COVID-19 sidetracks City Tournament plans for both boys and girls basketball
![Lanphier boys basketball head coach Blake Turner talks with the referees during a break in play as the Lions take on Springfield in the first half during the semifinals of the Boys CS8 Tournament at Lober-Nika Gymnasium in Springfield, Ill., Friday, March 12, 2021. [Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/VnWq4WTAQA_fdRz84Ui0hA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04NjY-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-state-journal-register/e544d680116ffdddafb31d3ab8aad9e7)
The COVID-19 pandemic is roiling the City Tournament once again — Lanphier's boys and girls basketball teams, in particular.
The Lanphier boys team will miss the entire tournament next week while the girls program will participate on the final day on Saturday.
A revised schedule is listed below.
District 186 spokesperson Bree Hankins said in an email on Thursday that the event — originally scheduled to run Wednesday through Saturday at the Bank of Springfield Center — will be played as a shootout.
A champion will be declared once all of the rescheduled games have been made up.
"For all teams, City Tournament represents three conference games that must be played during the regular season and that lead up to the conference championship, so teams that are not affected by COVID protocols will play their games at the BOS Center in a shootout model," Hankins wrote in the email.
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"Games that are not played will be made up within the regular season. The schedule is being reviewed and further details will be released as they become available."
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled last year's tournament. Sacred Heart-Griffin and Lanphier shared the last boys title while the former also won the girls title in 2020.
A total of 37,048 new COVID-19 cases were reported statewide on Thursday, along with 142 new deaths.
More than 1,750 District 186 students were in exclusion, according to the district's COVID-19 dashboard. Exclusions include positive cases, close contacts, those who are symptomatic and household members of symptomatic persons.
REVISED CITY TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
AT BANK OF SPRINGFIELD CENTER
THURSDAY, JAN. 20
GIRLS
6 p.m. — Springfield High vs. Southeast
BOYS
8 p.m. — Springfield High vs. Sacred Heart-Griffin
FRIDAY, JAN. 21
GIRLS
6 p.m. — Sacred Heart-Griffin vs. Southeast
BOYS
8 p.m. — Springfield High vs. Southeast
SATURDAY, JAN. 22
GIRLS
4 p.m. — Lanphier vs. Southeast
6 p.m. — Springfield High vs. Sacred Heart-Griffin
BOYS
8 p.m. — Sacred Heart-Griffin vs. Southeast
– Ryan Mahan, Dean Olsen and Steven Spearie contributed to this story. Contact Bill Welt: bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA basketball: Lanphier boys and girls to miss games at City tourney
