St. Michael Nabs Third; T-town, Altamont Finish Second at Junior High State Tournaments

Altamont finished second in state. Cheerleaders and members of the team are, first row, left to right, Marissa Caraway, Morgan Phillips, Alexis Jones, Taylor Grupe, Paige Miller, Cheyenne Paton, Gracie Camp, Drittney Sadler, Abby Hall and Audrey Winters. Second row, left to right, Manager Kevin Miller, DJ Jenkins, Dylan Miller, Jacob Crow, Sam Childerson, Ryan Armstrong, Josh Miller and Manager Aleksander Biggs. Third row, left to right, Head Coach Mike Dokey, Jake Finn, Kyle Betts, Dakota Shepard, Evan Cornett, Wyatt Stone, Nick Bowlin, Scorekeeper Joe Stone and Assistant Coach Ty Totten.

Sigel St. Michael captured third place in the Class 8-1A State Boys Basketball Tournament while Altamont and Teutopolis finished second in the Class 8-2A and Class 8-3A state tournaments respectively.

Class 8-1A State Tournament

Sigel St. Michael stepped out to a 16-4 opening quarter lead but Peoria St. Mark came back with a 17-5 second period run to knot the score at 21-21 at halftime. St. Michael then put the game away with a 26-8 third period run.

St. Michael was fueled by the post play of Michael Wolke and Dalton Walk in dominating the opening quarter. The Sharpshooters had numerous rebounds that  led to second chance points. Facing a 12-point deficit to begin the second quarter, Alex Skibba and his Marksmen teammates used a sense of urgency to fight back. Skibba began slicing through defenders to lead the comeback charge for Peoria St. Mark and tie the game at halftime.

The Sharpshooters had a memorable third quarter. Showing no loss of confidence, St. Michael used its fast paced offense to outscore Peoria St. Mark in the third period. Brock Bueker exploded for 13 third quarter points and finished with a game high 21. Chipping in with 11 was Brant Bueker with 11.

Peoria St. Mark had three players in double figures with Skibba at 17, Carsten Opris at 10 and Matt Garyside at 10. St. Mark finished the season at 14-8.

St. Michael ended its run with a third place finish and a 23-4 record.

Class 8-1A State Tournament

Third Place Game

Peoria St. Mark              4    17      8    8    --    37

Sigel St. Michael          16      5    26    3    --    50

Peoria St. Mark -- Skibba 8-0 -- 17, Opris 3-4 -- 10, Garyaide 5-0 -- 10, Caesar
Alvarez 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 16 FG, 4 FT.

Sigel St. Michael -- McWhorter 1-0 -- 2, Bra. Bueker 5-0 -- 11, Tarter 0-1 -- 1, Bro. Bueker 8-0 -- 21, Walk 3-1 -- 7, Wolke 4-0 -- 8. TOTALS 21 FG, 2 FT.

3-point  FG -- Peoria St. Mark 1 (Skibba 1), Sigel St. Micahel 6 (Bra. Bueker 1, Bro. Bueker 5)

Class 2A State  Tournament

Defending champion Decatur Robertson took a quick lead over Altamont in the championship game but Altamont battled back in the opening quarter to pull within one point at 8-7.

The second quarter saw a battle for every ball from both teams. Altamont got on the boards this quarter and was able to stay within three going into the half at 19-16. The second half saw Robertson's quickness, pressure and steals convert into layups throughout the half. Robertson built its lead to 10 in the third quarter and the final quarter saw that lead expand for its second consecutive title.

Deion Norfleet tallied 18 points for the winners while Stefon Jarrett had 12. Robertson finished the season at 21-3. Altamont was led by Evan Cornett and Dakota Shepard with eight each. Altamont ends the season at 24-2.

Class 8-2A State Tournament

Championship

Altamont                          7      9      7    14    --    37

Decatur Robertson          8    11    15    20    --    54

Altamont -- Miller 2-0 -- 6, Stone 2-0 -- 4, Armstrong 2-1 -- 5, Bowlin 1-0 -- 2, Cornett 4-0 -- 8, Shepard 3-2 -- 8, Finn 2-0 -- 4. TOTALS 16 FG, 3 FT.

Decatur Robertson -- Boyster 1-0 -- 2, Bradford 1-0 -- 2, Jarrett 5-2 -- 12,  Bradford 1-0 -- 2, Simmons 1-0 -- 3, Young 2-0 -- 5, Thomas 0-2 -- 2,  Norfleet 7-4 -- 18,  Bobbitt 4-0 -- 8. TOTALS 22 FG, 8 FT.

3-point FG -- Altamont 2 (Miller 2), Decatur Robertson 2 (Simmons 1, Young 1)

Class 3A State Tournament

Pleasant Plains went up early behind the three-point shooting of Isaac Collins. Collins hit two three-point baskets to start the momentum for the Cardinals and a 14-5 lead over Teutopolis.

In the second quarter, the pace was fast and both teams switched gears and ramped up their defense with only two field goals scored for the Wooden Shoes. It was Collinns again who came up with a three-point basket for the Cardinals with two minutes left in the second period and Pleasant Plains led 19-13 at halftime.

In the second half, the Cardinals continued their momentum. Both teams took their shots behind the arc. Pleasant Plains led 27-19 after the third quarter. Teutopolis looked to the outside shooting of Chris Ungrund to cut the lead. Ungrund hit two three-poiners late in the fourth quarter but it was not enough to stop the Cardinals.

Collinns tallied 13 and Leon Brown 11 for the winners. T-town was led by Carson Hartke with eight points. T-town ends the season at 22-6 while Pleasant Plains finished 22-4.

Class 8-3A State Tournament

Championship

Teutopolis                    5    8    6    10    --    29

Pleasant Plains          14    5    8    10    --    37

Teutopolis -- Hartke 3-0 -- 8, Kenter 2-0 -- 4, Mette 2-1 -- 5, Hardiek 1-0 -- 3, Belleville 1-4 -- 6, Deters 1-1 -- 3. TOTALS 10 FG, 6 FT.

Pleasant Plains -- Helton 0-1 -- 1, Greer 2-0 -- 4, Collins 4-1 -- 13, Sachs 0-2 -- 2, Shultz 0-1 -- 1, Clemens 2-1 -- 5, Brown 5-1 -- 11. TOTALS 13 FG, 7 FT.

3-point FG -- Teutopolis 3 (Hartke 2, Hardiek 1), Pleasant Plains 4 (Collins 4).