History on the 3s: A look back at the Little Ten Conference Boys Basketball Tournament

The Little Ten is the oldest continually running high school basketball conference in Illinois, organized during the 1919-20 school year with Earlville, Hinckley, Leland, Paw Paw, Plano, Rollo, Sandwich, Shabbona, Somonauk and Waterman as its charter schools. A conference tournament has been an annual event every season, one for many years held at the end of January.

Sheridan was added in 1930 but dropped in 1939 with Serena taking its place. Rollo closed in 1954. Hinckley consolidated with Big Rock in 1957 to form Hinckley-Big Rock. In 1967, Sandwich and Plano left, and Newark and Malta joined. Shabbona and Waterman consolidated to form Indian Creek in 1993. LaMoille joined in 1996. Malta closed in 2000. Kirkland Hiawatha joined in 2006, and that same year Earlville and Leland combined athletic programs to form Leland-Earlville but went back to separate programs in 2019, while Paw Paw joined with Indian Creek. DePue joined the league in 2020, and Illinois Math and Science Academy in 2022.

In the previous 103 LTC Tournaments, Newark has walked away as champion 22 times, followed by Serena with 16 titles, Waterman 15, Somonauk 12, Shabbona and Hinckley-Big Rock 10 each, Earlville seven, Indian Creek, Paw Paw, Leland, Plano and Sandwich two each, and Malta one.

Waterman holds the record for consecutive tournament championships with seven (1929-37). Newark had a run of five (2015-19) titles, while Earlville (1921-23), Serena (1963-66) and Shabbona (1958-60) all had three-year streaks.

Here’s a dive into tournament history in years ending with “3,” viewed a decade at a time:

1923

Earlville captured its third consecutive title with a 33-27 victory over Rollo at Sandwich. The Red Raiders reached the championship after wins over Plano (41-19) and the host Indians (34-32).

1933

Waterman, coached by the legendary Ernie Eveland, topped Paw Paw 36-18 in the title game, using a key 7-2 third-quarter advantage. Waterman rolled into the final after wins over Plano (54-15) and Sandwich (42-14). It was Waterman’s fifth of seven straight championships.

Sandwich defeated Earlville 22-15 for third, while Plano slipped past Hinckley 32-25 in the first consolation title game.

1943

Somonauk, under head coach Bill Randles, entered the tournament with 16 consecutive victories and was voted the No. 1 team in the “Fifteen Outstanding Illinois High School Basketball Teams,” according to the United Press.

Somonauk defeated Hinckley (28-13) and Shabbona (36-24) to reach the title game at Waterman, where it defeated Leland 45-29. The Bobcats were led in the title game by 19 points from Al Denilauler, 10 from Don Voss and nine from Bill Westbrook. Scott Fleming paced the Panthers with five points.

The Bobcats finished 32-3 on the season and two wins short of reaching the state finals.

1953

In what is arguably the biggest Cinderella story in the tournament’s history, Serena pulled off four upsets in five days on its home floor to grab the title. The Huskers swept by Paw Paw (65-58), defending champion Hinckley (59-52), No. 2 seed Leland (58-45) and finally top-seeded and heavily favored Waterman (58-53) in the championship game. In the title game, Don Donahue scored 25 points for coach Dick Dorsey’s Serena squad, followed by Don Mundorf (12), Bob “Corny” Roth (10) and Stuart Warren (8). Waterman’s Chuck Johnson led his team with 17 points.

Leland defeated Earlville 59-53 in the third-place game. Don Loux had 22 points for the Panthers and Bud Swayze 23 for the Red Raiders.

1963

A short jumper with just over a minute remaining by Serena’s Ron Olson, part of his game-high 23 points, gave coach Dick Manley’s top-seeded Huskers the lead for good in a 49-48 title-game win over undefeated regular-season champ Leland and coach Bob Strickland at Waterman. Gary Christopherson added 10 points for Serena. The No. 4-seeded Panthers received 16 points from Bill Laugaland and 11 from Bob Leonard.

In the battle for third place, Shabbona topped Plano 68-64 despite 36 points form the Reapers’ Norm Hage.

