11-25-17
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHRISTOPHER – The Christopher Bearcats captured the championship of the 43rd Annual Turkey Tournament.

And it took a gutsy performance by senior guard Jared Curry and his teammates to help the Bearcats outlast Webber Township 66-60 in overtime on Saturday night.

Bothered with leg cramps late in the game while playing against a physical Trojans' team, the 6-foot-6 senior stepped up late in the contest.

Curry ended up with 20-points on the night, with 14 of them coming in the second half, and in overtime as the Bearcats won their 16th championship in their own event.

He also grabbed 10-rebounds in the title game triumph.

Coach Eric Stallman saw his team take advantage of Webber Township's foul problems by hitting 20-of-30 from the foul line, compared to just 6-of-9 from the stripe.

Three other Bearcats hit for double-digits in scoring as sophomore Bryce Pratt netted 15-points and grabbed nine boards while tournament MVP Bradley Young added 11-points and eight rebounds.

Junior guard Dalton Saeger added nine-points as those were the only four players to score for the Bearcats in the win.

“We got some stops down the stretch and we got some rebounds when we needed them,” said Coach
Stallman. “We got the scrappy, hustle plays that we needed tonight. The guys that you would expect to make plays, made the plays tonight for us.”

For head coach Brad Beaty's club, the opportunities were there for a championship win.

However too many mistakes at the end, including a last second shot at the end of regular, kept the Trojans from hoisting the championship trophy.

Senior guard Dylan Stratton hit for 22-points for Webber Township while 6-foot-5 senior forward scored 21.

Senior's Dalton Hart and Brody Mount added 10 and five-points for Webber.

All four of the those Trojans had something else in common on this night; they all ended up fouling out in the overtime as the Bearcats hit 9-of-14 foul shots in the extra session.

“For the most part, I just didn't think we played well tonight. But there will be other big games for this group this year. We just have to be able to step up in big games,” said Coach Beaty. “We didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball and valuing possessions.”

Christopher got the first run of the game, starting out on a 10-2 run with a pair of 3-pointers from Saeger as the host took advantage of three early Webber turnovers.

But Neal got the Trojans back in the game, scoring three times in the frame on drives to the goal.

His third bucket cut the Bearcats' lead to just 10-9.

Pratt and Curry answered with scores to close the stanza at 14-9 Christopher.

Webber battled back to take a brief lead before halftime as Stratton, who hit six 3-pointers in the game, hit his first of two treys in the second quarter to get the Trojans' offense jump started.

Another trifecta by Stratton late in the quarter and a pair of free throws by Neal gave Webber a 24-23 lead with :34 remaining.

But Saeger answered with a 3-pointer from the right corner to close the second quarter with the Bearcats up 26-24.

Christopher hit 5-of-7 from the foul line in the second quarter as Webber's foul troubles were getting worse.

The Trojans best shot of winning the contest came in the third quarter when they got a lead but had chances to get separation.

Webber outscored the Bearcats 14-9 to take a 38-35 lead.

However they went just 6-of-16 from the floor and missed some easy shots.

Neal scored seven of his points in the frame and he tipped in his own rebound just before the horn to make it a three-point game heading to the fourth.

Eight consecutive points from Christopher to open the fourth quarter gave the Bearcats back the lead.

Curry scored five of the points on a drive to the basket and a 3-pointer for a 43-38 lead with 5:39 remaining in the fourth.

Stratton kept the Trojans close by hitting two more 3-pointers in the quarter.

His bomb from the right wing with 1:00 left cut the Christopher lead to just 52-51.

After a crucial turnover by the Bearcats, Neal was fouled on a drive to the basket and the senior calmly put Webber Township on top by hitting both charities for a 53-52 lead with :42.5 to go in regulation.

Curry was fouled on the next trip down as Neal picked up his fourth foul.

After making the first free throw to even the score, the senior missed his next shot and Hart grabbed the rebound.

Once the ball got into the frontcourt, Coach Beaty called a timeout with :12.5 left.

The Trojans just needed a score to take home the championship.

They ran a set play and got a shot attempt by Stratton, but the ball bounced off of the rim as time expired in regulation tied at 53-all.

“We went to our 'Motion 2' offense and we put the ball in the hands of Dylan and I told him we want to get something on a drive to the basket,” said Coach Beaty. “We just didn't get a good look.”

The overtime session belonged to Christopher.

Young drove to the basket for the first score of the overtime and Webber immediately turned the ball over on the next possession.

Then the parade to the foul line began for the Bearcats as one by the Webber players ended up on the bench.

Webber hit just 3-of-9 field goal attempts in the overtime, with Stratton making all three.

“If you're going to be a regional championship club and want to get to sectional championships, you can't get behind eight to ten points in games and have to battle back all the time,” said Coach Beaty

Curry, Pratt and Young combined to hit 6-of-8 free throws in the last 1:02 to secure the title.

Webber ended up 23-of-49 overall and just 8-of-21 from the arc.

“That is a really good team (Webber) and this is a big step for us,” said Coach Stallman. “It is nice to get back into the winner's circle here at our tournament but I don't put too much stock into November basketball. We are getting there, we graduated two really good guards last year so we need to get better. It is usually sloppy basketball in November.”

Christopher finished 20-of-42 overall, 6-of-13 from the arc.

The Bearcats held a 33-27 rebounding edge and the turnovers ended up even at 14.

“Give Christopher credit. They played well. They stuck with their zone and they hit some big shots, Curry and Young both stepped up,” said Coach Beaty. “We just need to try and get better. We just made too many errors tonight. I know this group of seniors and they will battle back.”

The 43rd Annual Christopher Turkey Tournament All-Tournament squad consisted of MVP Bradley Young, Jared Curry abd Bryce Pratt of Christopher; Charles Neal and Dylan Stratton of Webber Township; Jayzale O'Neal and Travis Dickey of Wayne City; Jaxon Heintz of New Athens; Evan Healy of NCOE and McKendal Malone of Waltonville.