St. Anthony hopes to repeat at VHT, Greenville is No. 1 seed

Cody Rincker will likely never forget the 2013 Vandalia Holiday Tournament.
It's not hard to see why.
Rincker's St. Anthony Bulldogs topped the field and took home the tourney title.
And what made the accomplishment even sweeter for the Bulldogs was the fact that not many expected the Class 1A St. Anthony squad to take the crown as the event's No. 3 seed.
Now, the Bulldogs will look to defend their crown in 2014. As the 43rd Annual Vandalia Holiday Tournament arrives, the Bulldogs are hoping to pull off the repeat.
Rincker reflected back on last year's run to the VHT title.
"It was an exciting week, and a week that we really seemed to flow together, and play good basketball," he said. "We didn't necessarily expect to end up with the title, but we knew that if we competed and played well, there was a chance."
Rincker noted the Vandalia Holiday Tournament is an event his team now highly-anticipates each year.
"We definitely look forward to this tournament," Rincker said. "The VHT has a great tradition and has some very exciting teams in it. It's a tournament that has great competition and prepares us well for the second-half of the season."
St. Anthony enters this year's tourney as the No. 2 seed. The Bulldogs are 6-4 at press time. St. Anthony has wins over Mattoon, St. Thomas More, Robinson, Beecher City, St. Elmo/Brownstown and Newton. Their losses are to Effingham, Mt. Zion, Sullivan and Dieterich.  
"Our season has been up and down," Rincker said. "We started off really well, squeaking out victories over Mattoon and St. Thomas More. Then we struggled to find the hoop over the next three games, dropping games to Effingham, Mt. Zion and Sullivan."
But the Bulldogs won three straight before a close loss to Dieterich.
"We've played better and seem to be showing signs of improvement," Rincker said.
Vandalia Coach Brian Buscher said St. Anthony is a team that can be considered one of the favorites at this year's event.
"They're real solid," Buscher said.
Rincker was asked about his team's chances of repeating at this year's Holiday Tournament.
"The little details will again be the biggest keys for us — taking care of the ball, executing the offense and taking advantage of our opportunities," he said. "And, continuing to rebound and play solid defense. If we can win the winning plays as well, we should give ourselves a chance."
After a memorable run to the tourney title in 2013, the Bulldogs hope history repeats itself in 2014.

Greenville is top seed
Greenville is the No. 1 seed at this year's event. The Comets enter the tourney with a record of 8-1.
"We have gotten better as the season has progressed," Greenville Coach Todd Cantrill said. "We're looking forward to the tournament and the good competition. It's always a very competitive tournament and Vandalia does a great job of hosting it.  As a team. we're just going to try and compete every time we are on the court.  We would much rather be the No. 1 seed after the tournament then before it."  
"Greenville is long and athletic," Buscher said. "They have a lot of threats. And since they're so athletic, they can really guard people."

Vandals hope to surprise
Vandalia may be the No. 10 seed, but that doesn't mean the hosts can't make some noise at this year's VHT.
"I do think it's anybody's ballgame this year," Buscher said. "An eight or nine seed can beat a two or three on any given night. I think it will be a pretty competitive tournament all the way around."
Of course, Buscher hopes to see his team make some positives strides overall at the event.
"I just want to see us improve every game," Buscher said. "We need a win, but we need to keep improving."

Area flavor
South Central and St. Elmo/Brownstown are also competing at the VHT this year. SEB is the sixth-seed and South Central is seeded ninth.
St. Elmo/Brownstown Coach Greg Feezel said he hopes his team can fare well against the tough competition.
"There are some nice teams in our bracket," Feezel said. "The tournament will be fun. But we're going to have to get with it, or we're going to have a rotten week."

This 'N That
Altamont is coming off a championship at the St. Elmo Holiday Tournament. The Class 1A Indians will open the VHT against the No. 1 seed, Greenville.

See the Leader-Union's special section for more on the VHT.

Vandalia Holiday Tournament

Friday, Dec. 26
South Central vs. Greenville, 9:30
Vandalia vs. Maroa, 11 a.m.
SEB vs. St. Anthony, 12:30 p.m.
Pana vs. Shelbyville, 3:30 p.m.
Maroa vs. Flora, 5 p.m.
Greenville vs. Altamont, 6:30 p.m.
St. Anthony vs. Vandalia, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 27
South Central vs. Pana, 9:30 a.m.
Flora vs. SEB, 11 a.m.
Altamont vs. Shelbyville, 12:30
St. Anthony vs. Maroa, 3:30 p.m.
Vandalia vs. Flora, 5 p.m.
Shelbyville vs. Greenville, 6:30
Pana vs. Altamont, 8 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 29
Altamont vs. South Central, 11
SEB vs. Maroa, 12:30 p.m.
South Central vs. Shelbyville, 3:30 Vandalia vs. SEB, 5 p.m.
St. Anthony vs. Flora, 6:30 p.m.
Greenville vs. Pana, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 30
Ninth, 2 p.m. — Seventh, 3:30 p.m.
Fifth, 5 p.m. — Third, 6:30 p.m.
Title game, 8 p.m.