Altamont, Dieterich, T-town Advance to Regional Championships

ST. ELMO -- Altamont High School advanced to the championship game of the Class 1A St. Elmo/Brownstown Boys Basketball Regional with a 62-56 win over South Central Thursday evening.

Altamont edged out to an 11-9 opening quarter lead then had an eight-point run to lead 30-20 at halftime. The Cougars had a 36-32 second half lead but couldn't overcome that second quarter spurt by the Indians.

Ryan Armstrong tallied 21 points, hitting eight field goals, including a three-pointer, and four free throws. Eric Wolff chipped in with 14 points.

The Cougars were led by their three seniors, Drevonte Hill with 14, Brett Harmeier with 14 and Jon Arnold with 10. The game was the last for Coach Rick Simmons who is retiring after this school year is finished.

In the second contest, Patoka ended St. Elmo/Brownstown's season with a 42-40 victory.

St. Elmo/Brownstown edged out to a 13-12 opening quarter lead but Patoka came back to lead 20-16 at halftime.

It was then SEB's turn with a 19-9 roll in the third period to lead 35-29 going into the final quarter. But the Warriors regained the momentum with a 13-5 surge to win.

J. Cain led the winners with 24 points while Belcher tallied 10.

St. Elmo/Brownstown was led by Landon Feezel with 15 and Kyle Hardimon with 11.

Altamont will now face Patoka at 7 p.m. today for the regional championship.

NOTES FROM KURT BECKER:

Altamont is 22-7 all-time against Patoka, including 2-1 in postseason play.

This is the first postseason meeting between the schools since 1999, when Patoka defeated Altamont, 59-55, in the Altamont Regional quarterfinals.

Altamont has won both prior meetings this season, prevailing 76-72 in pool play on Dec. 26 at the Vandalia Holiday Tournament, and winning 80-43 in a non-conference match on Altamont's home floor on Jan. 22.

Patoka's Jered Cain, a 6-2 junior, recently surpassed his father (Patoka assistant coach Scott Cain) as the school's all-time scoring leader.

Cain had games of 27 and 26 points, respectively, in the two prior matches with Altamont this season, while the Indians were led by Branden Hosick (22 points) and Adam Mayhaus (28), respectively.

Patoka guns for its third consecutive regional crown, while Altamont seeks to end a streak which has seen the Indians suffer a loss in the regional championship each of the last four years.

Patoka has won four regional titles overal (1974, 1989, 2014, and 2015), while Altamont has won six (1947, 1973, 2002, 2003, 2009, and 2010).

Patoka's 1974 and 1989 championships both came at St. Elmo, while Altamont was the champion at St. Elmo in 1947 and 2009.

Altamont will try to break a string which has seen the Indians sustain a loss in the regional championship each of the last four years, including a 57-55 overtime setback to Nokomis last season despite 35 points from guard Ryan Armstrong.

Class 1A St. Elmo/Brownstown Regional

Game Four

ALTAMONT (62)

Stevenson 2-0 -- 4, Hosick 3-0 -- 6, Mayhaus 3-0 -- 7, Armstrong 8-4 -- 21,  Childerson 1-6 -- 8, Cornett 1-0 -- 2, Wolff 6-2 -- 14. TOTALS 24 FG, 12 FT.

SOUTH CENTRAL (56)

Harmeier 5-4 -- 14, Lotz 3-0 -- 7, Hill 5-5 -- 15, Fox 0-0 -- 0, Markely 2-2 -- 8,  Arnold 2-6 -- 10, Matheny 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 18 FG, 17  FT.

Altamont                  11    19    20    12    --    62

South Central            9    11    19    17    --    56

3-point FG -- Altamont 2 (Mayhaus 1, Armstrong 1), South Central 3 (Markley 2, Lotz 1).

Game Five

PATOKA (42)

S. Cain 1-0 -- 3, Belcher 3-3 -- 10, O'Brien 0-0 -- 0, J. Cain 8-5 -- 24, Cobb 1-0 -- 2, Dy. Back 1-0 -- 3. TOTALS 14 FG, 8 FT.

ST. ELMO/BROWNSTOWN (40)

Maxey 0-0 -- 0, Miller 0-0 -- 0, Brown 2-0 -- 5, Kroll 2-0 -- 4, D. Brooks 1-0 -- 2, Pasley 1-0 -- 3, Feezel 6-2 -- 15, Hardimon 3-5 -- 11. TOTALS 15 FG, 7 FT.

Patoka                                     12     8      9    13    --    42

St. Elmo/Brownstown           13     3    19      5    --    40

3-point FG -- Patoka 6 (J. Cain 3, S. Cain 1, Belcher 1, Back 1), St. Elmo/Brownstown 3 (Brown 1, Pasley 1, Feezel 1).

Class 1A North Clay (Louisville) Regional

The title contest of this regional will feature Grayville against Edwards County (Albion) at 7 p.m. today.

Grayville edged Cisne 64-61 in overtime Thursday evening while Edwards County pounded Sandoval 93-80.

 Class 1A Dieterich Regional

Oblong edged Red Hill (Bridgeport) 64-62 in action Thursday evening in the Dieterich Regional.

Oblong had a 22-13 second period run to lead 32-26 at halftime. Red Hill mounted a comeback in the final quarter only to fall a basket short.

Maus led the winners with 21 points while Creek added 12.

Oblong will now meet Dieterich at 7 p.m. today for the regional championship.

Notes From Kurt Becker:

This is a rematch of last year's Oblong Regional semifinal, in which Dieterich defeated Oblong, 63-38.

This is also a rematch of the 2013 Dieterich Regional championship, which saw Oblong defeat the host school, 61-46.

Class 2A Teutopolis Regional

In a high scoring game at the T-town Regional, Marshall pounded out 101 points to beat Pana with 86 Thursday evening.

Marshall held a 51-39 lead at halftime. Pana played Marshall pretty well even in the second half.

Marshall advances to face host Teutopolis tonight for the regional championship at 7.

Kurt Becker Notes:

T-Town and Marshall have met twice previously in regional championship games, with Marshall winning 55-49 in 2009, and T-Town prevailing 54-51 in 2015.

The last team to defeat Teutopolis in a boys' regional championship at J.H. Griffin Gym was North Clay, in 1990.

A win by T-Town would give Coach Jason Hanson regional titles at three different schools -- Teutopolis, Neoga, and Casey-Westfield.