Bulldogs First NTC Team to Win Vandalia Tournament

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Published on December 30 2013 11:32 pm
Last Updated on December 31 2013 7:57 am
Written by Greg Sapp

The St. Anthony Bulldogs captured the Vandalia Holiday Tournament championship Monday night with a 55-48 win over the Flora Wolves.  The game was heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com.

Not only was it the first ever championship for St. Anthony at Vandalia, but the Bulldogs are the first National Trail Conference team to win the championship in the tournament's 42-year history. Dieterich and South Central have won the tournament, but that was before they joined the NTC.

The contest was close throughout.  The Bulldogs had two missions defensively; stopping senior center Ethan Leib inside and stopping junior guard Bryce Pearce outside.  They largely accomplished both missions.

Pearce scrored 17 points, but guards Neil Williams and Matt Gibson put the clamps on him throughout the game.  He had six points on two threes in the first half, broke loose for three threes in the third quarter, but failed to connect in the fourth quarter.

As for Leib, he was in foul trouble almost immediately, picking up three personals by the mid-point in the first quarter and having to sit out the rest of the half.  Leib bounced back with 12 points in the second half, but was at least contained by the combination of Alex Hoelscher and Derek Rios.

Hoelscher, named the Tournament MVP, had a monster game for St. Anthony with 16 points and 15 rebounds.  John Goeckner led St. Anthony with 20 points while Williams, who was busy guarding Pearce, also added 15 points.  Hoelscher, Goeckner and Williams were all named to the All-Tournament Team.  Also for St. Anthony: Matt Gibson and Derek Rios each with two points.

In addition to Pearce and Leib, Logan Smith scored 10 points for Flora, John Casolari added seven points and Robert Casolari scored two points.

St. Anthony made 19 of 44 shots for 43% while Flora made just 16 of 46 shots for 35%.  Both teams shot well from the line; St. Anthony 14 of 19 and Flora 10 of 13.  St. Anthony overcame 17 turnovers while Flora gave up the ball 13 times.  St. Anthony outrebounded Flora 26-17.  The Bulldogs made three of 20 three-point shots while the Wolves made six of 20 threes.

St. Anthony won their ninth straight to improve to 10-3 on the season while Flora dropped to 7-4 on the campaign.

In the third place contest, Altamont downed Pana 86-73. The Indians took control early with a 17-15 opening quarter lead and a 22-15 second period run for a 39-30 halftime lead. Pana edged Altamont 20-19 in the third period but the Indians came back strong with a 28-23 final period surge.

Free throws were a problem in the loss to St. Anthony but this time around, the Indians connected on 73 percent, hitting a whopping 31 of 44 from the gratis stripe.

Altamont connected on 52 percent from the field. Three players hit double figures as Ziegler led with 20, Goeckner added 18 and McGinnis finished out with 15.

Pana was led by Gibson with 19, McLeod with 16 and Trexler with 13.

In the fifth place contest, Greenville claimed a 64-31 win over St. Elmo/Brownstown. The Comets took a 30-15 halftime lead and didn't let up in the third period, outscoring the Eagles 19-9.

Greenville connected on 55 percent from the field and hit 64 percent from the free throw line. The Comets had only 11 turnovers.

Schaufelberger had 18 points for the winners while Faulkner had 12 points.

Brownstown/St. Elmo connected on only 39 percent from the field but hit 71 percent at the free throw line. L. Maxey tallied 15 points but was the lone Eagles player in double figures.

In the ninth place contest, Shelbyville defeated South Central 70-39. The Rams held a 52-19 halftime lead and never looked back. Martin tallied 23 for the winners while Z. Williams added 12. Twelve players scored for Shelbyville.

South Central was led by Langley with 13 points.

All-Tournament Team members in addition to Hoelscher, Goeckner and Williams were Pearce and Leib of Flora, Kyle Gibson and Jonathan McLeod of Pana, Austin Lawrence of Greenville, Garrett Ziegler of Altamont, Levi Maxey of St. Elmo/Brownstown, and Colton Woolsey of Vandalia.

