12-18-03
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY - For Thompsonville Coach John Robinson, this season he has seen a new hero each night step up with a big game.

Someone out of the blue (or in this case, Blue and White) takes the initiative to get the job done in a close game.

On Thursday night, in what was the equivalent of the tournament semi-final against Cisne in Pool A, it was Miles Vaughn in the first quarter and Cody Murphy in the fourth that got the Tigers to the championship game.

Vaughn, the Tigers 5-6 point guard, scored 10 first quarter points while Murphy scored nine-consecutive points for his team in the middle of the final stanza.

With the game tied at 43 with 4:38 left in regulation, Murphy caught fire on the offensive end.

His only 3-pointer of the night broke the tie and then the 5-10 senior then scored on three straight powerful drives in the paint.

When Murphy was finished with his scoring tirade, his team managed to make just enough free throws in the final minutes to push their record to an impressive 11-1 (3-0 in Pool A) with the 59-50 victory.

The physical nature of the contest took a lot of energy from both teams. But at the end, Thompsonville was the group that had the most left.

"I was a little worried when they (Cisne) tied it up because I wasn't sure if we had any energy left." said Robinson. "But Murphy did a great job in the fourth quarter and we had just enough left to win."
Cisne (7-2 overall, 2-1 in Pool A) got a game high 22 from Drew Glover and 16 from Lance Endsley.

But the Lions trailed for nearly the entire game and never seemed to get over the 'hump' to take the lead.

"I just felt like they (Thompsonville) wanted it more than we did," said Cisne coach Dennis Arnold.
"They were a little more aggressive and beat us on the boards. They were aggressive and we weren't."

Vaughn got the Tigers off to a flying start early in the first quarter. His driving fall-away shot in the paint gave the Tigers a 6-4 lead with 5:13 left.

His 3-pointer from the left corner on an in-bound pass ripped through the net, which gave Thompsonville a 16-10 lead.

Glover, Cisne's 6-0 junior marksmen, hit a shot on a drive down the lane to bring the Lions back to 16-12 at the end of one.

Lance Endsley, the Lions 6-4 center, backed his way into the paint for a couple of scores. His second shot got Cisne to within 18-16.

But Thompsonville began to get some separation from Cisne in a 'foul plagued' second quarter.

Aaron Ruzich scored five points for the Tigers in that frame.

A 3-pointer from the right wing gave his club a 21-16 advantage. His 18-footer just inside the 3-point arc extended the score to 25-18.

Glover hit two free throws and his Lion teammate Luke Smith canned a 3-pointer to cut the Tiger lead to 26-21.

However Thompsonville's Brandon Chaplain scored five points of his own in the second quarter, finishing it off with a rebound bank shot to send the teams to the half at 28-21 Tigers.

"I knew that they were going to be tough to stop and that they can all penetrate on offense," added Arnold. "If I underestimated them (Thompsonville) it was on the defensive end. Their defense was a little better than I thought it was. I give them a lot of credit."

The Tigers made a move to start the third quarter and pushed its lead to the largest of the night in the first 1:04.

Ruzich and Tyler Jennings hit consecutive baskets to give Thompsonville a 32-21 cushion.

But then Cisne went on a 7-2 run to get a bit closer, highlighted by Glover hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the circle and Endsley scoring on a power move in the lane.

After Vaughn gave the Tigers a 40-33 lead with a 'left wing' trifecta from 20-feet, Endsley hit 1-of-2 free throws and Derrick Simpson scored on a fast break lay up for Cisne, which cut the Tigers' lead to 40-36 heading into the final quarter.

Cisne made its best move to begin the fourth quarter to tie things up.

Glover scored on a drive to the basket and Smith followed by hitting 3-of-4 free throws on two separate trips down to floor to tie the game at 43-all.

At this point, Murphy took over the game with his offensive explosion.

"I think our balance on offense comes from the experience of this team," added Robinson. "They (the players) have played together for three years now and they all have confidence that they can score."

Although both teams struggled from the free throw line, Thompsonville managed to hit 7-of-10 free throws the waning moments to finish off Cisne, avenging a 57-52 loss to the Lions at the Conrad Allen Tourney last December.

