The La Porte Civic Auditorium is the perfect venue for many events. Concerts, conferences, business luncheons – if it draws a crowd, the Civic Auditorium can handle it. That’s why, for the third year now, the Civic Auditorium will host 11 of the top-rated high school basketball programs in the nation at the three-day La Porte Invitational.
Beginning this Thursday, January 4, the nationally televised La Porte Invitational taps into the Region’s love of high school basketball and features such highly rated programs as La Lumiere School from La Porte, Indiana, Oak Hill Academy from Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, and the Orangeville Prep from Canada, among others. This powerhouse of a showing had fans excited from the get-go.
“The La Porte Invitational brings together some of the best high school basketball this country has to offer,” City of La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody said in a press release. “A handful of young men who played in the Civic gym during the first two years of this event are now playing in the NBA. I’m not sure where else you can witness this sort of talent develop and unfold. Basketball of this caliber is hard to come by, and watching it in a building as historic as our Civic Auditorium is the icing on the cake.”
The event kicked off with an outstanding showing from La Lumiere and New York’s Long Island Lutheran High School. La Lumiere, led by Head Coach Patrick Holmes, continued to demonstrate the team’s characteristic strong offense but ended up falling short with an 82-65 score.
Holmes and his team are grateful for the opportunity to represent La Porte in front of such a large crowd.
“We are proud to not only represent La Lumiere but also La Porte when we are on the national stage, and we want to make sure that we bring that back to the community to celebrate,” he said in a press release.
The rest of the night additionally featured close games from Oak Hill Academy against Orangeville Prep, with Oak Hill Academy prevailing a 75-71 score.
The La Porte Invitational is a collaboration between the city, local organizations like the La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP), businesses providing sponsorship, and volunteers who help ensure everything runs smoothly the day. It’s an event that, on top of showcasing the incredible talent rooted in the county, brings the whole city together to put on a spectacular show.
“Pride. This event is international. We sold tickets to people from 15 different states this year. They get to come and experience the historic and treasured La Porte Civic Auditorium,” said Brett Binversie, director of the Civic Auditorium.
Tonight was just the first in a series of intense competitions. Tomorrow will see four more games beginning with Long Island Lutheran facing off against Legacy Early College from Greenville, South Carolina at 2:30 p.m. The whole event will conclude on Saturday with a head-to-head match between La Lumiere and Wasatch Academy. A full schedule for the invitational can be found here.
Tonight’s games as well as the next two days’ games can be viewed on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, and YouTube. Those interested in purchasing tickets to attend the next two days in person can visit showclix.com/event/laporteinvitational.
For more opportunities to get involved in the La Porte community, visit the La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership’s website at laportepartnership.com.
To stay up to date on everything happening in the City of La Porte, visit www.cityoflaporte.com.
