11/29/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
COBDEN - At the Gene Dammermann Cobden “Classic” Thanksgiving Tournament on Saturday, Century gave the host Appleknockers every opportunity to make a comeback in the second half of the finale.

But Cobden failed to walk through the open door.

Coach Jake Parr witnessed his team commit 19-turnovers, 11 of which occurred in the second half.

Unfazed by the issues at hand, Century put together enough defensive stops to keep Cobden from mounting a comeback.

Century held on for a 53-40 victory, which continued the program's dominance in the history of the of this tournament.

The Centurions have yet to lose a game in the event (15-0) since its beginning in 2023.

“Our turnovers were uncharacteristic for us but we played a pretty good defensive team tonight and luckily we were able to get key stops on defense,” said Coach Parr. “We do two things that we want to be our identity. We want to get out in transition and we hit the offensive glass. Sometimes our best offense is our missed shots. We have a big, long athletic team and that (rebounding) is something we have to depend on night in and night out.”

Tournament MVP Adam Taake scored 12-points in pacing a balanced attack and he put and exclamation point on the win with a steal and fast break score in the final minute.

The Centurions had seven different players ink the book in the victory.

Freshman Noah Wittaker added nine-points, all in the first half, for Century while junior Landyn Walshon and senior Drew Dillow added eight-points each in the win.

Cobden fell to 4-1 on the season and the event, which also marked the third year in a row that the Appleknockers started with four wins and one loss.

Century beat the hosts for the third-consecutive season in the final game.

Coach Karl Sweitzer's club was led by senior guard James Eagle with 13-points.

He sparked his club with a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter to help keep the Appleknockers within range of Century.

Both sophomore Tyler Shoemate and senior Kingston Kuhn scored eight-points for the Appleknockers.

“Our kids played super hard. I'm very proud of the effort. We made mistakes but the door was open. The intensity was there, the enthusiasm was there but we missed some free throws and made too many mistakes,” said Coach Sweitzer. “We said it this morning. If we give them ten offensive rebounds they're probably going to score 16-points. They're probably going to make eight of them. When we gave them second chance opportunities, they capitalized.”

Century scored twice in the first minute of the game and never trailed.

Taake took a nice lob pass from freshman Izzy Sampson and then Sampson, also an all-tournament team selection, scored on a drive inside for a 4-0 lead.

Cobden managed two tie scores in the opening quarter.

Shoemate scored twice in succession and Kuhn stuck back a rebound to even the game at 6-6 with 4:57 remaining in the first quarter.

It was the final tie of the game as Century took the lead back.

Century closed out the quarter with a 10-3 run.

Wittaker hit a pair of free throws and scored on a rebound of his own missed shot.

Taake added a rebound basket and junior Mason Rentfro added a score on an assist from Taake as the Centurions led 16-9 at the end of the first.

Another run by Century (7-0) featured a pair of inside scores by Dillow and a steal and fast break lay in by Wittaker for a 25-14 advantage.

Wittaker later added a conventional three-point play after being fouled on yet another rebound after his own miss.

Junior Tyler Windings got in on the fun as he scored on a fast break started by a blocked shot by Sampson and Taake added another inside score for a 32-18 lead.

A free throw by Kuhn and the third three-point bomb by Eagle closed the half with the Appleknockers down ten.

One of the key stats from the game that hurt the Cobden chances was rebounding, as they allowed the Centurions too many second chances, especially in the first half.

Ten second chances in the first two quarters, seven in the second quarter alone, turned into points.

Six-consecutive points to start the third quarter by Cobden put a scare into Century.

Four free throws, two each by senior Matthew Howell and junior Tommy Quertermous forced Coach Parr to burn a timeout at 32-28.

That was as close as the Appleknockers would get the remainder of the contest.

Dillow and Walshon scored on consecutive trips down the floor with a rebound basket and a 3-pointer, with an assist from Taake.

Century closed out the quarter with three scores with Walshon, Sampson and Taake all getting to the rim.

Taake made a steal and scored in transition for a 44-33 lead heading to the final quarter.

Despite seven turnovers in the quarter, Century was still in control.

Following buckets by both Eagle and Shoemate got the Appleknockers within six, Taake and Windings slammed the door shut.

Taake scored six of his points in the final minutes, including lay up after a steal with :49 left.

“We thought it was going to be our night. I told the kids at halftime with us only down ten,” said Coach Sweitzer. “We started the third quarter with a 6-0 run and I know at one point late in the third quarter we were down five (38-33) and they went on an 6-0 run put them up 44-33. That was kind of the back breaker. We really couldn't get back over the hump.”

Century won the statistical battle by hitting a better percentage from the floor.

Coach Parr's club connected on 22-of-47 from the field with Cobden managing just a 13-of-45 night.

Counting 13 offensive rebounds, the Centurions held a 35-27 edge on the glass.

Despite the turnovers (19) Century took home the top prize from the event.

Cobden hit just 3-of-18 from the 3-point line and also turned it over a bunch (15) in the loss.

Century will take on Crab Orchard at home on Tuesday night in a battle of tournament champions.

The Trojans won the Elverado Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday.

Cobden will get back on the floor next Friday at Christopher.

“This is great and all, and we will celebrate the win. But we have a tough Crab Orchard team on Tuesday,” said Coach Parr. “We have to flip the page and get ready for a team that has beaten us the last two years. This is a great confidence boost but we're an inexperienced team and this is great for them but we have to get back to work next week.”

The all-tournament team consisted of Adam Taake and Izzy Sampson from Century, Matthew Howell and James Eagle from Cobden and Caleb Gaddis of Dongola.

MARION AGAPE CHRISTIAN 58, SHAWNEE 37
Trailing 16-12 in the first quarter on Saturday, Agape Christian went on a game-changing 21-0 run to take command of their victory over Shawnee in the second game of the tournament on Saturday.

The Knights improved to 2-3 on the season and the tournament for new head coach Frank Sanders.

Eight different players scored for Agape, including a team-best 17-points from junior Justin Sesock.

Senior Jonah Seals added nine-points for the Knights while junior Jeremiah Hoyle added eight.

Juniors Maxton Dillion and Stephen Seller added five-points each and freshman Joe Restivo scored four.

Senior Reed Camden hit a pair of 3-pointers for six-points.

Agape got a basket from freshman Abel Dudley and a pair of free throws by junior Jacob Miller for two-points in the rout.

Shawnee (1-4) just one double-digit scorer, sophomore Conner Wilson with 10-points.

Senior Gabe Ellet finished with eight-points and Coach Trey Pender got six-points individually from sophomore Brody Maser and freshman Jacob Pickle.

All-tournament team selection junior guard Caleb Gaddis scored 27-points to pace the Demons.

He scored 11 of his points in a dominant first quarter as Dongola raced out to a 22-4 advantage.

Junior Eyen Sheppard added 12-points for Dongola and freshman JJ Johns tossed in eight-points.

Sophomore Ben Flores added six-points for Coach Russ Marsh's club while he got four-points apiece from sophomore Ben Holderfield and freshman Daylon Williamson.

Carrier Mills-Stonefort and head coach Drake Patton took their fifth loss of the week.

Sophomore Cody Furlong was the only double-digit scorer for the Wildcats with 13-points.