South Central takes Vandalia title

Kurt Becker

VANDALIA — Fourth-seeded South Central High School downed No. 3 Stewardson-Strasburg Tuesday night in the championship game of the 37th Annual Vandalia Holiday Boys' Basketball Tournament, 61-53, giving the Cougars their first title since 2004 and their fourth in the last nine years at the Christmas classic.

Isaac Grapperhaus, a 6-foot-5 senior, finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds and earned honors as the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while 6-4 senior Tanner Bushue led all scorers on the night with 26 points and also made the all-tournament squad.

South Central went 5-0 on the week and upped its record to 9-4 overall with its seventh consecutive victory, while Stew-Stras finished tournament play at 3-2 and fell to 9-3 for all games.

In other action, Altamont went wire-to-wire and roared past Greenville in the third-place contest, 72-54, as the Indians improved to 11-1 on the campaign and finished the tournament at 4-1. Greenville dropped to 8-3 on the season after suffering its second loss in five games at Vandalia.

Tuesday's card also saw Pana (6-5, 3-2) capture the fifth-place game over Flora (5-11, 2-3), 62-49, while Wesclin (5-8, 2-3) salvaged seventh-place in overtime at the expense of Vandalia (6-8, 2-3), 61-57.

Shelbyville (4-6, 1-4) was also victorious, taking the ninth-place contest by virtue of a 53-42 triumph over Central A & M (2-9, 0-5).

South Central 61, Stew-Stras 53

Taking the lead for good midway through the opening quarter, South Central shot 61 percent from the field and posted a 30-17 rebounding margin to win the tournament championship for the fourth time overall and for the second time as the No. 4 seed.

Tyler Gillett, a 5-11 junior, finished with 10 points to join Grapperhaus and Bushue in double figures, as the Cougars continued a remarkable recovery from a 2-4 start to the season. Grapperhaus completed the tournament with 110 points and 62 rebounds in five games, with the latter statistic placing him at No. 6 on the tourney's all-time rebounding list.

"I'm real pleased with the turnaround," said South Central Coach and Illinois Hall of Famer Gary Shirley. "These kids have to feel real good about themselves. As for me, I'm a whole lot more satisfied than I was eight or nine days ago.

"We did some nice things offensively, and we did enough defensively to keep (Stew-Stras) from running up and down the floor the way they want to do," Shirley added. "You put pressure on their offense by being patient on offense on your end. That's just the way we have to play."

Stew-Stras, making its first appearance ever in the title bout, got 20 points from junior guard Jaden Widdersheim to go with 11 points from 6-6 senior Josh Tabbert. Will Rincker, a 6-0 junior, added 10 tallies. Widdersheim and Tabbert were both named to the all-tournament team.

The Comets trailed by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter, and they were unable to capitalize on a favorable margin of 18-8 in the turnover department.

"The turnovers never led to transition buckets, and we couldn't get the lead," said Stew-Stras Coach Mike Walker, whose club trailed for the final 28 minutes. "South Central controlled the tempo, and their patience got us out of our flow.

"I'm proud of our kids for getting to the championship game, and this tournament will help us as a team as the season goes on," Walker concluded. "And our hats are off to the Cougars and Coach Shirley. They're not the same team they were earlier this month, and that's a credit to both the coach and the kids."

Stew-Stras resumes play Tuesday night by hosting Newton in a non-conference showdown, while South Central returns to action the same evening by travelling to St. Elmo for a non-conference test.

Altamont 72, Greenville 54

In the first meeting between the schools since February of 2002, Altamont led from start to finish and held a double-digit advantage for the final 24 minutes in a dominating performance. The Indians shot 48 percent from the field, posted a 35-21 rebounding edge, and placed three starters in double figures.

Devin Frailey, a 6-6 senior, led Altamont with 22 points and nine rebounds, while 6-6 junior Brian Suckow added 18 tallies and 10 boards. Senior guard Kieffer McCarron contributed 14 points, 5-7 senior Landon Duckwitz dished nine assists, and 6-9 senior Greg Sperry added three assists and four rebounds.

"This just shows that these guys can self-correct," said Altamont Coach Doug Hill, referring to the way his team responded after Monday night's loss to Stew-Stras. "They are motivated and smart enough to do it without us beating it into them for two days in practice.

"Our kids were hitting the boards hard, and they were disciplined on offense," Hill continued. "They also did a much better job defensively than we did the night before. I'm thrilled with these kids, and I'm proud of them."

Altamont saw Duckwitz and McCarron both make the all-tournament squad, as the Indians posted their best finish at Vandalia since taking runner-up honors in 1979.

All-tournament selection Kyle Dannaman, a 5-10 senior, led Greenville with 20 points, while 6-3 senior Derek Atchison added 11.

Greenville returns to action Jan. 9 by hosting Staunton in a South Central Conference match, with Altamont remaining idle until travelling to Mulberry Grove Jan. 9 for a non-conference game.

Vandalia Tournament

Championship

STEW-STRAS (53)

Widdersheim 9-4 20, Rincker 3-0 10, Ballinger 1-0 2, Tabbert 5-1 11, Hoene 3-0 6, Koontz 2-0 4. TOTALS 23 FG, 5 FT.

SOUTH CENTRAL (61)

Gillett 4-1 10, Stock 1-0 2, Arnold 1-1 3, Bushue 8-6 26, Grapperhaus 8-4 20. TOTALS 22 FG, 12 FT.

Stew-Stras-----11---13---11---18---—---53

South Central---18---10---14---19---—---61

3-point FG — Stew-Stras 2 (Widdersheim 1, Rincker 1), South Central 5 (Bushue 4, Gillett 1).

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Third-Place Game

GREENVILLE (54)

Mulholland 2-0 6, Dannaman 8-4 20, Eaton 0-2 2, Atchison 5-1 11, Neece 1-3 6, Willman 3-1 7, Stroud 1-0 2. TOTALS 20 FG, 11 FT.

ALTAMONT (72)

Duckwitz 3-0 8, McCarron 6-1 14, Suckow 8-0 18, Frailey 9-3 22, Sperry 2-1 5, Kuhns 1-0 2, Ruff 1-0 2, Hooks 0-1 1. TOTALS 30 FG, 6 FT.

Greenville---7---16---17---14---—---54

Altamont---17---21---20---14---—---72

3-point FG — Greenville 3 (Mullholland 2, Neece 1), Altamont 6 (Duckwitz 2, Suckow 2, McCarron 1, Frailey 1).

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All-Tournament Team

Isaac Grapperhaus (MVP — South Central), Tanner Bushue (South Central), Jaden Widdersheim (Stew-Stras), Josh Tabbert (Stew-Stras), Landon Duckwitz (Altamont), Kieffer McCarron (Altamont), Kyle Dannaman (Greenville), Frank Schmitz (Pana), Paul Knapp (Flora), Phil Kunz (Wesclin).

Cheerleading Award: Wesclin

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