12-28-09
BY JACK BULLOCK
VANDALIA - Is there really a cure for the hiccups?

Apparently the Stewardson-Strasburg Comets found one on Monday afternoon.

Needing a mulligan at the Vandalia Holiday Tournament after stubbing their collective toes on Saturday in a loss to rival Altamont – Stew-Stras found its remedy.

Six-foot-one senior guard and team leader Jaden Widdersheim scored 36-points by hitting 5-of-6 3-pointers and all five of his free throws as the Comets got way too hot for Shelbyville, 76-54 Monday afternoon at the 38th Annual event.

Widdersheim also hit 8-of-13 2-point FG’s to make his shooting day 13-of-19 (68 percent) as Stew-Stras improved to 8-1 overall for the season and 2-1 in the tourney.

Coach Mike Walker also got a good contribution from Will Rincker offensively as this 6-foot-1 senior guard added 10-points to the mix.

Matt Tabbert and Jon Hoene scored nine and six points respectively and these two frontcourt players (13 rebounds) led the Comets to a commanding 28-16 rebounding edge in the win.

Shelbyville (2-7 overall, 1-2 in the VHT) couldn’t keep up with the surging Comets as the Rams were forced into 20 turnovers – including four costly miscues in the third quarter that helped S-S take over.

Widdersheim, Hoene and Chris Koontz all scored on fast break lay ups in a during a four minute stretch in that frame - which started a 12-2 run.

Widdersheim added a 3-pointer to the run to cap an 11-point quarter for the guard.

His bucket on a spin move in the paint pushed the Stewardson-Strasburg advantage to 55-40.

Shelbyville’s Cody Boarman led his Rams with 25-points and four of those came in the opening moments of the fourth quarter as his club rallied to trail just 55-46 with 7:13 remaining.

However the Comets cleaned up on six additional turnovers by Shelbyville the rest of the contest and produced a game-deciding 8-0 run with six of those points coming on a 3-pointer from the left wing and a conventional three-point play from Widdersheim.

His baseline drive for a lay in while being fouled by Shelbyville’s Cody Langan extended the domination at 63-46 with 5:23 left.

Another 8-0 run with Rincker getting into the conventional three-point play action removed the outcome’s doubt.

Both teams cleared the benches in the final 2:36 at 73-50.

Coach Walker knows that despite the impressive win that there is room for improvement.

“We did play a lot better defense in the second half and that second quarter wasn’t a thing of beauty,” said Walker. “We didn’t value the basketball and we weren’t very good defensively in that second quarter and we gave them (Shelbyville) an opportunity to get back into the game. I hope that we learn from that and move on to get better. We can’t have those lapses where we are bickering at each other and not playing together as a team.”

Stew-Stras matched Shelbyville in a sloppy second quarter that saw the two teams combine for 18-turnovers.

In fact the Comets gave up a pair of steals in the final :13 seconds that resulted in Boarman scores on fast breaks.

His second lay in on a pass from Caine Cloe whittled the halftime score down to 37-34 Comets.

“It’s the goal for us (playing four quarters) and we talk about playing hard for 32 minutes and so far this season we have put together two quarters in a row but we don’t seem to do it for four,” added Walker. “I don’t know why, either. I don’t know if the kids lose focus or what. It is frustrating because as coaches we talk about it all the time to the kids. We still haven’t found a way to do that (play hard for 32) yet.”

Shelbyville’s Cloe followed Boarman in scoring with 11.

The Rams shot the ball well enough to stay in the contest (23-of-47, 49 percent) for a long time but they simply couldn’t overcome their own mistakes.

“I was really, really proud of my guys in the first half because they competed well and kept their composure. We had some great possessions and some good stops defensively,” said Shelbyville first year head coach Matt Franks – a Tolono Unity grad and former assistant coach for the Rockets. “That third quarter run that they (Stew-Stras) made was a combination of them hitting some shots and us not taking better care of the ball. We need to understand that when the other team makes a run that we need a really good possession. It is encouraging because we can grow there and get better.”

