11-29-03
SALEM VS. EFFINGHAM
@ EFFINGHAM THANKSGIVING TOURNEY
BY JACK BULLOCK
EFFINGHAM - The title game of the 5th Annual Effingham Thanksgiving Tourney came down to two physical teams that are now part of the same conference.

It was a close contest that featured 14 lead changes and five ties with no team leading by more than five points.

But at the end it was Salem's Mathew Hawkins who stepped to the free throw line with :04.5 seconds left with the score tied at 57-all.

With the outcome still in doubt the 6-0 senior hit the first of two free throws to give his team a 58-57 lead.

His second shot missed and Effingham's Nick Nosbisch rebounded the ball and headed up the court.

With several Salem players in his face, he launched a final desperation 3-pointer from near the half-court line.

When the ball sailed out of bounds wide to the left of the goal, Salem's coach John Boles sailed into the air in celebration of the Wildcats' second EHT title in the five seasons of the tourney.

"It is hard to put it into words right now of how much this means to our program," said Coach Boles, who's team won the EHT in 2000. "We couldn't have won this game without the defense we played tonight. When we needed the stops in the fourth quarter we got them. We executed well tonight against a good team."

The two teams battled back and forth in the opening quarter, fueled by a large championship game crowd.

Effingham's Aaron Leonard got rolling early for the Flaming Hearts, hitting for eight first quarter points.

His lay in on a fast break after a Salem turnover gave Effingham a 12-8 lead with 2:31 left.

But the Wildcats got right back to the front with some inside/outside play from Scott Murfin and Steven Williams.

Murfin hit from 20-feet on the right side and then Williams muscled toward the basket to score while being fouled by Effingham's Cody Esch.

His charity toss gave Salem a 14-12 lead with 1:26 left.

Nosbisch responded on the following trip up the court, hitting a 3-pointer to give the lead back to the Hearts.

The two teams traded points the rest of the quarter with Nosbisch hitting a runner in the paint just before the horn to make it 19-18 Hearts.

After Salem's Hawkins opened up the second quarter by scoring four straight points to give the Wildcats back the lead, Effingham's Jordan Bear produced a rare four-point play.

While attempting a 3-pointer from the left side of the arc, he was knocked to the floor by Salem reserve Aaron Purcell. His shot went in, and so did his subsequent free throw to give Effingham back the lead at 23-22.

After that, the two team traded leads in the final 3:56 of the quarter.

Hawkins hit a 15-footer from the right side to give the 'Cats a 27-25 advantage.

However Effingham came right back with two free throws by Bear to tie the game again.

Salem's Williams and Effingham's Nosbisch each hit the back ends of two-shot free throw chances and the teams sprinted off the court to the locker room's tied at 28.

"Both teams got after each other the whole game and in the first half it was a struggle to get things done offensively," said Effingham coach Ron Reed.

Effingham was the first team to get some actual breathing room in the second half by scoring six-straight points.

Bear hit a 3-pointer from the left side and then Leonard made a great spin move in the lane and scored on a bank shot while being fouled by Williams.

His made free throw gave the Hearts a 36-31 lead with 4:22 to go in the third quarter.

Murfin hit a 3-pointer for Salem on the next possession to cut the lead to two points.

Then Effingham's reserve guard Jordan Springer hit on a reverse lay in to put the Hearts up 38-34.

The remainder of the quarter belonged to two players wearing #21.
Jordan Bear and Mathew Hawkins matched each other by trading two consecutive baskets on four total trips up the floor.

But it was Hawkins who ended the third quarter scoring with a long 3-pointer from the right side of the court that gave Salem a 42-41 lead heading into the final quarter.

"Hawkins played such a good game on both ends of the court tonight for us," added Boles.

Effingham opened up a 45-41 advantage after Nosbisch canned a 3-pointer just 17 seconds gone in the fourth.

But Salem went on its first big run of the night to grab command of the game momentarily.

Five points from Donny Sager, including a three-point play after being fouled by Leonard pushed Salem back in front 50-47.

Sager picked up three fouls in the first half and had to sit the bench for most of the contest.

Whereas the starters (other than Sager) had dominated the play during the first three quarters for both clubs, one key reserve stepped up big for Salem late in the contest.

Logan McNeil came off the Wildcats bench and contributed three big plays that changed the momentum of the game.

With the score still 50-47, McNeil stepped in front of an errant Effingham pass and the 6-0 junior guard raced to the other end of the court where he was fouled by Springer with 3:28 left.

McNeil hit both of the awarded free throws to give Salem its biggest cushion of the game at five.

On the next two trips to the offensive end, McNeil scored both times.

After Effingham's Trevor Stortzum scored for the Hearts, McNeil scored on a baseline jump shot on the first trip and then canned a 'straight away' 10-foot bank shot.

