St. Elmo Holiday Tournament recap
The 54th annual St. Elmo Holiday Tournament kicked off last Tuesday, and games continued every day through last Saturday to determine a champion.
For the seventh-straight season, St. Elmo/Brownstown and Altamont met to decide the tournament champion, with Altamont prevailing for its first title since 2009.
Below are the scores from all pool play games, and scoring details of those games. Also included are results of the third-place game between Okaw Valley and Beecher City.
Tuesday, Dec. 17
•(1) Altamont 81, (8) Cowden-Herrick 48
•(4) Okaw Valley 60, (5) South Central 40
Wednesday, Dec. 18
•(2) SEB 54, (7) Mulberry Grove 45
•(3) Beecher City 56, (6) Ramsey 31
Thursday, Dec. 19
•Altamont 76, Okaw Valley 36
•Cowden-Herrick 59, South Central 48
Friday, Dec. 20
•Ramsey 59, Mulberry Grove 35
•SEB 52, Beecher City 46 (OT)
Saturday, Dec. 21
Championship Day
•Mulberry Grove 53, South Central 46
•Ramsey 63, Cowden-Herrick 38
•Beecher City 58, Okaw Valley 52
•Altamont 72, SEB 49
All-Tournament team
First-team
•MVP: Garrett Ziegler, Altamont
•Levi Maxey, SEB
•Klaiton Wolff, Altamont
•Brady Barnes, Beecher City
•Colton Burrus, Cowden-Herrick
Second-team
•Jacob Behrends, SEB
•Tylor Knisley, Ramsey
•Peyton Hagerman, Okaw Valley
•Jack Criner, Mulberry Grove
•Brett Harmeier, South Central
Cheerleading
•Champions: SEB
•Runners-up: Altamont
***
The third-place game of the St. Elmo Holiday Tournament went to overtime last Saturday, with Beecher City running away with a 58-52 victory.
Tied at 48 after the Timberwolves failed to convert on the final possession of regulation, Beecher City scored 10 points in the extra period on three field goals and four free throws.
Brandon Gardner scored 20 points for the Eagles (4-2), and Austin Rexroad added 19. Those two dominated the first period, combining for 13 points as Beecher City took a 15-4 lead.
That lead was slowly cut down throughout the game, with Okaw Valley (3-8), outscoring the Eagles, 14-7, in the fourth quarter to tie the game.
Peyton Hagerman led the team with 19 points, and three others scored 10.
Saturday, Dec. 21
Beecher City 58
Okaw Valley 52
O: 4-17-13-14-4—52
B: 15-16-10-7-10—58
Eagles
Points: Gardner, 20; Rexroad, 19; Barnes, 8; Doty, 4; Giles, 3; Bales, 2; Lagerhausen, 2.
Record: 4-2
Timberwolves
Points: Hagerman, 19; Jeffers, 10; Pieszchalski, 10; Still, 10; Walker, 3.
Record: 3-8
***
St. Elmo/Brownstown advanced to the championship game of its own tournament for the seventh-straight year last Friday by sneaking past Beecher City, 52-46, in overtime.
Tied at 41 after four quarters, SEB made 9-of-11 free throws in the extra period to pull away from Beecher City in the second semifinal.
Senior Levi Maxey scored 20 points to lead SEB (5-2) – hitting five 3-pointers – and senior Jacob Behrends added 19 points.
Beecher City (3-2) was led by Adam Doty’s 11 points.
Friday, Dec. 20
SEB 52
Beecher City 46
B: 8-7-11-15-5—46
S: 4-10-15-12-11—52
SEB
Points: L. Maxey, 20; Behrends, 19; Landon Feezel, 6; Cole Smithson, 4; Malachi Maxey, 3.
Record: 5-2
BC
Points: Doty, 11; Lagerhausen, 9; Gardner, 7; Bales, 5; B. Barnes, 5; Kenter, 4; Rexroad, 3; Harder, 2.
Record: 3-2
***
Mulberry Grove struggled to score in the final quarters, and Ramsey’s offense picked up the pace over the same span to give the Rams a 59-35 win in last Friday’s consolation semifinal.
Senior Tylor Knisley scored 23 points to lead Ramsey (4-5), and junior Michael Camez added 11 to help Ramsey turned a one-point deficit after the first period into an eight-point lead by halftime.
For the Aces (1-7), freshman Jack Criner was the leading scorer, with nine points.
Friday, Dec. 30
Ramsey 59
Mulberry Grove 35
R: 11-17-16-15—59
M: 12-8-8-7—35
Rams
Points: Knisley, 23; Camez, 11; Carter Hunt, 7; Kyle Adermann, 5; Adam Casey, 4; Carson Thomas, 4; Ryan Kelly, 3; Brady Reiss, 2.
Record: 4-5
Aces
Points: Criner, 9; Dalton Crisman, 8; Austin Redfern, 7; Damian Latham, 6; Ty James, 5.
Record: 1-7
***
In the first loser’s bracket semifinal, Cowden-Herrick used a fast start and balanced scoring to take down South Central, 59-48.
Sophomore Brett Harmeier continued his strong season, scoring a career-high 17 points in the loss, giving him double digits in each of the first six games, and Trevor Markley scored the first nine points of his career for the Cougars (0-6).
Both players hit a pair of 3-pointers in the game.
But the balanced scoring of the Hornets (3-7) – who had four players score at least 10 points – plus a 21-point first quarter gave them control of the game from start to finish.
Thursday, Dec. 19
Cowden-Herrick 59
South Central 48
C: 21-8-11-19—59
S: 13-9-11-15—48
Cougars
Points: Harmeier, 17; Markley, 9; Evan Langley, 8; Tyler Ross, 7; Kerrigan Henken, 2; Noah Powless, 2; Jace Wilkins, 2; Chase Riley, 1.
