Altamont Claims Vandalia Holiday Tournament Crown

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Published on December 31 2015 7:42 am
Last Updated on December 31 2015 10:23 am
Written by Millie Lange

The Altamont High School team is all smiles after winning the Vandalia Holiday Tournament.

                                                                                                                        Scott Beal photo

VANDALIA -- It was a flurry of action from start to finish that had fans and players alike worn out by the time the contest ended. Who was the happiest . . . Altamont as the Indians outlasted Pana 77-75 for the championship of the Vandalia Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament Wednesday evening.

It came down to the final seconds with the score knotted at 75-75. Altamont had the ball with 13 ticks left on the clock. Ryan Armstrong got the ball, headed to the free throw line where he went up and nailed a jumper with 1.3 seconds left that sent Altamont fans and players streaming onto the floor in celebration.

"That's his play," said Altamont Coach John Niebrugge. "We wanted to put the ball into his hands because Ryan will make the play."

Armstrong tallied 29 points by connecting on nine field goals that included two three-pointers and nailing 11 of 11 at the free throw line.

Pana had taken an 18-14 first quarter lead but the score was tied at 34-34 at halftime and 52-52 in the third quarter. At one point the Indians held a seven point lead, the biggest of the evening. But the Panthers fought back and knotted the score at 75-75 on a Joe England basket and free throw. England finished with 20 points to lead Pana while Wade McMillen tacked on 15.

Helping the Indians in double figures was Branden Hosick with 19. Struggling through the first half, Hosick nailed 17 of his 19 points in the second half. Also finishing in double figures was Adam Mayhaus with 12 points. Hosick and Mayhaus both tallied two three-pointers.

The third place game went to Greenville over Patoka 70-63.

In the fifth place contest, Effingham St. Anthony handed Flora a 52-40 loss. The Bulldogs took a 22-15 halftime lead. Flora came back with a slight 17-16 third quarter edge but St. Anthony put the contest on ice with a 14-8 final period run.

Nick Grunloh, a 6-foot-4 senior, led the Bulldogs with 21 points while Drew Gibson, a 6-foot-3 junior, tallied 12.

Flora was led by Leib with 17 points.

In the seventh place game,Vandalia bounced South Central 72-36. The Vandals leaped out to a 27-7 opening quarter lead and that was it for the Cougars who could never get untracked from that point.

Well tallied 29 points for the winners while Casey added 20.

South Central was led by Harmeier with 11 points and Hill with nine.

The ninth place game went to Shelbyville over St. Elmo/Brownstown 58-53. The Rams led 30-20 at halftime. Brownstown/St. Elmo rallied for a 16-8 third quarter to pull within 38-36 going into the final quarter.

But Shelbyville got back on track with a 20-17 run to pull out the victory. The Rams were led by three players in double figures. Pullen tallied 13, Miller 12 and Roedl 12.

Brownstown/St. Elmo was led by Feezel with 22, Brown with 13 and Hardimon with 11.

Vandalia Holiday Tournament

Championship Game

ALTAMONT (77)

Hosick 7-3 -- 19, Mayhaus 5-0 -- 12, Armstrong 8-11 -- 29, Deadmond 0-0 -- 0, Childerson 2-2 -- 6, Cornett 1-0 -- 2, K. Wolff 4-1 -- 9. TOTALS 27 FG, 17 FT.

PANA (75)

N. McMillen 0-0 -- 0, Stauder 0-0 -- 0, McLeod 1-0 -- 2, Miller 8-0 -- 20, Galvin 4-0 -- 8, England 3-1 -- 7. W. McMillen 6-2 -- 15, Hrabak 1-0 -- 2, Zahradka 5-0 -- 12, Lynch 2-1 -- 5, DeWerff 2-0 -- 4. TOTALS 32 FG, 4 FT.

Altamont          14    20    18    25    --    77

Pana                 18    16    18    23    --    75

3-point FG -- Altamont 6 (Hosick 2, Mayhaus 2, Armstrong 2), Pana 7 (Miller 4, Zahradka 2, W. McMillen 1).

Fifth Place Game

FLORA (40)

Smith 2-3 -- 9, Allen 0-0 -- 0, Leib 5-4 -- 17, Gocey 2-3 -- 9, Gaither 1-2 -- 5, Trotter 0-0 -- 0, Moses 0-0 -- 0, Scott 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 10 FG, 12 FT.

ST. ANTHONY (52)

Walsh 2-0 -- 6, Kabbes 2-0 -- 4, Hartke 0-1 -- 1, Martelli 3-0 -- 6, Grunloh 7-4 -- 21, Deters 0-0 -- 0, Gibson 4-2 -- 12, Beesley 1-0 -- 2, Niebrugge 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 19 FG, 7 FT.

Flora                         7      8    17      8    --    40

St. Anthony           12    10    16    14    --    52

3-point FG -- Flora 8 (Leib 3, Smith 2, Gocey 2, Gaither 1), St. Anthony 7 (Grunloh 3, Walsh 2, Gibson 2).

Seventh Place Game

SOUTH CENTRAL (36)

Harmeier 4-3 -- 11, Lotz 0-0 -- 0, Hill 4-1 -- 9, Fox 0-0 -- 0, Markley 1-1 -- 3, Snow 0-1 -- 1, Geiler 0-0 -- 0, Harpster 1-0 -- 2, Blomberg 0-0 -- 0, Arnold 2-2 -- 6, Matheny 2-0 -- 4, McCown 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 14 FG, 8 FT.

VANDALIA (72)

Ruckman 0-0 -- 0, Zimmerman 2-1 -- 6, Casey 7-2 -- 20, Taylor 0-0 -- 0, Well 8-9 -- 29, Smalls 1-0 -- 2, Jones 1-2 -- 4, McNary 1-0 -- 3, DeFaux 2-2 -- 6, Graham 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 23 FG, 16 FT.

South Central             7    10    15     4    --    36

Vandalia                   27    17    14    14    --    72

3-point FG -- Vandalia 10 (Well 4, Casey 4, Zimmerman 1, McNary 1).

Ninth Place Game

SHELBYVILLE (58)

Pullen 4-5 -- 13, Miller 5-0 -- 12, Roedl 3-6 -- 12, Watson 3-3 -- 9, Howell 1-1 -- 4, K. Plummer 1-2 -- 4, H. Plummer 0-2 -- 2, Gottfriedt 1-0 -- 2, Birch 0-0 -- 0, Gambrill 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 18 FG, 19 FT.

BROWNSTOWN/ST. ELMO (53)

Feezel 8-5 -- 22, Brown 4-4 -- 13, Hardimon 5-1 -- 11,  Kroll 1-2 -- 4, Oberlink 1-0 -- 2, Pasley 0-1 -- 1, Brooks 0-0 -- 0, Miller 0-0 -- 0, Duckworth 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 19 FG, 13 FT.

Shelbyville                           15    15      8    20    --    58

Brownstown/St. Elmo          8    12    16    17    --    53

3-point FG -- Shelbyville 3 (Miller 2, Howell 1), Brownstown/St. Elmo 2 (Feezel 1, Brown 1).

Altamont players hold up the championship trophy after winning the Vandalia Holiday Tourney.

                                                                                                                          Scott Beal photo