That bucket gave the Wildcats a 56-51 lead with 1:50 remaining.

Stortzum hit a pair off free throws with 1:08 left to cut the Salem lead to 56-55.

Then after Hawkins hit the second of two free throws with :51.8 left, Springer struck again, this time driving the baseline to tie the game at 57-all with :12.5.

After a Salem timeout, Hawkins got the ball and while shooting to break the tie with a 15-footer, he was fouled Nosbisch setting up his winning free throw.

"Logan McNeil came up big for us in the fourth quarter,' said Boles. "He came off the bench for us after not playing at all in the game and hit the two big shots and made a couple of steals. That team effort tonight is what makes this win so incredible, it wasn't just one guy, it was everybody."

Hawkins led all scorers with 25 points. The Wildcats had no other player in double-figures but five players managed to score, led by Murfin with nine and Sager with eight.

Effingham (2-1) was led by Leonard with 17 points and Bear with 15.

"They (Salem) turned us over three or four times in the fourth quarter so I give them credit," said Coach Reed. "They played well, especially on the defensive end. And Hawkins really shot the 'lights out' tonight."

Salem (58) - McNeil 6, Hawkins 25, Bryant 4, Murfin 9, Sager 8, Williams 6.
2FG-14, 3PT-4, FT-18-25, PF-18.
Effingham (57) - Springer 6, Stortzum 4, Bear 15, Nosbish 9, Roedl 2, Esch 4, Leonard 17.
2 FG-17, 3PT-4, FT-11-16, PF-20.

MADISON 56, PARIS 51
The Trojans took home third place honors with the overtime win over Paris.

Despite having 21 turnovers, Madison improved to 2-1 on the young season.

Rickey Salmond, Madison's 5-9 senior guard, led the club with 19 points including 10 in the overtime.

Perry Adams backed up Salmond with 14 points while Sen Romey pitched in 13.

Madison had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Salmond's 15-foot shot at the buzzer rimmed out.

Salmond made amends by hitting 6-of-6 free throws in the extra session.

"We are going to struggle some this season with the turnovers because this group hasn't played together enough," said Madison coach Kenny Stanley. "We turned the ball over 20 times in both of the wins, but we have to improve our handling of the ball if we are going to get back to where we want to be at the end of the season."

Paris (1-2) got 19 points from 6-5 senior Aaron Haase and 12 from David Lesko.

Madison (56) - Moore 3, Salmond 19, Chatt 7, Romey 13, Adams 14.
2FG-20, 3PT-2, FT-10-16, PF-18.
Paris (51) - Lesko 12, Keltz 3, Trogdon 7, Denson 10, Haase 19.
2FG-13, 3PT-4, FT-13-21, PF-17.

PANA 68, MATTOON 65
The Panthers took out Mattoon to claim the Consolation Title at Effingham.

Coach Gary Bowker's club improved to 2-1 with balanced scoring led by Evan Washburn with 15 points.

Drew Casner added 14 while Mitch Ade and Wil Beyers scored 11 each.

Pana kept the Green Wave at bay with 14-of-18 free throw shooting in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers outshot Mattoon from the line for the game 23 to 11.

Mattoon (1-2) got a game-high 19-points from Nathan Meinhart.

Mattoon (65) - Lockhart 7, Mullen 4, Meinhart 19, Hudson 11, Bushur 4, Heurmann 6, Francis 8, Wagner 6.
2FG-21, 3PT-4, FT-11-22, PF-26.
Pana (68) - Klein 3, Bilyeu 4, Ade 11, Casner 14, Trelz 1, W. Beyers 11, Melega 7, Washburn 15, Radford 2.
2FG-16, 3PT-4, FT-23-34, PF-17.

BREESE CENTRAL 52, HIGHLAND 31
The Cougars rebounded from a tough start of the season to win the seventh place game over Highland.

Adam Buehne led Central (1-2) with 14 points.

Ryan Meyer added nine points for Coach Stan Eagleson's club.

Highland (0-3) had no players hit double-figures but Matt Miller and Tyler Donaldson each scored seven points.

	1	2	3	4		Final
Highland	06	06	07	12	-	31
Breese Central	13	11	13	15	-	52

Highland (31) - Schallenberg 3, Miller 7, Donaldson 7, Harsy 1, Bradley 6, Kleinhoffer 4, Bellm 3.
2FG-9, 3PT-2, FT-7-15, PF-15.
Breese Central (52) - Schrage 4, Gebke 3, Patterson 3, Meyer 9, Buehne 14, Astroth 2, Baro 5, Steinkamp 4, Detmer 4, Netemeyer 4.
2FG-17, 3PT-2, FT-12-16, PF-14.