SEB, WSS, St. Anthony Advance At NTC Boys Basketball Tourney

The Bulldogs ran out to a 21-14 opeing quarter lead as Ryan Schmidt connected for nine points while Brock Fearday put in eight. Schmidt hit three baskets, one a three-pointer, and was two of three at the line while Fearday hit three baskets, two of those three-pointers.

The Cardinals remained within striking distance as Cody Zimdars hit two baskets and three of four from the line for seven points.

The Bulldogs still had the momentum with a 14-10 second quarter. Schmidt added on seven more points. Kade Atwood put in five points for the Cardinals.

Although North Clay mounted a comeback bid in the second half with a 40 point run over the two quarters, St. Anthony remained in control with a 27 point third quarter behind seven more points from Schmidt and 14 points on four three-pointers and a regular basket from Will Fearday.

The Cardinals had a slight 19-18 final quarter edge.

St. Anthony had three players in double figures. Schmidt finished with 10 field goals, three from beyond the arc, and four of seven at the line for 27. B. Fearday added 22 and W. Fearday 18. The Bulldogs hit 13 three-pointers in the contest. 

North Clay was led by four players in double figures. Carder Walden finished with 16 points, all but two of those points coming in the second half. He hit six field goals and one free throw. Three of those were trifectas.

Atwood finished with 14 while Zimdars added 12 and Mason Byers 11.

St. Anthony advances to the championship contest Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to face either Dieterich or Altamont. Those two teams play today at around 8 p.m.

St. Anthony will be selling tickets for the National Trail Conference championship game today from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the high school and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Tickets will also be available at the door at Altamont High School Saturday.

North Clay dropped into the third place contest at approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday and will face either Dieterich or Altamont.

In consolation bracket play Thursday, St. Elmo/Brownstown defeated Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City, 61-41.

Graiden Wilhour went on a three-point binge in the opening quarter, knocking in four for 12 points as the Eagles moved into a 14-6 lead.

The lead went to 33-15 at halftime. G. Wilhour continued on with two more three-pointers and a regular basket for eight while Benji Lowe put in five points, one from three-point range, and Lowell Wilhour hit a three-pointer and a free throw for four.

CHBC came back with a slight 13-12 third quarter as five players scored.

But St. Elmo/Brownstown finished off with a 16-13 final period behind G. Wilhour's eight points.

G. Wilhour hit 11 field goals, nine of those from three-point range, for a whopping 31 points. Also in double figures was L. Wilhour with 11.

Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City was led by Griffith Vaughn who scored 11 on four field goals and three free throws and Carter Dilly with 10.

Wndsor/Stewardson-Strasburg was a 45-35 winner over Neoga, also in consolation bracket play.

The Hatchets edged out to an 8-5 opening quarter lead as Jackson Gurgel connected for five points and Blayzz Verdeyen hit a three-pointer. 

Windsor/Stew-Stras kept the momentum with an 11-8 second period to lead 19-13 at halftime. Brody Bible put in a three-pointer and Aiden Sayers scored four.

The Hatchets kept the pressure on with an 11-8 third quarter as J .Gurgel hit for six points and Bible put in another three-pointer.

Windsor/Stew-Stras finished out with a 15-14 final quarter. Verdeyen connected on two three-pointers and J. Gurgel hit six of six from the free throw line.

Gurgel connected on six field goals and was seven of eight at the line to lead Windsor/Stew-Stras with 19 points.

Leading Neoga was Luke Keller with 10 points on two field goals, both three-pointers and was four of four at the line.

Windsor/Stew-Stras will now compete in the consolation championship game Saturday at  approximately 1:30 p.m. against either St. Elmo/Brownstown or South Central. Those two teams play tonight at 6:15 p.m.

Neoga drops into the seventh place game at 11:30 a.m. Saturday against the loser of the St. Elmo/Brownstown vs. South Central contest.

NTC Tournament

Game Six

SEB (61)

Sanders 0-0 -- 0, Plum 2-0 -- 4, L. Wilhour 7-3-4 -- 11, G. Wilhour 11-0 -- 31, Monnet 0-2 -- 2, J. Wilhour 0-1 -- 1, Lowe 3-0 -- 7, Doty 1-0 -- 2, Willms 0-0 -- 0, Voelker 0-0 -- 0, Speagle 0-0 -- 0, Powell 1-0 -- 3. TOTALS 21 FG, 7 FT.

CHBC (41)

Cosart 2-0 -- 5, Vaughn 4-1 -- 11, Howell 1-5 -- 7, Radloff 1-2 -- 4, Lilly 1-0 -- 2, Askins 0-0 -- 0, Schlasner 1-0 -- 2, Dilly 4-0 -- 10, Dodge 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 14 FG, 10 FT.

St. Elmo/Brownstown                           14    19    12    16    --    61

Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City               6      9    13    13    --    41

3-point FG -- St. Elmo/Brownstown -- 12 (G. Wilhour 9, Lowe 1, Powell 1, L. Wilhour 1), Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 3 (Dilly 2, Cosart 1).).

Game Seven

NEOGA (35)

Keller 2-4 -- 10, Haarman 3-2 -- 9, Young 3-0 -- 7, Titus 2-0 -- 4, B. Ray 1-1 -- 3, Bryant 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 12 FG, 7 FT.

WSS (45)

Gurgel 6-7 -- 19, Verdeyen 3-0 -- 9, Bible 2-1 -- 7, Sayers 3-0 -- 6, Morris 1-0 -- 2, Vonderheide 0-2 -- 2. TOTALS 15 FG, 10 FT.

Neoga                 5      8      8    14    --    35

WSS                    8    11    11    15    --    45

3-point FG -- Neoga 4 (Keller 2, Haarman 1, Young 1), Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg 5 (Verdeyen 3, Bible 2).

Game Eight

NORTH CLAY (64)

Atwood 5-3 -- 14, Zimdars 2-8 -- 12, Schnepper 0-0 -- 0, Wolfe 1-0 -- 2,  Griffy 2-1 -- 5, Byers 4-3 -- 11, Hosselton 2-0 -- 4, Walden 6-1 -- 16. TOTALS 22 FG, 16 FT.

ST. ANTHONY (80)

Gonzalez 0-0 -- 0, Waldhoff 2-0 -- 4, Vonderheide 0-0 -- 0, Griffith 3-0 -- 7, Gannaway 1-0 -- 2, W. Fearday 6-2 -- 18, Link 0-0 -- 0, Bierman 0-0 -- 0, Schmidt 10-4 -- 27, Wiedman 0-0 -- 0, B. Fearday 8-1 -- 22. TOTALS 30 FG, 7 FT.

North Clay                  14    10    21    19    --    64

St. Anthony                 21    14    27    18    --    80

3-point FG -- North Clay 4 (Walden 3, Atwood 1), St. Anthony 13 (B. Fearday 5, W. Fearday 4, Schmidt 3, Griffith 1)