Wheeling’s Hardwood Classic will feature a rich mix of boys basketball teams from the Mid-Suburban League, along with some from considerably farther away, this holiday season.

Fremd (7-0) leads the way for the MSL, with Buffalo Grove, Prospect and of course tournament host Wheeling playing a central role.

Deerfield, Vernon Hills, Maine West, Niles North and Glenbrook South will represent the Central Suburban League, with Libertyville and Waukegan standing in for the North Suburban Conference.

Tournament regulars Naperville Central, Dundee-Crown and Notre Dame will be joined by Perspectives and Clemente in the 16-team field.

The tournament will run from Tuesday, Dec. 27 through Friday, Dec. 30, with the first game of the day at 9 a.m. and the last one starting at 8:45 p.m.

First-round games on Dec. 27 are:

9 a.m.: Deerfield vs. Buffalo Grove

10:30 a.m.: Fremd vs. Vernon Hills

12:15 p.m.: Libertyville vs. Maine West

2 p.m.: Niles North vs. Perspectives

3:45 p.m.: Waukegan vs. Glenbrook South

5:30 p.m.: Prospect vs. Naperville Central

7:15 p.m.: Clemente vs. Wheeling

8:45 p.m.: Notre Dame vs. Dundee-Crown

The championship game is slated for an 8:45 p.m. tip on Friday, Dec. 30.

Cary-Grove 38, Dundee-Crown 33: First-year Cary-Grove boys basketball coach Adam McCloud is attempting to create a winning and positive culture around his program.

The Trojans took a step in the right direction with a 38-33 win over Dundee-Crown in a Fox Valley Conference tilt in Cary Wednesday night.

Off Cary-Grove’s constant defensive pressure, Dundee-Crown shot 29 percent from the field, connecting on 14-of-46 from the floor. The Chargers converted only 1-of-10 from 3-point range for 10 percent and committed 23 turnovers.

“I thought we did a great job of switching on defense and we did a great job of trapping,” said McCloud, “It was overall a very good defensive effort. We want to get better every game and we want to be playing our best basketball when the regionals start at the end of February.”

The Trojans (5-3, 2-2) were lifted by buzzer-beater 3-pointers to end the first quarter and first half.

Sam Carhart buried a 3-pointer from 30-feet to end the first quarter to give the Trojans a 9-6 lead after 8 minutes.

Danny Clarke repeated Carhart’s heroics to end the first half by canning a 3-pointer to give Cary-Grove a 20-15 advantage at intermission.

“Both shots by Sam and Danny were huge boosts to the team,” said McCloud. “They gave us great energy.”

Clarke, who missed the first four 3s he shot, ended with 3 treys and 9 points. Zach Beaugureau, who was 5-for-6 from the free throw line shared team-scoring honors with Clarke at 9 points.

“After I missed my first four 3s coach told me to keep shooting that my next 3 would fall,” said Clarke. “The 3 I made at the end of the half was huge. “

Tariq Burns and reserve Brad Stec paced the Chargers with 10 points apiece.

D-C coach Lance Huber praised Stec’s effort off the bench.

“Brad gave us a great contribution off the bench, “said Huber. “He made some big plays and he can play a lot of positions. He listens to the coaching staff and is very coachable.”

Football

St. Viator product Sal Cannella has committed to a future in the football program at Auburn, choosing the Tigers over Texas and Maryland.

Cannella, both a football and basketball standout in his time with the Lions, excelled at Scottsdale Community College as a tight end last fall. He was ranked as the No. 2 junior college player at that position after this season.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder caught 29 passes for 443 yards and 7 touchdowns last fall.

Girls basketball

Mundelein 51, Waukegan 37: The visiting Mustangs jumped out to an 18-8 lead en route to the North Suburban Conference win.

Mundelein (4-7, 2-4) was up 29-17 at halftime and 39-30 after three quarters.