Thompsonville hit on only 15-of-30 from the foul line for the game while Cisne was a bit better at 20-of-29.

Thompsonville (59) - Vaughn 2 2 8-11 18, Ruzich 3 1 0-0 9, Murphy 5 1 0-4 13, Chaplain 2 0 5-10 9, Jennings 4 0 1-3 9, McClerren 0 0 1-2 1.
2FG-16, 3FG-4, FT-15-30, PF-22.
Cisne (50) - Glover 4 1 11-12 22, Endsley 6 0 4-9 16, Smith 0 1 3-4 6, Tannahill 0 0 2-2 2, Simpson 2 0 0-2 4. 2FG-12, 3FG-2, FT-20-29, PF-23.
Fouled Out - Thompsonville (Murphy, Jennings) Cisne (Tannahill, Simpson).

WAYNE CITY 46, CLAY CITY 32
The Indians were already guaranteed a spot in Friday night's title game and for a half they played like a team that had clinched.

But after struggling to a 20-all halftime tie, Wayne City got back to what it does best in the final two quarters to enter the title game with a 3-0 Pool B record, 7-3 overall.

Nathan Butler reaped the advantage of the Clay City box-and-one defense aimed at stopping teammate Nathan Loker.

The idea backfired as Butler made the Wolves pay as he hit four 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 17-points.

Corey Hutchcraft came up big for Coach Steve Strickland's club with eight points while Dustin Eckles and Nathan Loker added seven and six points respectively.

"We didn't come out with the intensity that I wanted to tonight but we got it done. It's a win and I am happy to get it." said Strickland, whose team has a shot at winning the school's 14th Conrad Allen Tournament title. "Physically it was our third game in three nights and with the emotions of winning two big games I think that was part of what happened tonight."

Clay City (0-3 in Pool B, 2-7 overall) got a game-high 22-points from Jonathan Frohning but he got little in the way of offensive help from his teammates.

Devan Cook was the next on the list with five points.

Clay City (34) - J. Frohning 9 0 4-5 22, T. Frohning 0 0 3-4 3, Michels 0 0 2-2 2, Cook 1 1 0-1 5, A. Bangert 1 0 0-0 2. 2FG-11, 3FG-1, FT-9-12, PF-15.
Wayne City (84) - N. Loker 2 0 2-6 6, Hutchcraft 2 0 4-5 8, Eckles 3 0 1-4 7, J.D. Loker 2 0 0-0 4, Butler 2 4 1-2 17, 1 0 2-2 4. 2FG-12, 3FG-4, FT-10-19, PF-12.

SESSER-VALIER 59, WEBBER TOWNSHIP 54
The Red Devils (2-1, 7-4 overall) will play in the third place game on Friday night as they finished in second place in Pool B with the win over the Trojans.

Jake Mohret topped the S-V scoring list with 12-points while teammate Jared Shelton added 11.

Webber Township (6-3 overall, 1-2 in Pool B) got 18-points from Jabe Michel and 13-points from Joey Ullery in the loss.

Sesser-Valier (59) - Jake Mohret 2 2 2-2 12, Petro 1 0 0-0 2, Motsinger 2 0 0-0 4, Kramer 2 0 4-5 8, Jordan Mohret 3 0 0-1 6, C. Wingo 3 1 0-0 9, Shelton 2 2 1-2 11, Martin 3 0 1-2 7.
2FG-18, 3FG-5, FT-8-12, PF-19.
Webber Township (54) - Porter 2 1 1-2 8, Swartz 2 0 1-2 5, Ullery 3 1 4-4 13, Michel 5 0 8-11 18, Withrow 2 0 2-2 6, Braden 2 0 0-0 4.
2FG-16, 3FG-2, FT-16-21, PF-16.
Fouled Out - Sesser-Valier (Martin)

The schedule for the final day of the Conrad Allen Holiday Tournament has Webber Township taking on Crab Orchard in the fifth place game at 5:30 pm.

Sesser-Valier and Cisne will play in the third place game at 7 pm in a rematch of last season's title game won by Sesser-Valier 56-54.

The championship game will pit Mid-South Conference rivals Thompsonville and Wayne City at 8:30 pm.