GALESGURG - After a 4-1 run through the Taylorville Holiday Tournament which earned third place, the tests will get tougher this week for the Galesburg High School boys basketball team.
The Streaks boys will play a rare Thursday game at 6:30 p.m. today when they host Rockford East in the opening game of the annual Martin Luther King Tournament, an event that stretches over two weeks.
At 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Galesburg will travel for the first time ever to the Christie Clinic Shootout at St. Joseph-Ogden High School to play Danville.
Rockford East is 8-6 and coming off a consolation championship at the Collinsville Tournament and 11-2 Danville is No. 6 ranked in Class 4A and just finished third in the Pontiac Tournament.
The two teams should put 12-3 Galesburg to tough tests.
At about the halfway point of the season the Streaks - who got one vote on this week's Associated Press Class 3A poll - know they're good. Now they may find out just how good they are.
"Rockford East has a lot of guys who have played for four years," said Galesburg coach Mike Reynolds. "Danville has a DI point guard that signed for Drake and four or five guys who are Division I athletes.
"They've got a post player who is a 6-7 defensive end (Julian Pearl) who has signed for Illinois and he comes off the bench.
"It will probably be as big a test as we will have this year."
The Streaks beat Rochester 57-55, Rantoul 65-42 and Dunlap 60-47 at Taylorville to run a winning streak to five games, then fell to eventual tourney champ Sterling 39-36 before beating Dunlap again 49-43.
"I was a little frustrated that we didn't play well for one game," said Reynolds. "But besides that, I though we played really well and competed hard."
Guards Khalil Hodge and Cornell Dotson made the all-tourney team at Taylorville.
Entering the tourney, Hodge had been averaging 10.4 points and Dotson 8.8. Andrew Anderson led the team entering the holidays with a 13.3 scoring average and Jacob Carl was averaging 9.0.
Rockford East, which has won six of its last seven games, is led by guards Scott Gowan and Chris Burnell, both 6-3. Gowan hit 14 of 24 three-point shots he took at Collinsville.
Danville guard Kendle Moore made the all-tourney team at Pontiac. The Vikings have beaten Chicago Orr - No. 1 ranked in 2A this season - and suffered their lone loss to Class 4A's No. 1-ranked Chicago Simeon 73-48 in the Pontiac semifinals.
"We just didn't know how good were were," said Reynolds of how he looked at his team prior to the season. "We knew we had some pieces.
"But we know the schedule is getting tougher as it goes on and we're prepared for it."
Galesburg MLK Tourney
Thursday, Jan. 4
6:30 p.m. - Rockford East at Galesburg
Saturday, Jan, 13
At Thiel Gym
11 a.m. - Peoria vs. Rockford East
12:15 p.m. - Dunlap vs. Maine South
1:30 p.m. - Galesburg vs. Minooka
5 p.m. - Rockford East vs. Dunlap
6:30p.m. - Peoria vs. Minooka
8 p.m. - Galesburg vs. Maine South
Monday, Jan. 15
9 p.m. - Rockford East vs. Maine South
10:30 - a.m. - Peoria vs. Galesburg
Noon - Minooka vs. Dunlap
4 p.m. - Maine South vs. Peoria
5:30 p.m. - Minooka vs. Rockford East
7 p.m. - Galesburg vs. Dunlap
Christie Clinic Shootout
at St. Joseph-Ogden High School
Noon - Tri- Valley vs. Watseka
1 p.m. - Paxton-Buckley-Loda vs. Unity
3 p.m. - Morton vs. Normal Community
4:30 p.m.- Galesburg vs. Danville
6 p.m. - Shelbyville vs. Saint Joseph-Ogden
7:30 p.m. - Belleville Althoff vs. Mahomet-Seymour