BY JACK BULLOCK
SESSER – Playing without one of their key players in the first half of their quarterfinal game on Tuesday afternoon against Marissa-Coulterville, the Woodlawn Cardinals were ripe for an upset at the 36th annual Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament.

Coach Brian Gamber saw his senior leader Blake Wollerman go to the bench early in the first quarter after picking up a pair of early personal fouls.

But with Wollerman on the pine, the rest of the young Cardinals stepped up and weathered the Meteors' storm.

When the 5-foot-11 senior returned to the floor, he made a big difference in the outcome as his all-around play sparked his club.

Driving to the basket and getting the ball to his teammates, Wollerman helped get his defending champions back into the semifinals for the ninth consecutive year.

The senior finished with just nine-points but he helped get the ball inside to his teammates who did the scoring.

As the lone returning starter from last season's state tournament team, he got his teammates involved by dishing out 10-assists to go with his nine-points.

All of the points and assists came in the second half of the Cardinals' 52-44 win.

Woodlawn will face Waltonville on Wednesday afternoon in the championship semifinals.

“We want to win and advance but more than anything we want to play well. Today I thought we did a better job. With Wollerman going down (fouls) early we had some guys step up and give good minutes. We were able to hang in there,” said Coach Gamber. “In the second half he (Wollerman) made a lot of big plays.”

The Meteors got a game-best 27-points from senior guard Kyle Smith and 11-points from senior Tony Stoddard.

But it was the defensive end that failed Marissa-Coulterville as Coach Scott Wine saw his club fall victim to drives to the basket by Wollerman, who would score or dish to teammates for easy looks at the basket.

“The difference was their guard (Wollerman) when he came back into the game. He only played about three mintues in the first half. When he was in there he was getting into the lane at will and dumping it off to his teammates for lay ups,” said Coach Wine. “We can't give up that dribble penetration, when we do we're not very good.”

The other side of the defensive equation, the Cardinals excelled, making it tough on the Meteors to get anything going offensively other than Smith.

Marissa-Coulterville finished a paltry 11-of-29 from the floor and just 5-of-12 from the arc. Not the numbers that Coach Wine was hoping for.

If it wasn't for Smith getting to the foul line often, the margin could have been higher.

Smith is a four-year starter and team leader for M-C and he is within 50 points of becoming the school's all-time leading scorer.

And he has spent most of his career getting to the basket and drawing fouls. He came into the tournament averaging 23 points a game and he is a 77 percent free throw shooter.

After hitting for 26-points against Johnston City, he added 27 against Woodlawn.

However he didn't get a lot of help on either end of the floor.

The Cardinals, with Wollerman picking up two quick personals, carried on without him for nearly the entire first half.

Woodlawn scored the last seven points of the first quarter with a basket by junior Trey Isaac and four straight free throws by freshman Blake McKay.

Another charity by senior Zach Ashby made it 11-6 at the end of the frame.

“Offensively, we are just different when he is not in there,” said Coach Gamber about Wollerman. “Our younger kids are learning how to play and that is a big adjustment for them. I'm happy with the effort.”

The Meteors fell victim to the normal Woodlawn defensive effort as the Cardinals forced five turnovers in the opening quarter.

But M-C rallied in the second with Smith and Stoddard doing most of the scoring.

They both hit 3-pointers in the quarter and when Smith drove the lane and pitched it to Stoddard near the top of the circle, the long distance shot found the mark for a 20-18 Marissa-Coulterville lead with 1:05 left in the half.

After an Isaac score, Stoddard added a pair of free throws to give his club a 22-20 lead at the break.

With Wollerman back on the floor in the second half, the Cardinals hit their stride.

He immediately scored points on a mid-range shot just seconds into the third.

He later set up Jordan Hoppa, a 6-foot-2 senior, with a pair of nice assists.

Hoppa led the Cardinals with 17-points, 13 of which were scored in the second half during an eight-point run as he accounted for all of those points with a pair of 3-pointers and a drive to the basket.

His second trey forced a Marissa-Coulterville timeout at 34-29 Woodlawn.

Wollerman closed the quarter with his only 3-point bomb for a 37-31 lead.

The senior guard also did a better job in the second half guarding Smith, making it tough on the Meteors' top scorer.

“He (Wollerman) is physical and he guarded Kyle (Smith) and that is what most teams want to do against him, get physical,” said Coach Wine. “He is used to it, it has happened to him for four years.”

The Meteors rallied twice in the final quarter, cutting the lead down to just three-points each time.

Smith and Stoddard each hit 3-pointers, with the second one cutting the margin down to 43-30.

But Hoppa converted a three-point play and Ashby scored a couple of late baskets with under a minute remaining as Woodlawn ran time off the clock and advanced to the Final Four.

The Cardinals held a 20-16 rebounding edge, holding the Meteors to just three offensive rebounds.

Woodlawn was more productive from the floor, hitting 20-of-39 overall.

“I thought we did a better job in the second half by not settling. Getting to the rim and getting good shots,” said Coach Gamber. “I liked our defense other than we fouled him (Smith) in some bad spots. We put him at the free throw line more than we wanted to. It's a good win and we are in the semifinals now. Obviously we are well aware of who our opponent is. So it is round two.”