1973

Somonauk, coached by Ron Anderson, won its first title since 1945 with a 47-42, home-court triumph over Al Stegman’s Serena squad. The Bobcats were led by 14 points, including the clinching basket with 37 seconds left, from Jeff Underwood. Bart Darfler, Neal Koehler, Jeff Jelm and Dan Grandgeorge added eight points each. Paul Finley paced Serena with 21 points, with Dave Skelton adding 11.

Shabbona slipped past Malta 51-46 for third place. Larry Peterson had 16 points and Denny Morton 11 for the Indians. Bob Cardine had 13 points and Sam Phelps 12 for the Mustangs.

1983

Top-seeded Newark won its second consecutive title with a 71-56 victory over Paw Paw at Hinckley. Scott Anderson led coach Chuck Nelson’s Norsemen with a game-high 26 points, with Jim Nichols adding 10, and John Zitt and Terry Torkelson eight apiece. Drew Anderson paced the Bulldogs with 22 points, Conrad Smith added 10, and Eric Rosenwinkle scored eight.

Hinckley-Big Rock topped Leland 61-50 in the third-place game. Jim Edmundson had 20 points and Kevin Jones 16 for the Royals. The Panthers were led by 16 points from Brad Peterson, 14 from John Miller and 13 from Craig Elliott.

1993

Behind 24 points each from Rocky Mitchell and Ed Lee, top-seeded Newark defeated No. 6 Hinckley-Big Rock 77-61 at Somonauk. Chad Skelton added 11 points, and Phil Chapman and Chris Clausel seven each for coach Jerry Thorton’s Norsemen. Matt Philips paced coach Harry Kunsch’s Royals with 22 points, while Beau Byington chipped in 12.

Somonauk edged Serena 66-64 in the third-place game. The Bobcats were led by Chip Peterson’s 22 points, with Tom Stahl adding 11 and Aaron Grandgeorge 10. Jason Krapausky and Jason Schupp netted 17 points each for the Huskers.

2003

Somonauk held a two-point lead at halftime before topping Hinckley-Big Rock 67-52 for its first title since 1992. Coach Joe Hamilton’s Bobcats were led by Kevin Lundeen (22 points), Adam Anderson (18), Paul Bruggemann (12) and Nick Woody (nine). Marc Eberly and Ryan Michael scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Royals, coached by Bill Sambrookes.

Indian Creek defeated Newark 64-53 in the third-place game. Kyle Mitchell had 18 points to lead the Timberwolves, followed by Ben Bulkley (13) and Kyle Davis (10). David Thanepohn netted a game-high 23 points for the Norsemen, with Matt Akre adding 12 and Maren Batt 10.

2013

In the lowest-scoring title game since 1947, top-seed Hinckley-Big Rock defeated No. 3 Indian Creek 39-30 after leading 19-7 at halftime. Bernie Conley led the Royals, coached by Bill Sambrookes, with 14 points, with Zach Michels adding 10 and Michael Bayler eight. Kyle Lieving and Garrett Post each scored seven points for coach Joe Piekarz’s Timberwolves.

Paw Paw used two free throws with 4.7 seconds left by Justin Wiley to get past Newark 66-64 in the third-place game. Zach Lilja led the Bulldogs with 25 points and seven rebounds, with Wiley posting 19 points and seven assists, and Nicholas Siemers 14 points and eight assists. Brett Anderson popped in a game-high 29 points, with Jack Clausel adding 10 and Joe Hughes 11 for the Norsemen.

2023

Top-seeded Serena used an 11-2 run at the end of the first half in a 54-46 victory over No. 2-seeded Hinckley-Big Rock. Camden Figgins (four assists, two steals) led coach Dain Twait’s Huskers with 11 points. Braxton Hart, Hunter Staton and Carson Baker (three assists) added 10 points apiece. Bradley Armour added nine points, and Richie Armour grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. The Royals received a game-high double-double of 20 points and 18 rebounds from Martin Ledbetter, while Ben Hintzsche posted 11 points and six rebounds.

Newark jumped out to a 22-4 lead after one quarter in topping Earlville 59-43 in the third-place game. Zach Carlson recorded a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Norsemen, while Blake Wallin added 10 points, including three 3-pointers, and Jake Kruser chipped in 10 points and five rebounds. Earlville was paced by 17 points from Garett Cook, with Adam Waite recording 12 points and a game-best 13 rebounds.