12-27-12
BY JACK BULLOCK
VANDALIA –

Hitting just 12-of-51 shots, the Tribe should have been no where close to the hosts in the fourth quarter.

Except the Vandals had their own issues to deal with.

Vandalia committed 22-turnovers, nine in the fourth quarter.

Good defense aside, this wasn't a pretty contest.

However as in other realms of sport, someone had to win this scrum.

The Vandals did just enough to steal the victory, 37-34, to improve their mark to 2-1 in Pool B, forging a tie with Maroa-Forsyth heading into the final day of the pool play.

Coach Brian Busher's team shot the ball a bit better than Altamont (16-of-41) and made just enough shots in the fourth quarter to hold on for dear life.

Six-foot-one senior Aaron Harter was a bright spot for the hosts scoring 11-points, a game-high in this offensively challenged matchup.

Leyton Godoyo and Michael Wells added eight points while Colton Woolsey dropped in six.

Senior forward Ryan Mayhaus led Altamont with nine points while teammate Derek Jahraus added eight points.

“You can't fault the effort tonight, both teams played hard,” said Altamont head coach John Niebrugge. “I tell the kids in practice that you have to go hard to the basket when you shoot lay ups and make it like a game situation. I don't know if it is inexperience but you have to put the ball in the hole, that is the name of the game.”

The Indians made a push toward the lead in the final quarter, only to see Vandalia get two key offensive rebounds for points in the final minutes.

Garrett Ziegler, a 6-foot junior point guard from Altamont, was held to just three points. However his two free throws with 4:21 remaining got the Indians to within a point at 32-31.

But Michael Wells, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, muscled his way for two rebounds for points to push the lead back to five for Vandalia.

Godoyo hit 1-of-2 free throws with :08.0 left to give Vandalia a 37-34 lead.

Jahraus, who had hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, got another chance after a pair of Altamont timeouts.

Coach Niebrugge's Tribe got the ball in the frontcourt and use a timeout with :02 left.

Jahraus got a wide open look from the right win from 20-feet.

His shot was on target but a little bit long. The ball bounced off the back iron as the buzzer sounded in the Vandals victory.

Altamont dug themselves a hole in the first quarter, missing its first 11-attempts and trailed 6-0 before 6-foot-4 junior Jake Seidel scored in the paint to close the first quarter scoring with :46 remaining.

Vandalia six points early came from Godoya on a fast break lay in; a rebound basket by Wells and nice move in the lane by Colton Woolsey for the early advantage.

This spread could have been double-figures but seven of the Vandals miscues came in the opening frame.

Cole Borders, a 6-foot-3 junior, hit his only shot of the game for Altamont, a 3-pointer from the right corner, to cut the Vandalia lead to 9-7 late in the second quarter.

Altamont could have gotten the lead before halftime. The Indians, however, missed seven more field goals and were just 3-of-7 from the free throw line.

Coach Niebrugge can point to another key stat in their loss; Vandalia's 36-22 rebounding edge.

Eleven of those rebounds for the Vandals were on the offensive end with six of those boards turning directly into points.

Vandalia appeared to have put the Indians away in the early part of the second half, going on a 12-0 run.

Godoyo scored five of those points on a conventional three-point play and a fast break lay in that made it 25-10 with 4:57 left in the third quarter.

Altamont will need to regroup as they will play twice on Friday, against Shelbyville at 12:30 pm and then again at 5:00 pm against Effingham St. Anthony.

They will need two wins and hope that Maroa-Forsyth can knock off Vandalia.

Altamont, with a first day win over M-F, would win that tie-breaker and would go to the title game on Saturday.

A Vandalia win over Maroa-Forsyth on Friday night at 6:30 pm would put the Vandals in the title game.

Maroa-Forsyth can get to the championship with a win over Vandalia and an Altamont loss to either Shelbyville or Effingham St. Anthony. 

Altamont (34) – Ziegler 0 0 3-4 3, McGinnis 1 0 0-1 2, Seidel 1 0 0-0 2, Hill 0 0 0-0 0, Borders 0 1 0-0 3, Buhns 3 0 1-2 7, Mayhaus 4 0 1-3 9, Jahraus 0 2 2-4 8. 2FG-9, 3FG-3, FT-7-14, PF-12.
Vandalia (37) – Cowger 1 0 0-1 2, Ritchey 1 0 0-0 2, Harter 1 3 0-0 11, Godoyo 3 0 2-3 8, Co. Woolsey 3 0 0-1 8, Wells 4 0 0-0 8, Ch. Woolsey 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-13, 3FG-3, FT-2-5, PF-22.
Fouled Out – Ritchey, Wells - Vandalia.
Technical Fouls – None.

Pana (63) – Hester 2 0 0-0 4, Zahradka 3 1 2-2 11, Hudlin 2 0 4-4 8, Gibson 6 3 2-2 23, Metzger 0 1 0-0 3, Kircher 1 0 0-0 2, Rybolt 0 1 0-0 3, Miller 0 0 0-0 0, Kirk 2 0 0-0 4, Clark 2 0 1-2 5, Lin 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-183, 3FG-6, FT-9-10, PF-9.
Greenville (44) - Schaufelberger 0 0 0-0 0, Faulker 0 1 0-0 3, Young 0 0 0-0 0, Hall 0 4 1-3 13, Hutchinson 4 0 0-0 8, Lawrence 1 2 4-4 12, Leitschuh 3 0 0-0 6, Omo-Osagie 0 0 0-0 0, Manning 0 0 0-0 0, Laesch 0 0 2-4 2. 2FG-8, 3FG-7, FT-7-11, PF-13.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.