VIENNA "THE CLASSIC" THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT
Meridian outscores Patriots in overtime
Bobcats nab sixth straight Vienna title
Schoffner, Jones shine; Mitchell nets 34-points for Massac County
Eldorado defeats host Eagles; Century edges Carrier Mills in OT

11-24-12
BY JACK BULLOCK
VIENNA
– In a contest that was as full of drama as it was scoring, the Meridian Bobcats managed to dig down deep to find a way to win the final game of the Vienna Tournament on Saturday night.

After having led the entire contest, at one point by as many as 16, Meridian was in the driver's seat until the fourth quarter.

Massac County, behind a game-high 34-points from junior guard Dalton Mitchell, rallied and appeared to be headed to a shocking come-from-behind win.

However Meridian got a big boost from junior guard Michael Schoffner who led the Bobcats on a 9-0 run after spotting Massac County a four-point lead early in the overtime session.

Coach Jeff Mandrell's club, who struggled in the contest from the foul line, made the ones that mattered most as Meridian won its sixth-consecutive Vienna “The Classic” Thanksgiving Tournament with a 93-84 win to improve its record to 5-0.

Coach Joe Hosman saw his club's rally fall just short as the Patriots opened up 2012-13 at 4-1 in the tournament.

Schoffner finished with 23-points on the night to pace Meridian followed by teammate Josh Jones with 21.

“I thought we had it won for a while and then I thought we had lost. It was just back and forth. I don't know what we shot, we didn't make enough free throws. It was just a wild game. Mitchell for them is just a load, my gosh he made a couple of them (3-pointers) from about half court,” said Meridian mentor Jeff Mandrell. “They (Massac) are tough to play and Coach Hosman has been watching us all week. He attacks our weaknesses. They are hard to go against.”

The two teams combined for some high-octane numbers.
Fifty-four personal fouls were called and 71 free throws were shot.

Both team's together launched an incredible 119 field goal attempts, an astonishing number for a high school basketball game.

However when the dust had settled, Meridian had a signature win for the beginning of the season as 3A Massac County, a new entry into the Vienna field for this season, was a stern test.

“I'm really proud of our kids, fighting to get back. Down 16 and then come back to tie it,” said Coach Hosman. “We had a four-point lead in the overtime then we made a couple of bad decisions. We have kids that just haven't played. We're going to get better. We have a long way to go and I think we are going to get there. I'm looking forward to this year. This is the kind of team that I like.”

Outscoring Meridian 29-16 in the fourth quarter, the Patriots erased the 13-point deficit with Mitchell igniting the rally.

This 6-foot junior guard scored 17 of his points in that eight minute stretch, nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the arc just seconds into the period.

His trifecta from deep in the right corner got his club to within 68-64 at the 4:52 mark.

The Bobcats also made matters worse as they sent Mitchell to the foul line too many times.

The sharpshooter was 7-of-8 from the stripe in the final frame and his four consecutive free throws in the final minute of regulation tied the contest for the first time since the first quarter (18-18) at 76-all with :31.7 remaining.

Following a Meridian timeout, tournament MVP Joshua Jones found teammate Schoffner for an assist on a lay in to give the Bobcats back the advantage.

But two more free throws by Mitchell, after being fouled by Jones set the stage for a dramatic finish. Jones picked up his fifth foul on the play and went to the bench with :05.6 left.

Then Meridian nearly handed the Patriots the tournament title by inbounding the ball the length of the court. The ball went over the head of Jamario Moore, giving Massac County the ball with a chance to win the game.

But Massac got the ball to Mitchell but he turned the ball back over to Meridian. The Bobcats got a shot off before the buzzer with sophomore guard David Davis missing a runner in the lane, as the teams headed to overtime with Massac County having the momentum.

Coach Hosman's club had the look of a title winner scoring the first four points of the extra session.

Davontay Blye, a 6-foot junior, scored on a drive to the basket. On the next Meridian possession, Mitchell made a steal and his fastbreak lay in gave the Patriots an 82-78 lead.

However, in a game that had many swings of momentum, Meridian had the last say.

The next nine points were netted by the tourney champs.

Schoffner scored six of those points, with his score in the lane tying the contest for the final time at 82-all.

The Bobcats nailed 9-of-12 free throws in the final 3:31, with Schoffner nailing the coffin shut with a pair of tosses with :27 left.

Meridian closed the overtime with a 15-2 run.

The Bobcats jumped out to an early 11-2 lead to open the title game.

Jones scored seven of his points in the early going hitting a 3-pointer and a conventional three-point play in the run.

“I was pleased that we set the tone early in the game,” added Coach Mandrell. “Playing without Jones in the overtime was tough, but the kids filled in well.”

Massac County had plenty of chances, especially in the second quarter but didn't convert enough free throw chances that would eventually keep the Patriots from rallying earlier.

Missing four straight from the line, including back-to-back one-and-one chances, Massac trailed 42-34 at intermission.

A 9-2 run with Jones scoring on a drive to close the sprint pushed the Bobcats' spread to 57-41 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.