Stew-Stras can win Pool B outright with a win over Wesclin on Tuesday night and a Shelbyville win over Altamont. If both Stew-Stras and Altamont win Tuesday that would leave a three-way time between the three schools and the free-throw percentage tiebreaker would be used.

“We lost our focus and our intensity in the second half today, which takes nothing away from what Stew-Stras did. They executed well. But when we play against good teams and have lapses then we will get exploited and that happened today,” finalized Coach Franks.

Shelbyville (56) – Boarman 9 1 4-4 25, Smith 0 0 0-0 0, Cloe 4 0 3-5 11, Pruemmer 2 0 0-2 4, Fatheree 3 0 0-0 6, Langan 2 0 0-0 4, Keown 0 0 0-0 0, Baker 0 0 0-2 0, Bence 0 0 0-0 0, Breeden 1 0 0-1 2, Standefer 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-22, 3FG-1, FT-7-14, PF-19.
Stewardson-Strasburg (76) – Widdersheim 8 5 5-5 36, W. Rincker 2 1 3-5 10, Koontz 1 0 2-2 4, Hoene 3 0 0-1 6, Tabbert 4 0 1-2 9, Thomas 1 1 1-2 6, Ferris 1 1 0-0 5, L. Rincker 0 0 0-1 0, Z. Rincker 0 0 0-0 0, Hermuth 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-20, 3FG-8, FT-12-18, PF-18.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – Boarman - Shelbyville.

PANA 68, CENTRAL A&M 47
Ever so quietly the Pana Panthers are once again in the title picture of the Vandalia Holiday Tournament.

Coach Gary Bowker has his team in striking range of the championship game having won all three of its Pool A games and now stand at 9-1 on the season.

Paced by sophomore Jared McMillen with 15-points and Jake Adcock with 14 – Pana is one win away from getting to the championship game for the fourth time since 2000.

The Panthers roared out to a 35-20 halftime lead in a contest that had little drama in scoring.

Scorching the nets at a 58 percent clip (29-of-50) the Panthers could win its sixth VHT title with two more victories.

Central A&M fell to 0-2 in the event despite 15-points from Ryan Workman and 10-points from Lance Napier in the loss.

The Raiders we just 17-of-47 from the field (36 percent) and were a paltry 9-of-21 from the foul line.

Central A&M (47) – Workman 4 1 4-8 15, Napier 2 2 0-0 10, Townsend 2 1 2-4 9, Duncan 3 0 0-2 6, Sirbaugh 2 0 0-0 4, Bridgemand 0 0 0-3 0, Cruse 0 0 0-0 0, Wiseman 0 0 0-0 0, Keeling 0 0 3-4 3.
2FG-13, 3FG-4, FT-9-21, PF-17.
Pana (68) – Metzger 4 0 0-0 8, McMillan 7 0 1-1 15, Adcock 7 0 0-0 14, Ade 3 0 3-4 9, Epley 2 0 5-5 9, Schmitz 3 0 1-2 7, Beyers 1 0 0-0 2, Arnold 1 0 0-1 2, Rochkes 0 0 0-0 0, Kyle 0 0 0-0 0, Kirkbride 0 0 0-0 0, Rick 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-29, 3FG-0, FT-10-13, PF-17.
Fouled Out – Wiseman - Central A&M.
Technical Fouls – None.

WESCLIN 54, VANDALIA 48
The host Vandals were riding high on a five-game win streak heading into the VHT but have lost their first three games of the event – including a six-point loss to Wesclin on Monday night.

The Warriors improved their record to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in the tournament as they led from start to finish in putting themselves in position to reach the title game on Wednesday night.

Kyle Emig scored 17-points for Coach Brent Brede’s club – including 3-of-4 3-point shots. Teammate Chad Klein pitched in 16 while Phil Kunz scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win.

Kunz missed nearly a third of the contest in foul trouble but his teammates picked up the slack.

Neither team hit 40 percent from the field but Wesclin won the game from the foul line.

The Warriors got to the foul line more times than the opposition and made the Vandals pay – hitting 12-of-17 from the stripe compared to 3-8 for Vandalia.

