Cumberland Advances To Title Game of St. Elmo Tourney

ST. ELMO -- Cumberland High School advanced to the championship game of the 56th Annual St. Elmo Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament with a victory Thursday evening.

The Pirates edged South Central 41-39 in a close contest throughout. The Cougars took an 8-7 opening quarter lead but Cumberland came back to lead 18-13 at halftime.

The Pirates pushed that lead to 32-20 going into the final quarter. South Central fought back with a 19-9 final period run only to fall a basket short.

Magee tallied 14 for the winners while McMechan added 12. The Pirates had seven three-pointers, four by McMechan.

The Cougars were led by Harmeier with 15 points. South Central will play for third place Saturday at 6 p.m.

Cumberland advances to the title contest against either St. Elmo/Brownstown or Okawville at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

In a consolation bracket contest, Beecher City/Cowden-Herrick pummeled the Vandalia junior varsity team 71-30. BCCH took a 35-17 halftime lead and led 48-21 going into the final quarter.

Three players hit double figures in the 11 that scored in the contest for the winners. Blackerby tallied 20, connecting on three trifectas, while Rexroad added 14 and Black had 10.

BCCH will now play for fifth place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday while Vandalia JV will play for seventh place at 3.

Tonight's games features Ramsey taking on Mulberry Grove at 6:15 p.m. in consolation play while St. Elmo/Brownstown faces Okaw Valley at 7:45 in winner bracket play.

St. Elmo Tournament

Game Five

BCCH (71)

Grove 1-0 -- 2, Blackerby 8-1 -- 20, Giles 1-0 -- 2, Black 4-0 -- 10, Rexroad 7-0 -- 14, Arnold 0-3 -- 3, Sandiford 2-1 -- 5, Nohren 0-0 -- 0, Moeller 3-0 -- 6, Buzzard 2-1 -- 5, Wachtel 1-0 -- 2, Harder 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 30 FG, 6 FT.

VANDALIA JV (30)

Barth 1-2 -- 4, Morrison 1-0 -- 2, Dunn 2-2 -- 7, Shulman 2-0 -- 5, Wollerman 0-0 -- 0, Fergeson 0-0 -- 0, Truitt 2-0 -- 4, Lach 0-1 -- 1, Taylor 0-3 -- 3, Graham 1-2 -- 4. TOTALS 9 FG, 10 FT.

BCCH                     16    19    13    23    --    71

Vandalia JV           12      5      4      9    --    30

3-point FG -- BCCH 5 (Blackerby 3, Black 2), Vandalia JV 2 (Dunn 1, Shulman 1).

Game Six

CUMBERLAND (41)

Green 0-0 -- 0, Donsbach 0-0 -- 0, Magee 6-1 -- 14, Bauguss 2-3 -- 9, McMechan 4-0 -- 12, M. Wolke 1-0 -- 2, Shaon 1-2 -- 4. TOTALS 14 FG, 6  FT.

SOUTH CENTRAL (39)

Harmeier 6-2 -- 15, Lotz 2-2 -- 7, Hill 1-4 -- 6, Markley 1-2 -- 5, Geiler 0-0 -- 0, Harpster 1-0 -- 2, Arnold 0-0 -- 0, Matheny 1-2 -- 4. TOTALS 12 FG, 12 FT.

Cumberland             7    11    14     9    --    41

South Central          8      5      7    19    --    39

3-point FG -- Cumberland 7 (McMechan 4, Bauguss 2, Magee 1), South Central 3 (Harmeier 1, Lotz 1, Markley 1).