School Sports

St. Elmo seventh-grader Landon Feezel (left) tries to drive around Vandalia's Brandon Gelsinger during the first round of the Vandalia Seventh-Grade Tournament on Saturday. The Eagles were defeated by the Vandals 33-24 in that game.

One heartbreaking loss, one victory and two great Eric Hobbie performances.

McKendree University coach Harry Statham would have liked to have beaten Lindenwood University in its first game of the season, but Hobbie, a Vandalia grad, did everything he could do to power the Bearcats to victory. In the 81-79 loss to the St. Louis-based school, Hobbie poured in 24 points, grabbed five rebounds and doled out three assists. He hit 8-of-21 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws. He made 4-of-9 trey opportunities.

A comeback bid fell just short for the Vandalia Junior High eighth-grade boys basketball team after it erased as much as a 10-point deficit to finish within a single point in a loss to Hillsboro on Tuesday.

“It’s a learning curve,” said first-year coach Joe Schaal after the 41-40 loss. “We figured out that we can’t just show up. We have to show up and perform.”

The Vandals took that message to heart after halftime.

The Vandalia Junior High seventh-grade boys basketball team won its own tournament on Saturday by beating St. Elmo and Greenville after it had been defeated by a combined 112-40 in the first three games of the season.

“It’s amazing,” said coach Eric Sinclair. “They looked like a different team. They ran their offense and got points. We finally found a groove.”