St. Joseph at Riley, 7:30 p.m. (NIC)

Glenn at Washington, 7:30 p.m. (NIC)

Jimtown at New Prairie, 7:30 p.m. (NIC)

Bremen at Penn, 7:45 p.m. (NIC)

Plymouth at NorthWood, 7:30 p.m. (NLC)

Concord at Mishawaka, 7:45 p.m. (NLC)

SB Career Academy at Argos, 7:30 p.m. (HPC)

Lake Central at Marian, 7:30 p.m.

Marquette Catholic at Oregon-Davis, 7:30 p.m.

Triton at Winamac, 7:30 p.m. (HNAC)

LaVille at Pioneer, 8 p.m. (HNAC)

Michigan

Brandywine at Buchanan, 7:15 p.m. (LC)

Niles at Sturgis, 7:15 p.m. (WC)

Chicago North Lawndale vs. Dowagiac at Southwestern Michigan College, 7 p.m.

GIRLS

Indiana

St. Joseph at Riley, 6 p.m. (NIC)

Clinton Christian at Trinity, 6 p.m.

Culver at SB Career Academy, 6 p.m.

LaVille at Pioneer, 6:30 p.m. (HNAC)

Elkhart at Marian, 7:30 p.m. (NIC)

ECA at Fairfield, 7:30 p.m.

Goshen at Northridge, 7:45 p.m. (NLC)

Portage at LaPorte, 8 p.m. (DAC)

Michigan

Brandywine at Buchanan, 6 p.m. (LC)

Niles at Sturgis, 6 p.m. (WC)

Saturday, Dec. 16

BOYS

Indiana

Trinity at Culver Community, noon

Concord vs. East Noble at Grace College, 1 p.m.

ECA at Lakewood Park Christian, 2:30 p.m.

Adams at Michigan City, 4 p.m.

St. Joseph vs. FW Concordia at Grace College, 4 p.m.

Washington vs. Warsaw at Grace College, 6pm

Marian at Gary West, 6:30 p.m.

Glenn at LaVille, 7:30 p.m.

Elkhart at Valparaiso, 7:30 p.m.

Jimtown at Fairfield, 7:30 p.m.

Knox at LaPorte, 7:30 p.m.

Pioneer at Argos, 7:30 p.m.

LCA at Bethany Christian, 7:30 p.m. (HPC)

Northridge at Goshen, 7:45 p.m. (NLC)

South Central at Demotte Christian, 8 p.m.

Michigan

Niles vs. Chicago North Lawndale at SWMC, 11 a.m.

GIRLS

Indiana

Trinity at Kouts, 1 p.m.

Mishawaka at Concord, 2:30 p.m. (NLC)

Adams at LaPorte, 3:30 p.m.

Washington vs. Western Reserve Academy (OH) in Belleville, Mi., 4 p.m.

LCA at Bethany Christian, 6 p.m. (HPC)

Goshen at Penn, 7:30 p.m.

Triton at Pioneer, 7:30 p.m. (HNAC)

NorthWood at Plymouth, 7:45 p.m. (NLC)

Michigan

Edwardsburg vs. Hillcrest at SWMC, 1 p.m.

Conferences: NIC = Northern Indiana, NLC = Northern Lakes, HNAC = Hoosier North, DAC = Duneland, HPC = Hoosier Plains, LC = Lakeland, WC = Wolverine.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend-area basketball: What to watch in Dec. 15-16 matchups