Coach John Niebrugge's Tribe didn't have a very good middle two quarters as they let the Cougars hang around.

But a big flurry points in the final quarter propelled Altamont into title contention as they try to defend the championship from a year ago.

South Central struggled handling the ball, finishing with 21-turnovers, including six early mistakes in an opening quarter that saw them fall behind by double-digits.

Sophomore Ryan Armstrong, a 5-foot-11 guard, scored a game-best 25-points as Altamont turned an eight point lead into an 18-point win with big fourth quarter finish to stay undefeated on the season at 4-0.

The Indians forced five more turnovers as part of a 16-3 run after South Central pulled to within 49-41 with just over seven minutes left in the contest.

Six-foot junior Klaiton Wolff and 6-foot-1 senior Justin Goeckner added 15 and 10-points for Altamont.

Coach Niebrugge's team committed just 10 turnovers, all in the first three quarters as the Indians played their best basketball of the evening in the final eight minutes.

Altamont's beginning rush of offense gave them a 12-point spread with Goeckner scoring six of those early points.

Back-to-back scores in the first minute by Goeckner and two scores by Armstrong got Altamont a 20-9 lead at the first quarter horn.

“In our first four games of the season we are probably averaging an eight to ten point lead at the end of each first quarter but we then play with them and let them hang around. Tonight was the first time that we really went out and played a good fourth quarter the way we started the game,” said Coach Niebrugge. “We are not very experienced varsity-wise and we told them we need to try to score early.”

South Central had some highlights of its own as Coach Rick Simmons saw his team slip to 2-5 on the season and into the consolation bracket despite three players in double-figures with junior Brett Harmeier leading the way with 15-points.

The Cougars got 12-points from Evan Langley and 10-points from Dre Hill.

The difference in the game turned out to be what has plagued the Cougars in most of their games this season. The turnovers turned into too many fast break opportunities for Altamont.

And the Indians converted in bunches.

Armstrong and Wolff converted consecutive fast break chances in a second quarter sprint that got them a 26-14 lead.

Coach Simmons' club had its best run of the contest in the third quarter, cutting the Indians lead to just 34-31.

Hill nailed a 3-point bomb from the right wing and Harmeier and Gavin Ratterman each added scores that forced Coach Niebrugge to take a time out with 4:41 left in the third.

However Altamont closed the quarter with Armstrong and Wolff each scoring inside and Wolff and Goeckner each adding a pair of free throws to end the frame at 47-37.

The final offensive strike by Altamont closed the victory, with Armstrong getting nine of his points in the move.

All four of his baskets were lay ups, three on fast breaks and one on a drive in the lane for a bucket while being fouled by Hill.

His converted three-point play made it 64-43 with 2:52 left.

The Indians closed finished the contest shooting the ball pretty well, connecting on 24-of-46 from the floor (52.1 percent) while finishing with a slight rebounding edge at 21-18.

South Central shot the ball pretty well themselves, hitting 18-of-36 overall (50 percent) but the turnovers couldn't be overcame on this night.

Altamont will play Okaw Valley on Friday night as the Timberwolves won the other quarterfinal game on the night, 72-63 over Mulberry Grove.

The Indians, who are leaving the event to take a spot at the Cumberland Thanksgiving Tournament next season, would like to end its most recent run of games at this event by winning its second straight and sixth in eight seasons.

South Central and MG will tangle on Friday night in the consolation bracket.

“Transition points; that's our style and that is how we want to play. But we would like to have more out of our defense. I'm happy that we forced 21-turnovers and we only committed nine (10 actually) and that is going to win you a lot of ball-games,” added Coach Niebrugge. “We played without Adam Mayhaus (injured ankle) who is a match up nightmare for most teams. He just goes hard all the time. We are going to miss him this week.”

The 5-foot-11 shooter ripped up the Aces with a 30-point explosion as they held off MG to complete the final four of the winners side of the tournament bracket.

Hagerman, who was averaging 19 points a contest coming in, nailed seven 3-pointers in the battle as Okaw Valley improved to 2-3 on the season with the win.

Six-foot-four senior Devin Still added 19-points for Okaw Valley while junior Dylan Park tossed in 10-points, as he hit 8-of-10 free throws.

The Timberwolves hit 22-of-30 free throws in the game, including 12-of-16 in the fourth quarter.

A fourth place finisher last season, head coach Tony Sparks has a shot at winning the title as they will face defending tournament champion Altamont on Friday.

The Aces fell to 3-6 on the season, despite 18-points each from Ty James and Damian Latham.