Moore grabbed a rebound of a Jones missed 3-point attempt and his stick back beat the buzzer for a 62-49 lead heading into the fourth.

Meridian survived the Patriots rally to hoist the title trophy for the sixth-consecutive time.

“They (Massac) are so much quicker than anyone else we played in this tournament so this (win) was a good one to get,” said Mandrell. “We made a couple of poor decisions (shot selections) in the fourth quarter but we had some combinations of kids playing weren't used to this situation. But it is early in the year.”

The difference in the contest was shooting percentage as Meridian was 31-of-53 from the floor (58 percent) while Massac County ended up 29-of-66.

Neither team was great from the foul line as the Bobcats ended up 25-of-41 while the Patriots hit 20-of-30.

Massac held a slight 36-30 rebounding edge and the turnovers were even at 18-each.

Following Schoffner (23) and Jones (21) Meridian got 19-points from Moore and 15-points from sophomore guard Khouri Powell. Powell and Schoffner came up the best from the foul line of the group, hitting 13-of-18.

Massac, after Mitchell's 34-points, received offensive help from Devontay Blye (15-points) and Kevin Welch (11-points) in the loss.

“They (Meridian) are a good team and this was a good game for us,” added Coach Hosman. “Coach Mandrell does a good job with them. He doesn't get enough credit for what he has done there at Meridian. His kids always compete and they play with class.”

1
2
3
4
OT
-
F
Massac County
18
16
15
29
06
-
84
Meridian
20
22
20
16
15
-
93

Massac County (84) – Mitchell 4 6 8-10 34, Blye 6 0 3-5 15, Nickerson 3 0 2-4 8, Schulte 2 0 2-2 6, Kendall 2 0 0-0 4, Welch 4 0 3-5 11, Reinwald 1 0 0-2 2, Roundtree 0 0 0-0 0, Bellamey 1 0 2-2 4, Meyers 0 0 0-0 0, Fort 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-23, 3FG-6, FT-20-30, PF-30.
Meridian (93) – Weldon 0 2 3-4 9, Powell 2 1 8-11 15, Schoffner 6 2 5-7 23, Parker 1 0 0-0 2, Davis 1 0 2-8 4, Jones 6 1 6-7 21, Steele 0 0 0-0 0, Moore 9 0 1-4 19.
2FG-25, 3FG-6, FT-25-41, PF-24.

Fouled Out – Mitchell, Nickerson, Schulte - Massac County; Jones, Meridian.
Technical Fouls – None.

CENTURY 47, CARRIER MILLS 46 (OT)
The Centurions had a successful week, finishing 3-2 with an overtime win.

Coach Travis Foster saw his club take home the third place honors behind 15-points from sophomore Davarae Edmonds and 11-points from Cordon Hight.

Hight hit a pair of free throws with :08 remaining to secure the win.

Coach Mark Motsinger's club fell to 0-5 on the week despite 23-points from sophomore guard Darrin Betz. Senior guard Josh Bailey added 11.

1
2
3
4
OT
-
F
Century
14
14
03
11
05
-
47
Carrier Mills
10
12
09
11
04
-
46

Century (47) – Crane 1 0 0-0 2, Caden Hight 1 1 2-5 7, Edmonds 6 1 0-0 15, Sauerbrunn 0 0 0-0 0, Cordon Hight 2 1 4-6 11, Pullett 4 0 0-0 8.
2FG-16, 3FG-3, FT-6-11, PF-12.

Carrier Mills (46) – Taborn 1 0 1-2 3, Bailey 4 1 0-0 11, Huckleberry 1 1 0-0 5, Figg 2 0 0-0 4, Betz 5 3 4-4 23, Whiting 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-13, 3FG-5, FT-5-6, PF-11.

Fouled Out – Taborn, Carrier Mills.
Technical Fouls – None.

ELDORADO 80, VIENNA 63
The Eagles (2-3) topped the host Eagles (1-4) in the Saturday night opener behind Dylan Street with 24-points and 20-points from Tyler Deaton.

Vienna was led by sophomore Quinnton Bent with 20.

1
2
3
4
-
F
Eldorado
22
18
21
19
-
80
Vienna
14
20
19
10
-
63

Eldorado (80) – Boulds 4 0 0-0 8, Deaton 9 0 2-3 20, Lawrence 2 0 0-0 4, Wiseman 3 0 7-10 13, Street 2 4 8-10 24, Roberts 1 0 2-4 4, Graceffa 2 0 0-0 4, Mitchell 1 0 1-2 3.
2FG-24, 3FG-4, FT-20-29, PF-20.
Vienna (63)
– Crain 3 0 0-3 6, Lucas Wright 0 0 0-0 0, Graves 3 0 1-2 7, Kindhart 1 1 0-0 5, Tedeschi 1 0 1-2 3, Wiggs 0 0 0-0 0, Gearing 2 1 0-0 7, Bent 4 2 6-7 20, Moore 7 0 1-5 15.
2FG-21, 3FG-4, FT-9-19, PF-23.

Fouled Out – Denton, Wiseman - Eldorado.
Technical Fouls – None.