Vandalia (7-6) was paced by Marty Johnson with 13 and Will Cowger with 12.

Tim Ritchey and Bryan Hosick added nine points each for Coach Kevin Jackson’s squad.

Wesclin (54) – West 1 0 2-2 4, Wilken 1 0 7-8 9, Klein 2 3 3-5 16, Kunz 4 0 0-0 8, Emig 4 3 0-0 17, Deterding 0 0 0-2 0.
2FG-12, 3FG-6, FT-12-17, PF-10.
Vandalia (48) – Hosick 2 1 2-2 9, Johnson 5 1 0-0 13, Cowger 6 0 0-4 12, Osorio 4 0 1-2 9, Ritchey 0 1 0-0 3, Bell 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-18, 3FG-3, FT-3-8, PF-14.
Fouled Out – Emig - Wesclin.
Technical Fouls – None.

GREENVILLE 54, SOUTH CENTRAL 29
The Comets improved their mark in the VHT to 1-2 and 4-5 overall after pulling away from the Cougars in the second half.

Coach Todd Cantrill’s Comets put two players in double-figures with Dylan Bone and Brady Huber scoring 10-points each while ten of the Greenville players that hit the floor inked the scorebook.

Todd Eaton scored seven points while Brad Perry and Trevor Suess added five points each.

Shane Donoho led South Central (0-3, 1-8 overall) with eight points while Taylor Cain pitched in seven but the Cougars couldn’t overcome 26 turnovers in the contest.

The Comets trailed early but outscored South Central 20-6 in the second quarter to lead 26-15 at intermission.

Greenville connected on 8-of-18 3-point attempts while South Central hit just 33 percent from the floor overall (12-of-37).

South Central (56) –Snow 0 0 0-0 0, Bushue 1 0 3-4 5, Mitchell 0 0 0-0 0, Donoho 4 0 0-0 8, Hill 1 0 1-2 3, Harpster 0 0 0-0 0, Harmeier 1 0 0-0 2, Tharp 1 0 0-0 2, Cain 3 0 1-2 7, Tate 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-12, 3FG-0, FT-5-8, PF-9.
Greenville (54) – Perry 2 0 1-2 5, Suess 1 1 0-0 5, Schatte 0 0 0-0 0, Heitzig 0 0 0-0 0, Carter 0 1 0-0 3, Young 0 2 0-0 6, Stroud 0 0 1-2 1, Eaton 2 1 0-0 7, Bone 2 2 0-0 10, Williams 3 0 0-0 6, Huber 2 1 3-6 10, Schreider 0 0 0-0 0, Lennix 0 0 1-2 1.
2FG-12, 3FG-8, FT-6-12, PF-10.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

PANA 53, SOUTH CENTRAL 19
Pana cruised past South Central to open the second day of the Vandalia Holiday Tournament behind 14-points from Clint Epley and 13-points from Derek Ade.

Head coach Gary Bowker saw his Panthers improve to 2-0 in the Pool A while keeping the Cougars winless in the tournament (0-2) and for the season.

Pana improved to 8-1 on the season by jumping out to a 19-6 first quarter advantage over the out manned South Central squad in search of its first victory.

Jake Adcock added eight points for Pana – including a pair of baskets in the first quarter.

Shane Donoho led the Cougars with eight points.

Pana hit 23-of-58 shots from the floor in the win and outrebounded SC 33-17.

Pana (53) – Schmitz 1 0 0-0 2, Epley 4 2 0-2 14, Ade 2 3 0-0 13, Beyers 3 0 0-0 6, Metzger 0 0 0-0 0, Rice 0 0 0-0 0, Armold 1 1 0-0 5, Rochkes 0 0 0-0 0, Hrabak 0 0 0-0 0, McMillen 2 0 1-4 5, Adcock 4 0 0-1 8, Kyle 0 0 0-0 0, Kirkbride 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-17, 3FG-6, FT-1-7, PF-13.
South Central (19) – Snow 1 0 0-0 2, Bushue 2 0 1-2 5, Mitchell 1 0 0-1 2, Donoho 3 0 2-5 8, Hill 0 0 0-0 0, Harpster 0 0 0-0 0, Harmeier 0 0 0-0 0, Tharp 1 0 0-0 2, Cain 0 0 0-0 0, Tate 0 0 0-0 0, Linder 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-8, 3FG-0, FT-3-8, PF-12.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

WESCLIN 63, ALTAMONT 45
Also one of the pre-tournament favorites the Wesclin Warriors roared to a Monday morning win over Altamont.

