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St. Joe's forward Aran George goes up for two points during the 62nd Hallissey Tournament held Feb. 28-March 3. St. Joe's beat Tri-Parish (Cottonwood) 54-44 for the boys' championship title. (Photo/Philip A. Janquart)
By Philip A. Janquart
Assistant Editor
If you love basketball, watching young stars develop, and the competitive excitement generated by Idaho's largest and most prominent annual Catholic sports event, the 62nd Hallissey Tournament was your ticket.
The Mar. 2-3 tournament drew over 30 teams and approximately 400 athletes from all over the state. The 7th and 8th-graders played 60 games in 48 hours across five gyms in the Treasure Valley.
Matches were played at Bishop Kelly High School’s Carley Center, Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s Schools in Boise, and St. Ignatius School, as well as the gym at the adjacent Holy Apostles Church in Meridian. At least half a dozen three-person referee cadres oversaw the action. The referees used the Hallissey Tournament for training purposes, honing the consistency of their interventions, according to tournament organizer Charles Eddy.
There were three divisions: boys, girls and coed. The games fell under Idaho High School Activities Association (IHSAA) rules, with two 14-minute halves and a five-minute halftime break.
“We have several members of our committee who have been involved for many years,” explained Eddy, who has helped with the annual event for more than 20 years. “The most inspirational part of this tournament, this year, is the Mass at St. Mark’s,” said Eddy, noting that the Mass was followed by the awarding of sportsmanship trophies, which was the part of the tournament Monsignor James T. Hallissey cherished most, Eddy added.
The tournament was launched in 1964 by then-Father Hallissey and John Kirk. In 1982, it was renamed the Hallissey Tournament.
The Sportsmanship Awards go to one team in each division, but the recognition doesn’t end there.
“Something we adopted last year to help promote sportsmanship is what we call our ‘Sportsmanship Coin.’ It has Monsignor Hallissey’s image and Sacred Heart Catholic School’s motto: ‘Building Christian Community Through Sports,’” Eddy explained.
Officials and gym coordinators (who are tournament committee members) can award the coins to individuals, fans, players and coaches who display good sportsmanship. “We will stop a game or recognize an individual during a timeout and present them with the coin. It’s positive reinforcement, and the officials love it.”
St. Mark's forward Amari Brady takes a shot from underneath the basket during the Lions' championship game against the Huskies of All Saints (Lewiston). St. Mark's beat All Saints 43-26 to claim the first-place trophy. (Photo/Philip A. Janquart)
St. Mark’s pastor, Father John Mosier, presided at the Mar. 1 Mass and gave a brief overview of Monsignor Hallissey, who was assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Boise from 1952 to 1970.
“He came from Ireland in 1940 at the request of another great priest in this diocese, Bishop (Edward Joseph) Kelly,” he said, addressing a church packed with players, coaches and family members.
“He was a big basketball fan and truly believed that our Catholicism is lived out not just in sanctuaries, like here at our Church, but in our communities,” he said. “He created this tournament, and that’s why it’s named after him. He lives in our hearts today, so you are playing in a tournament named after a wonderful man.”
In their game program, the Sacred Heart Athletic Committee wrote, “More important than the championships, the Hallissey Sportsmanship Trophy symbolizes the focus of the tournament: Christian Sportsmanship.” The game program notes that the committee evaluates the sportsmanship of each team in every game, as well as the off-court actions of the teams and their fans.
2025 Hallissey Tournament Results
Sportsmanship Awards
· Boys: St. John Bosco Academy, Cottonwood
· Girls: Tri-Parish Community, Cottonwood, Ferdinand, Greencreek
· Coed: St. Mary’s School, Moscow
“This is special; to me, in our parish, it means more than the championship,” said Tri-Parish coach Eric Hagen. “It means we coach the girls right, and they were raised right, with respect for others and the Church. It’s a wonderful group of girls.”
Championships
The championship games, played at Bishop Kelly, were marked by an opening ceremony with a color guard consisting of Scout Troop and Cub Scout Troop 123, presenting the State of Idaho and U.S. flags.
Singing the national anthem was past tournament participant Jane Bingham, a 2013 Bishop Kelly graduate. She has sung the national anthem at the tournament since 2009.
Coed Division:
St. Edward’s Kings, Twin Falls--55
Sacred Heart Crusaders, Emmett – 48
“We’ve had a pretty good tournament,” coach Felipe Zamora told the Idaho Catholic Register (ICR). “We have a really good group of kids. They are just athletic, and they all like to run; they like to play, and they learned in a short amount of time how to play together because we’ve only practiced six or seven times together.”
Zamora praised the organizers for their efforts in putting such a large tournament together. “We want to thank everyone who put in the time to put on the tournament, all the organizers and the parents who supported us and made it possible for us to come here,” he said.
Girls’ Division:
St. Mark’s Lions, Boise – 43
All Saints Huskies, Lewiston – 26
“I think they just played team basketball, and I think that’s why we won,” said coach Cheryl Hutchinson. “They passed the ball well; they’re not selfish, they are aggressive and they have fun. I’ve had them for a long time, and they are just a fun group of kids. And they are good listeners, which makes your life a little bit better (as) they begin to develop a really good IQ for the game.”
Boys Division:
St. Joseph Catholic School, Boise – 54
Tri-Parish Huskies, Cottonwood, Ferdinand, Greencreek – 44
“I’m really proud of our players,” coach Ben Kuznia told the ICR. “We practiced six times and have four guys who never played basketball before, so the way they bonded together and played as a team is amazing.”
Kuznia added that the Tri-Parish Huskies “destroyed us earlier on Saturday morning; they beat us by 15.”
“We couldn’t break it (the full-court press),” said Kuznia. “We did not look good, but my guys gelled together as a team today and really played amazing.”
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