Central A&M Ends Indians' 28-Win Season

They showed Tuesday night why they are a favorite to achieve that goal, but not before the Altamont Indians showed them that they had a very good team, too.

The Raiders defeated the Indians 71-56 in 1A sectional semifinal action at Casey. The game was heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

The final score, though, does not reflect the battle Altamont gave the Raiders. 

Central A&M built a 10-point lead early and led 14-8 after one quarter. That's when Altamont kicked into gear and outscored the Raiders 21-17 in the second period to move within 31-29 at halftime.

The third quarter helped decide matters. Central A&M pushed their advantage from two points to nine points in the first two minutes of the period. Altamont fought back and got within five points on a couple of occasions, but Central A&M increased their lead to 53-43 at the end of the quarter. Altamont stayed close throughout much of the fourth quarter, but eventually had to start fouling and the Raiders made their foul shots to win by 15 points.

Altamont shot 42% from the field, 22 of 53, including 6 of 15 threes. The Indians only shot five foul shots, and made four of them. Altamont turned the ball over 13 times, and pulled down 18 rebounds, but only six in the second half.

Central A&M made 51% of its shots, 27 of 53, but just 2 of 14 threes. The Raiders were red-hot at the line, making 15 of 18 attempts. Central A&M turned the ball over 10 times, and finished with 29 rebounds, outboarding the Indians 13 to six after intermission.

Kaden Eirhart finished with 18 points to lead Altamont in scoring. Aidan Jahraus and Denver Duckwitz each scored 12 points, Noah Teasley scored eight, and Noah Klimpel had six points.

Connor Heaton, with more than 2,000 points in his Central A&M career, scored 33 points to lead the Raiders' attack, making 11 of 17 shots and hitting 10 of 12 foul shots. He also had seven rebounds. Griffin Andricks, who had five points in the first half, finished with 21 points for the game on 10 of 16 shooting and led the Raiders with nine rebounds. Also for the Raiders: Connor Hutchins with nine points, Jacob Paradee with six points and seven rebounds, and Bryce Burgener with two points.

Central A&M is now 29-3 and will play Friday night at 7:00 for the sectional championship. The Raiders will meet the winner of Wednesday night's game between the St. Anthony Bulldogs and the Casey-Westfield Warriors. Game time Wednesday is 7pm. Hear the action on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

Altamont closes out a great campaign with a 28-7 record, and says goodbye to seniors Aidan Jahraus, Noah Teasley, Jared Kollman, and Denver Duckwitz, along with exchange student Marco Costa. 

TONIGHT'S GAMES

In the Class 1A Casey-Westfield Sectioinal. Effingham St. Anthony will take on host Casey-Westfield at 7 p.m.

The winner advances to the championship game against Central A&M Friday at 7 p.m.

In the Class 2A Shelbyville Sectional, Teutopolis squares off against Breese Mater Dei at 7 p.m.

In the opener Tuesday night, Alton Marqiette defeated Marshall 48-37. Alton Marquette will face either T-town or Mater Dei Friday at 7 p.m. for the sectional championship.