Other score from Monday's finals at Vandalia:

Seventh Place Game -- Vandalia 51, Maroa-Forsyth 49

Vandalia Holiday Tournament

Championship  Game

ST. ANTHONY (55)

Williams 5-2 -- 15, Gibson 0-2 -- 2, Hoelscher 5-6 -- 16, Z. Gardewine 0-0 -- 0, Goeckner 8-4 -- 20, A. Gardewine 0-0 -- 0, Rios 1-0 -- 2, Jansen 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 19 FG, 14 FT.

FLORA (48)

Pearce 5-2 -- 17, Smith 3-4 -- 10, Leib 4-4 -- 12, J. Casolari 3-0 -- 7, R. Casolari 1-0 -- 2, Allison 0-0 -- 0, Mendoza 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 16  FG, 10 FT.

St. Anthony          10    13    15    17    --    55

Flora                      10      9    17    12    --    48

3-point FG -- St. Anthony 3 (Williams 3), Flora 6 (Pearce 5, J. Casolari 1)

Third Place Game

PANA (73)

Miller 2-1 -- 5, Gatons 0-0 -- 0, McLeod 6-0 -- 16, Kircher 0-0 -- 0, Beeson 4-0 -- 8, Gibson 5-6 -- 19, McMillan 0-0 -- 0, Trexler 5-2 -- 13, Zahradka 1-0 -- 2, Clark 2-2 -- 6, Franklin 2-0 -- 4. TOTALS 27 FG, 11  FT.

ALTAMONT (86)

Jackman 1-3 -- 5, McGinnis 4-7 -- 15, Ziegler 9-2 -- 20, Borders 2-1 -- 5, Goeckner 4-3 -- 11, Armstrong 2-4 -- 9, Seidel 0-9 -- 9, Jahraus 4-2 -- 10, Wolff 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 27 FG, 31 FT.

Pana                  15    15    20    23    --    73

Altamont          17    22    19    28    --    86

3-point FG -- Pana 8 (McLeod 4, Gibson 3, Trexler 1), Altamont 1 (Armstrong 1).

Fifth Place Game

GREENVILLE (64)

Schaufelberger 3-2 -- 11, Faulkner 5-2 -- 12, Chilovich 2-2 -- 8, Young 0-0 -- 0, Hall 2-0 -- 6, Hutchison 3-1 -- 7, Lawrence 3-1 -- 7, Leitschuh 4-1 -- 9, Holden 2-0 -- 4. TOTALS 24 FG, 9 FT.

ST. ELMO/BROWNSTOWN (31)

Neeley 0-0 -- 0, M. Maxey 1-0 -- 3, Frailey 0-0 -- 0, L. Maxey 6-1 -- 15,  Behrends 3-1 -- 8, Flowers 0-2 -- 2, Smithson 0-0 -- 0, Feezel 1-1 -- 3. TOTALS 11 FG, 5 FT.

Greenville                              18    12    19    15    --    64

St. Elmo/Brownstown            7      8      9    16    --    31

(St. Elmo/Brownstown linescore adds up to 40 while 31 listed as final)

3-point FG -- Greenville 7 (Schaufelberger 3, Chilovizh 2, Hall 2), St. Elmo/Brownstown 4 (M. Maxey 1, L. Maxey 2, Behrends 1).

Ninth Place Game

SHELBYVILLE (70)

Hendryx 2-0 -- 4, Martin 8-0 -- 23, Robinson 1-0 -- 2, Shadwell 1-0 -- 2, Z. Williams 4-1 -- 12, Wooters 0-0 -- 0, Miner 0-0 -- 0, Peterson 1-0 -- 3, Wade 0-4 -- 4, Meyer 2-0 -- 5, Peifer 2-0 -- 4, Smith 1-0 -- 2, McConnell 2-3 -- 7, Kennell 1-0 -- 2, C. Williams 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 25 FG, 8 FT.

SOUTH CENTRAL (39)

Harmerier 3-1 -- 7, Henken 0-0 -- 0, Wilkins 0-0 -- 0, Markley 0-0 -- 0, Riley 2-0 -- 4, Arnold 2-0 -- 4, Ross 1-5 -- 7, Powless 1-2 -- 4, Langley 4-5 -- 13. TOTALS 13 FG, 13 FT.

Shelbyville               22    30    13    5    --    70

South Central          10       9    13    7    --    39

3-point FG -- Shelbyville 12 (Martin 7, Z. Williams 3, Peterson 1, Meyer 1), South Central 0.