The Warriors (7-3) are now 1-1 in the VHT because they had no answer for Wesclin’s 6-foot-7 Phil Kunz – who pummeled Altamont with 25-points and eight rebounds.

Two other Warriors netted double-figures with Alex Wilken and Kyle Emig added 14 and 10 points respectively.

Wesclin led 17-7 at the first horn and kept the Indians from making any serious run.

Kunz scored 13-points in the second quarter in leading his team to a 27-13 frame advantage and a 44-20 halftime lead.

Brock Ledbetter and Hayden Winters scored 11-points each for Coach Doug Hill’s Altamont club.

Altamont (45) – Buzzard 0 0 0-0 0, Duckwitz 1 1 0-2 5, Suckow 2 0 1-2 5, Heiden 1 2 0-0 8, Schlief 0 0 1-2 1, Spence 1 0 0-0 2, Ledbetter 1 3 0-0 11, Jahraus 0 0 0-0 0, McGinnis 1 0 0-0 2, Winters 5 0 1-1 1, Milller 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-12, 3FG-6, FT-3-7, PF-14.
Wesclin (63) – Isenhower 0 0 0-0 0, Thorton 0 0 0-0 0, West 0 3 0-0 9, Wilken 3 2 2-2 14, Klein 2 0 1-2 5, Powers 0 0 0-0 0, Kunz 10 0 5-7 25, Emig 4 0 2-3 10, Hilmes 0 0 0-0 0, Deterding 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-19, 3FG-5, FT-10-14, PF-11.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

FLORA 67, GREENVILLE 52
Co-Tournament favorite Flora improved to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the VHT with a lopsided victory Monday afternoon behind 17-points from Nick Painter, 16-points from Paul Knapp and 10-points from Austin Lewis.

That trio produced six-made 3-point shots as the Wolves hit 6-of-12 attempts from behind the arc.

Mychal Bush-King added nine points while Bryton Krutsinger tossed in eight for Flora.

Coach Phil Lieb’s Wolves also got seven points each from Brent Taylor and Austin Lewis.

Flora led 36-19 at the half and 55-27 after three quarters.

Painter scored eight of his points in the third quarter as Flora pulled away.

Greenville (0-2) got a team-best 17-points from Tyler Carter.

The Comets were just 6-of-23 from downtown and 19-of-54 overall.

Greenville (52) – Perry 0 0 0-0 0, Suess 1 0 2-5 4, Schatte 0 0 0-0 0, Heitzig 0 0 0-0 0, Carter 0 5 2-3 17, Young 2 0 0-0 4, Stroud 4 0 0-0 8, Eaton 1 0 1-2 3, Bone 1 1 0-0 5, Williams 1 0 2-3 4, Huber 1 0 1-3 3, Schreiber 2 0 0-0 4, Lennix 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-13, 3FG-6, FT-8-16, PF-22.
Flora (67) – B. Taylor 1 0 5-9 7, Durre 0 0 0-0 0, Burgess 0 0 0-0 0, Earlywine 0 0 0-0 0, Bush-King 4 0 1-2 9, Greenwood 0 0 0-0 0, Orel 0 0 0-0 0, Knapp 3 2 4-7 16, Painter 5 2 1-1 17, Thompson 0 0 0-0 0, C. Taylor0 0 0-0 0, Lewis 1 2 2-2 7, Eade 0 0 0-0 0, Krutsinger 2 0 4-6 8.
2FG-16, 3FG-6, FT-17-27, PF-13.
Fouled Out – Williams - Greenville.
Technical Fouls – None.