Record: 0-6
Hornets
Points: Barnes, 17; Blackerby, 15; Burrus, 11; Evans, 10; Spahr, 6.
Record: 3-7
***
Altamont had little trouble advancing to the title game of the tournament last Thursday, dominating Okaw Valley, 76-36, in the first championship semifinal.
Garrett Ziegler led the Indians (5-0) with 23 points, and Klaiton Wolff added 15, and those two combined for 13 of Altamont’s 27 fourth-quarter points, which turned a 22-point lead into a 40-point blowout.
Peyton Hagerman led Okaw Valley (3-7), with 15 points.
Thursday, Dec. 19
Altamont 76
Okaw Valley 36
O: 7-13-7-9—36
A: 18-15-16-27—76
Indians
Points: Ziegler, 23; Wolff, 15; Jackman, 10; McGinnis, 8; A. Goeckner, 5; Armstrong, 4; Jahraus, 4; Seidel, 4; Borders, 3.
Record: 5-0
Timberwolves
Points: Hagerman, 15; Pieszchalski,, 7; Jeffers, 5; Still, 5; Walker, 2; Sparks, 1; Sroka, 1.
Record: 3-7
***
In the final game of pool play last Wednesday, Beecher City held Ramsey to single-digit scoring in all but the fourth quarter of a 56-31 victory.
Junior Adam Casey’s seven points paced the Rams (3-5), who also got six points from seniors Tylor Knisley and Ryan Kelly, but with no more than eight points in any of the three periods, Beecher City was able to take a commanding 45-18 lead into the final eight minutes.
Brady Barnes had 21 points for the Eagles (3-1), who did not make a 3-pointer in the contest.
Wednesday, Dec. 18
Beecher City 56
Ramsey 31
B: 10-17-18-11—56
R: 3-7-8-13—31
Rams
Points: Casey, 7; Kelly, 6; Knisley, 6; Michael Camez, 4; Brady Reiss, 3; Tristan Wesselman, 3; Carter Hunt, 2.
Record: 3-5
Eagles
Points: Barnes, 21; Doty, 10; Kenter, 7; Gardner, 4; Lagerhausen, 4; Rexroad, 4; Bales, 2; Harder, 2; Shleton, 2.
Record: 3-1
***
After being upset by Mulberry Grove last season, St. Elmo/Brownstown coach Greg Feezel has put more focus on that opponent.
In last Wednesday’s pool play game, his extra diligence may have paid off.
The Aces stayed with the Eagles for the first three quarters before fading in the final period of a 54-45 SEB victory.
Senior Jacob Behrends scored 23 points for the Eagles (4-2) to lead the game, and sophomore Ty James had 18 for the Aces (1-6) before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Mulberry Grove led by a point after the first eight minutes, with James scoring 10 points, but surrendered 18 points to SEB in the second period to fall behind, 31-25, at halftime.
In the third quarter, however, the Aces outscored the Eagles, 12-8, to pull back within two, but the Eagles made 8-of-12 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Wednesday, Dec. 18
SEB 54
Mulberry Grove 45
M: 14-11-12-8—45
S: 13-18-8-15—54
Eagles
Points: Behrends, 23; Levi Maxey, 12; Cole Smithson, 10; Landon Feezel, 4; Malachi Maxey, 3; Curt Frailey, 2.
Record: 4-2
Aces
Points: James, 18; Jack Criner, 10; Damian Latham, 9; Austin Redfern, 5; Dalton Crisman, 2; Michael Sloan, 1.
Record: 1-6
***
South Central went cold in the third quarter of its first game in the SEHT, allowing Okaw Valley to turn its two-point halftime lead into a 23-point advantage during a 60-40 loss.
The Cougars trailed 24-22 at halftime last Tuesday, but could manage just one basket in the quarter, while surrendering 23 points to the Timberwolves in the same span.
Sophomore Brett Harmeier paced South Central (0-5) with 11 points, but Peyton Hagerman made four 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 24 points for Okaw Valley (3-6) and Still added 19.
Tuesday, Dec. 17
Okaw Valley 60
South Central 40
O: 12-12-23-13—60
S: 12-10-2-16—40
Cougars
Points: Harmeier, 11; Chase Riley, 8; Noah Powless, 6; Tyler Ross, 6; Kerrigan Henken, 5; Evan Langley, 4.
Record: 0-5
Timberwolves
Points: Hagerman, 24; Still, 19; Sroka, 6; Fruchtl, 3; Jeffers, 3; Pieszchalski, 2; Walker, 2; Martin, 1.
Record: 3-6
***
Altamont proved it belonged as the No. 1 seed, posting 81 points – including seven 3-pointers – in a SEHT-opening win against Cowden-Herrick.
The Indians (4-0) got at least 12 points for four different players, and led by 24 points going to the fourth quarter of an 81-48 win last Tuesday.
Colton Burrus had 19 points for the Hornets (2-7).
Tuesday, Dec. 17
Altamont 81
Cowden-Herrick 48
C: 10-11-18-9—48
A: 18-19-26-18—81
Indians
Points: McGinnis, 14; Ziegler, 13; Wolff, 13; Jackman, 12; Armstrong, 7; Borders, 6; Jahraus, 6; Seidel, 6; A. Goeckner, 4.
Record: 4-0
Hornets
Points: Burrus, 19; Spahr, 7; Evans, 6; Barnes, 5; M. Sandiford, 4; Lorton, 3; Blackerby, 2; Nohren, 2.
Record: 2-7
