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Today's Sports

  • Lady Vandals defend Mattoon...

    Nobody is more aware of how difficult it is to repeat as champions at the Mattoon Christmas Tournament than longtime Vandalia girls basketball coach Mike Butler.

    "I told our kids that I've been here since '92, and it's been a long, long time since there's been a repeat champion," said Butler, who has been taking Vandalia teams to the tournament more years than some of his current players have been alive.

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  • Cougars win fourth VHT title...

     The script would have been too cheesy to believe - had the South Central boys basketball team not written it in Vandalia.

    The Cougars entered the 37th Annual Vandalia Holiday Tournament on Dec. 26 with a pedestrian 4-4 record and few believing they could even come close to competing for another tournament title.

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  • Vandals get back on track at...

     Carlinville threw a zone defense at the Vandalia boys basketball team Tuesday night.

    The Vandals responded by getting in the zone on offense during a decisive 20-0 first-half run.

    VCHS hit 8 of 10 from the field during the scintillating six-minute span, turning a 12-9 deficit into a 29-12 lead.

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  • Garrett getting ready for 12th...

     If everything goes as planned, pretty soon Shawn Garrett will be headed to another baseball spring training.

    For now, the South Central graduate is relaxing, deer hunting and pondering which team he will be playing for in about two months.

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  • WEEKEND UPDATE: Cougars move to...

    South Central moved to 3-0 in Vandalia Holiday Tournament play Saturday night with a 45-40 win over three-time defending champion Wesclin.

    The fourth-seeded Cougars thrashed No. 8 Shelbyville, 70-43, in its Pool B opener Friday and used a big second half to cruise past 10th-seeded Flora in its first game Saturday, 61-40.

    They will look to clinch a spot in Tuesday's title game for the second year in a row with an upset of top-seeded Greenville (3-0) Monday at 8 p.m.

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  • Lady Vandals move to 10-0

     Improving to 10-0 is going to get a team noticed, no matter who they beat to get there.

    Doing so against Breese Central - and doing so by 11 points - will get a team something much more than recognition, however.

    Beating a program the caliber of the Lady Cougars equals respect.

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  • Vandals ride defense to two road...

     The season of giving is upon us, but the Vandalia boys basketball team is not in a generous mood.

    In a game that had to have established some modern VCHS records for defensive excellence, Vandalia flat-out stifled South Central Conference East Division rival Litchfield Friday in a 37-20 road victory.

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  • Altamont too much for Bombers in...

     The Brownstown boys basketball program waited 15 long years to get a chance to compete for a championship in the St. Elmo Holiday Tournament.

    The Bombers then had the misfortune of running into a team folks may be talking about for 15 years to come.

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  • Shirley gets win No. 500

     For the 500th time in 26 years, a Gary Shirley-coached team emerged victorious when the final buzzer sounded Saturday night in the South Central Cougars' 49-39 win over Beecher City in third-place game at the 49th Annual St. Elmo Holiday Tournament.

    It is a milestone that few coaches manage to reach. But Shirley was quick to note that such feats aren't achieved in team sports without a lot of help - both on and off the court.

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  • Tonight's VCHS boys...

    Due to the latest round of icy weather, tonight's VCHS boys basketball home opener against Hillsboro has been cancelled. The game was originally postponed back on Dec. 16 due to freezing rain.

    The Vandals (4-5) will now make their home debut Friday at 8 p.m. against Stewardson-Strasburg at the 37th Annual Vandalia Holiday Tournament.

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The Leader Union is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Vandalia, Il, and the surrounding area.