What’s Happened
As winter break came to an end, La Lumiere students kicked up the school spirit more than ever, as the Varsity White basketball team took on some of the top teams in the country. For the first time ever, the La Lumiere Lakers hosted their fellow National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) teams for the U.S. Marines NIBC Series La Porte Invitational, at home in La Porte, Indiana.
The tournament took place over the second weekend of January, at the La Porte Civic Auditorium, with the teams competing, flying in from all over the country.
Leading the charge in this game was Notre Dame commit JJ Starling who was named player of the game by NIBC and SportsCenter NEXT. This was due to his pulling off a massive 20 points throughout the game.
To begin, the Lakers faced their first opponent, Legacy Early College, on Thursday, January 6. The Lakers were quick to take the lead, holding the Legacy Lions back as the team successfully secured a win of 28 points.
Following the impressive win, the Lakers went on to play Oak Hill Academy in a late-night game on Friday. While this game proved to be a close one with only a four-point gap between the teams, it was La Lumiere that was able to pull ahead in the third quarter. In the end, the Lakers secured a massive 14-point win against Oak Hill, continuing their success at the tournament.
In the Oak Hill game, recent Michigan State University commit Jeremy Fears was named the player of the game by NIBC and SportsCenter NEXT. Fears made 12 points and held eight assists during the game, proving to be a valuable member of the team, and an exciting player to watch throughout the game.
To conclude the weekend, the Lakers took on one of their toughest opponents, Montverde Academy, in a Saturday night game. While the game was a tough one and came close at many points, the Lakers, despite their best efforts, lost the game by a mere eight points.
However, even with a loss, the tournament proved to unite the school community more than ever. This tournament, being the first time the Lakers have played against its national league teams on a home court, has caused the excitement in the La Lumiere community to be far from shy, with students, faculty, and community members attending the games in large numbers.
Tommy Neil, who is currently a junior at La Lumiere, noted that even though the community is smaller, it is still mighty in its enthusiasm.
“Despite the small size of our school we still have so many people who show up with tons of energy,” said Neil. “Even though we play a lot of bigger schools, our community still always shows up and cheers as loud as they can.”
Throughout the weekend, the Laker fans have shown up in full force, filling up whole sections of the auditorium, as well as dressing up in themes to show their support for the basketball team. These included a neon theme for the Friday night game and a beach theme for the Saturday night game.
Such participation does come as a shock to many students when they first come to La Lumiere. Jane Malachovska, who is a senior at La Lumiere, is one of many who noticed the unique environment of La Lumiere when it comes to basketball games.
“The best part of these games is the atmosphere and everyone in the community coming together and cheering as loud as they can no matter what happens,” said Malachovska. “It’s truly amazing because we all come together and get to watch our friends play an NBA-level match which is such a special feeling and thing to be a part of.”
Basketball, being such a huge part of the La Lumiere community, not only has connected the students currently attending La Lumiere but has also brought together students before they even could attend high school.
Freshman Lyla Cary is one of many to have the La Lumiere basketball experience before having actually attended La Lumiere.
“La Lumiere basketball games are special to me because they were something I always did with my brothers,” said Cary. “Now, as a student, attending games brings me so much joy and memories as well as it just being so much fun to get to watch these games in person.”
Although the tournament has officially ended, the La Lumiere community is looking forward to the rest of the season, and the upcoming games that the Varsity White team has scheduled.
In short, the U.S. Marines NIBC series La Porte Invitational proved to be a great success bringing together the La Lumiere community in a new way, and many hope to see it become a yearly tradition.
What’s Coming Up
This weekend, if anything, proved to be a look into the rest of the season for the La Lumiere basketball team. Throughout the season, the Lakers will continue to rematch with many of the teams who were a part of this tournament, all leading up to the GEICO Nationals which are set to take place in April.
The Lakers' next slate of games will happen next weekend as the Varsity White team travels to Springfield, Massachusetts for the Spalding Hoophall Classic. During the weekend tournament, the team will rematch Oak Hill Academy and take on AZ Compass Prep for the first time this year.
The community is looking forward to what it hopes to be a successful rest of the season for the Varsity White team and hopes to bring home a national championship title brought home in April.