Shorthanded Hearts Place Second in Thanksgiving Tournament, Dominated by Breese Central

Breese Central closed its dominating run through the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament with another one-sided victory Saturday night, whipping a shorthanded Effingham squad 63-38 in title game action at The Enlow Center.

It was a rematch of last year’s final, also won by Central in a 51-44 final. Since the tournament’s inception in 2003, no participant owns more championship trophies than Breese’s five; it was the Cougars’ fifth championship in eight years. Effingham is next on the all-time championship list with three (2009, 2007, 2006).

After putting together a five-point lead after one quarter Saturday, the Cougars (4-0) outscored the by a 14-5 margin in the second quarter and really never looked back. Effingham (3-1) could never trim the margin to fewer than a dozen. The Hearts were missing a starter as Sean Zerrusen suffered an injury during a morning workout, while key reserve Brent Beals was also in street clothes thanks to an injury sustained in Friday’s win over St. Anthony.

Grant Wolfe, fresh off his tournament record-setting 37-point effort Friday, led all players with 21 tallies and finished the four-game meet with 93. Jacob Donaldson added seven and Reed Schafer had five, while Brady Jackson scored four and dished out three assists in his first start of the year. A Michael Woltman free throw rounded out Effingham’s scoring.

While Wolfe handled a bulk of Effingham’s offensive output, though, the Cougars were getting points from up and down the roster and dominating the boards to the tune of a 34-15 rebounding edge; fifteen of those came off the offensive glass. Logan Kohrmann led his team with 16, while Chase Schneider ended up with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Central shot 55 percent from the field and was above 60 for most of the game, including 8-for-18 accuracy from three-point range. Five different Cougars knocked down at least one triple. Effingham, meanwhile, struggled to a 37 percent shooting night and was 3-for-13 from the arc.

Effingham – Reed Schafer 2-4 1-1 – 5; Grant Wolfe 9-18 1-1 – 21; Jared Minor 0-4 0-0 – 0; Jacob Donaldson 3-9 0-0 –7; Alex Webb 0-1 0-0 – 0; Brady Scott 0-1 0-0 –0; Ryan Huelsbusch 0-0 0-0 – 0; Brady Jackson 2-5 0-0 – 4; Landon Wolfe 0-0 0-0 – 0; Mason Hull 0-0 0-0 – 0; Ryan Sandifer 0-1 0-0 –0; David Wallace 0-0 0-0 – 0; Michael Woltman 0-0 1-2 – 1.

Breese Central – Kolby Schulte 2-5 0-0 – 5; Logan Kohrmann 7-11 1-3 – 16; Jack Strieker 6-8 0-1 – 12; Mitchel Rule 2-6 0-1 – 5; Chase Schneider 5-8 0-0 – 14; Carter Truong 0-1 1-2 – 1; Brice Haselhorst 0-1 1-2 – 1; Tarik Tibbs 0-2 0-0 – 0; Corben Zanger 2-3 0-0 – 5; Joe Ratermann 1-1 0-0 – 2; Tyler Joest 1-2 0-0 – 2.

Field Goals – Effingham 16-43 (37.2), Breese Central 26-47 (55.3). Free Throws – Effingham 3-4 (75.0), Breese Central 3-9 (33.3). Three-Pointers – Effingham 3-13 (23.1), Breese Central 8-18 (44.4). Rebounds – Effingham 15 (G. Wolfe 3, Jackson 3), Breese Central 34 (Schneider 8). Offensive Rebounds – Effingham 4, Breese Central 15 (Kohrmann 3). Assists – Effingham 9 (G. Wolfe 3, Jackson 3), Breese Central 12 (Schulte 4). Blocked Shots – Breese Central 3 (Kohrmann). Total Fouls – Effingham 15, Breese Central 8. Fouled Out – Effingham 1 (Schafer).