Altamont, South Central Advance at St. Elmo Tourney

ST. ELMO -- Altamont and South Central advanced in the St. Elmo Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament after picking up victories Wednesday evening.

The tourney continues tonight with Mulberry Grove taking on Brownstown at 6:15 in consolation play and St. Elmo facing Beecher City at 7:45 in winner bracket action.

Altamont 61, Ramsey 31

Altamont edged out to a 14-13 first quarter lead as Garrett Ziegler scored half of his team's points. The Indians then went on a tear, outscoring Ramsey 12-4 in the second period for a 26-17 halftime lead. Altamont tallied a 35-14 second half behind Garrett's steady play.

The 6-foot-0 junior scored seven in the opening quarter, five in the second, four in the third and six in the fourth for a total of 22. He nailed four of Altamont's seven three-pointers. Also in double figures was Jon Kuhns with 10.

Ramsey was led by Knisley with 11. Ramsey drops into consolation bracket action against Cowden-Herrick Friday at 6:15 p.m. Altamont will now face South Central at 7:45 p.m. Friday.

Game Three

ALTAMONT (61)

Jackman 0-0 -- 0, Ziegler 9-0 -- 22, Goeckner 0-0 -- 0, McGinnis 2-0 -- 4, Cleestinos 0-0 -- 0, Seidel 0-1 -- 1, Hill 1-0 -- 2,  Borders 3-0 -- 8, Drone 1-0 -- 2, J. Kuhns 4-2 -- 10, Mayhaus 2-1 -- 5, Jahraus 2-0 -- 5, M. Kuhns 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 25 FG, 4 FT.

RAMSEY (31)

Lay 0-0 -- 0, Ca. Hunt 0-2 -- 2, Knisley 5-1 -- 11, Kelly 1-0 -- 2, Camez 1-0 -- 2, Reiss 1-0 -- 3, Aderman 0-0 -- 0, Black 1-0 -- 2, Webb 0-0 -- 0, Pryor 1-0 -- 3, Co. Hunt 2-0 -- 4, Casey 0-0 -- 0, Wesselman 1-0 -- 2, Cunningham 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 13 FG, 3 FT.

Altamont          14    12    15    20    --    61

Ramsey            13      4      7      7    --    31

3-point FG -- Altamont 7 (Ziegler 4, Borders 2), Ramsey 2 (Reiss 1, Pryor 1).

South Central 52, Cowden-Herrick 48

This one was close from start to finish. The Cougars took a 12-10 opening quarter lead as 6-foot-3 junior Fisher Tharp tallied six points. Tharp then went on a tear, scoring 14 of his team's 17 points in the third period for a 29-26 halftime lead.

South Central had a slight 10-8 third period edge to lead 39-34 going into the final quarter. Cowden-Herrick mounted a comeback, outscoring the Cougars 14-13 but fell short.

Tharp connected on 15 field goals and was two of three at the line for 32 points. Also in double figures was Rudy Hablewitz with 10.

Cowden-Herrick was led by Seth Barnes with 15 and Luke Moore with 11. The Hornets drop into consolation bracket action and will face Ramsey at 6:15 p.m. Friday. South Central advances in winner bracket play to square off against Altamont at 7:45 p.m. Friday.

Game Four

COWDEN-HERRICK (48)

Heiserman 2-3 -- 7, Moore 5-0 -- 11, Burris 0-0 -- 0, Barnes 7-0 -- 15, Schoonover 1-1 -- 4, Morganson 2-1 -- 5, Miller 3-0 -- 6. TOTALS 20 FG, 5 FT.

SOUTH CENTRAL (52)

Harmeier 0-1 -- 1, Hablewitz 3-4 -- 10, Tharp 15-2 -- 32, Rose 0-0 -- 0, Schwarm 2-1 -- 5, Riley 1-0 -- 2, Powless 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 22 FG, 8 FT.

Cowden-Herrick          10    16      8    14    --    48

South Central              12    17    10    13    --    52

3-point FG -- Cowden-Herrick 3 (Moore 1, Barnes 1, Schoonover 1), South Central 0.