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Eagles claim regional title

St. Elmo/Brownstown persevered through a hot start by Altamont and then held off the Indians at the end of the game to win a regional championship on its home court.

The Eagles advanced to the Altamont Sectional and a semifinal matchup with Nokomis by defeating Altamont, Aiden Jahraus and Alek Biggs each had two three-pointers and Noah Teasley had one as the Indians were staked to a 14-5 lead early.
The Eagles responded with a three-pointer by Jaxson Tish and two baskets by Andy Goldsborough to get within two at 14-12.
Bryton Pruett kept them within two at 16-14, and Nick Rosborough tied the score at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, Rosborough hit a three-pointer to put SEB up 19-18. Rosborough then scored five more, and the Eagles were up 24-18.
Goldsborough gave SEB a 26-21 lead, and Jacob Baron put the Eagles up by five, 29-24, with a three-point play.
A Baron putback made it 31-26, and Nate Philpot made two free throws to give St. Elmo/Brownstown a seven-point lead, 33-26, at halftime.
The Eagles again led by seven at 39-32 after two buckets by Baron, and they were up by six at 43-37 when Altamont creeped back within one at 43-42 with 5:35 left in the fourth quarter.
A three-pointer by McWhorter made it 48-42 and Philpot made it 50-42.
The Eagles were up by four at 52-42 after Bryton Pruett scored, and led 54-48 on a basket by McWhorter.
Two free throws by Philpot made it 56-51, then Altamont got within three with 30 seconds left.
Altamont was inbounding the ball and called a timeout with 6.5 seconds left.
Unable to get the ball in, the Indians called a second timeout.
The Eagles gained control with 4.5 seconds left, and after a missed free throw, the Indians got the ball with 3.3 seconds left and called another timeout. Their last attempt to tie the game failed.
“We were solid all night … and they were to,” Eagles coach Greg Feezel said. “They gave us a hard time all night.
“It’s just a nice win for us – these boys deserve it,” he said.
Defense played a key role in the win.
“We know who their scorer is (Biggs), so we have to focus on him, but those other kids hit some big shots right there at the end,” Feezel said.
“Defensively, we were helping each other, we knew where we were supposed to be, and it all just matters.
“That’s what you do in the postseason – you’d better play good defense.
"The offense may not be there, but the defense better be there,” Feezel said.
He said that they did not change their game plan against Altamont after a loss to the Indians earlier in the season. “We just threw some different matchups,” he said.
“We played them nice the first time; we just fouled them too much and all of that,” Feezel said.
On how he kept his team focused at the end, Feezel said, “I said, ‘We’ve got to win 30 seconds, we’ve got to win 6½ seconds.
“That’s the way I played the game – you’ve got to break this thing into segments and you’ve got to win that little bitty part. If you do that, you’re fine,” he said.
SEB – Goldsborough 6 0-0 12; Baron 5 1-1 11; Rosborough 4 0-0 10; Philpot 2 4-5 8; McWhorter 3 0-0 8; Pruett 2 0-0 4; J. Tish 1 0-0 3; Klein 0 0-0 0.
Altamont – Biggs 9 1-2 24; Jahraus 5 0-0 13; Teasley 3 2-4 10; Duckwitz 2 0-2 4; Klitzing 1 0-0 2; Kollman 0 0-0 0.
Three-pointers – SEB-Rosborough 2, McWhorter 2, Tish 1.
 

The St. Elmo/Brownstown Eagles won the St. Elmo Regional on Friday by defeating Altamont. In front, from left to right, are Nora Rees, Dakota Orechovesky, Joesie Hames, Chloe Haslett, Holly Struble, David Stine, Rocky Himes, Alex Higgs, Sam Klein, Marlee Nolen, Amanda Koehler, Elly Wilhour, Willow Brown and Madison Doty. In back are assistant coaches Vince Rohr and Stan Beccue, Nick Rosborough, Jace McWhorter, Bryton Pruett, Andy Goldsborough, Nate Philpot, Kaden Tish, Jacob Baron, Jaxson Tish, Braden Sidwell, head coach Greg Feezel, team manager Jasmine Barr and cheerleading coach Deb Hunter.

Rocky Himes of St. Elmo/Brownstown holds the regional plaque high after the Eagles defeated Altamont on Friday to advance to the Altamont Sectional.

Andy Goldsborough of St. Elmo/Brownstown puts up a shot in the second half of the regional title game last Friday.

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