Cougars looking ahead after VHT

South Central is looking ahead to its conference schedule after struggling to 0-5 mark in the Vandalia Holiday Tournament.

After battling five teams with better records than their own, the Cougars (2-11) will look to improve on their 1-1 Midland Trail Conference mark in the second half of the season.

Last season, the Cougars were 2-10 following the VHT, but finished with an 11-7 record over the final 18 games of the year, and coach Rick Simmons is very hopeful that his team will repeat that trend.

“We play a really high level here, then take it to the Midland Trail,” Simmons said. “They have to match what you are bringing, and we are now bringing a better product than when we came here.”

The Cougars suffered three losses in the final two days of tournament play, falling to Shelbyville, 42-33, last Thursday in the ninth-place game, and Greenville, 48-34, and Altamont, 57-43, last Wednesday in pool play.

But within those losses were several positives.

“(Our players) don’t realize that we have improved,” Simmons said. “We have made improvements in specific areas, but there are areas that we need to improve on.”

He said he was pleased to see his guards – Colby Bushue and Rudy Hablewitz – finding their scoring stroke, with Bushue averaging 10.8 points per game and Hablewitz chipping in seven a game during the tournament.

He said the team also learned where its mentality needs to be for the rest of the season.

“You have to be realistic,” Simmons said. “Realistically, with the schools that were involved, it was going to be tough here.”

South Central vs. Shelbyville
Against Shelbyville, the Cougars started off the game on a 6-0 run, but Shelbyville quickly erased that deficit, cruising to a 42-33 win in the ninth-place game.

Bushue capped that early run with a 3-pointer, but the Rams followed up his shot with an 8-0 run, which including a pair of 3-pointers made in less than a minute.

After junior Fischer Tharp tied the game at eight, Shelbyville used a 10-0 run into the second period to take a lead it would not relinquish.

South Central closed out the third quarter on a 6-0 run to move within four, at 29-25, but a 9-4 run from Shelbyville over the first 6:42 of the fourth quarter put away South Central by giving the Rams a 38-29 lead.

Tharp led the Cougars with 12 points, while senior Colton Wilkins had a game-high seven rebounds.

Thursday, Dec. 29
Ninth-place game
Shelbyville 42
South Central 33
SHS: 11-10-8-13—42
SCHS: 10-5-10-8—33
SCHS points: Tharp, 12; Bushue, 10; Wilkins, 6; Hablewitz, 3; Myles Yates, 2.
SCHS rebounds: Wilkins, 7; Tharp, 6; Hablewitz, 2; Luke Krajefska, 2.
Shelby points: Standerfer, 14; Keown, 12; Breeden, 8; Shadwell, 5; Eloe, 2; Bence, 1.
Shelby rebounds: Bence, 5; Breeden, 5; Eloe, 4; Schwengel, 4; Keown, 1.

South Central vs. Greenville
The Cougars were able to stay close to Greenville for much of the first half, but a 9-0 Comet run to open the third quarter put South Central behind too far during a 48-32 loss last Wednesday  in the final game of pool play.

South Central had a 9-0 run during the middle of the second quarter, with Bushue scoring seven of the points, including a layup that gave the Cougars an 18-17 lead with 3:11 left in the first half.

The Comets, however, would outscore South Central, 8-1, over the rest of the period, then used a 9-0 run over the first 4:30 of the second half to go ahead, 34-19.

South Central was unable to get within 11 points of the lead following after that run.

Bushue led the team with a game-high 16 points, and Wilkins had a game-high nine rebounds.

Wednesday, Dec. 28
Greenville 48
South Central 34
GHS: 13-12-12-11—48
SCHS: 9-10-4-11—34
SCHS points: Bushue, 16; Tharp, 10; Yates, 3; Hablewitz, 2; Wilkins, 2; Austin Schwarm, 1.
SCHS rebounds: Wilkins, 9; Tharp, 4; Hablewitz, 3; Yates, 3; Bushue, 2; Cody Heinzmann, 1.
Greenville points: Bone, 16; Dan. Young, 7; Huber, 46; A.J. Childerson, 4; Hutchinson, 4; Gouge, 3; Manning, 3; Perry, 3; Alderman, 2.
Greenville rebounds: A.J. Childerson, 6; Huber, 6; Hutchinson, 4; Alderman, 2; Carr, 2; Alex Childerson, 2; Dan. Young, 2; Bone, 1; Gouge, 1; Manning, 1; Perry, 1.

South Central vs. Altamont
Altamont got by South Central for the second time this season during a 57-43 win last Wednesday.

Despite a season- and game-high 21 points from Bushue, the Cougars were unable to get past a poor third quarter, during which they allowed the Indians to score 23 points.

Trailing by just six at halftime, South Central found itself with a 20-point deficit going to the final period.

Altamont made four of its seven 3-pointers during the third quarter.

Bushue was also South Central’s leading rebounder, with six.

Wednesday, Dec. 28
Altamont 57
South Central 43
SCHS: 10-6-11-16—43
AHS: 12-12-23-10—57
SCHS points: Bushue, 21; Hablewitz, 10; Tharp, 8; Wilkins, 4.
SCHS rebounds: Bushue, 6; Hablewitz, 5; Tharp, 3; Wilkens, 3; Yates, 3; Schwarm, 2; Heinzmann, 1.
Altamont points: Ziegler, 17; Gordon, 15; Drone, 9; Hooks, 9; Wolff, 3; Hill, 2; Kuhns, 2.
Altamont rebounds: Drone, 7; Hooks, 4; Hill, 3; Wolff, 3; Kuhns, 2; Gordon, 1; Mayhaus, 1; Ziegler, 1.