Altamont, Dieterich Post Wins at NTC Tourney

Neoga High School's Trevor Roy steps to the line for a free throw during NTC Tournament action.

The Altamont Indians and Dieterich Movin Maroons are in the Final Four of the championship bracket of the 84th Annual National Trail Conference Boys Basketball Tournament.

Altamont defeated South Central 52-33 in the opener Wednesday night, while Dieterich got by Neoga 47-42 in the nightcap. Both contests were heard on 979XFM and streamed live via video on our You Tube channel.

Altamont and Dieterich join St. Anthony and North Clay in the winner's bracket. The Bulldogs and the Cardinals will play Thursday night while the Indians and the Movin Maroons will play Friday night to see who advances to the championship game Saturday night.

ALTAMONT 52, SOUTH CENTRAL 33

Altamont stormed out of the gate, overwhelming South Central 17-2 in the first quarter. The Indians extended the lead to 32-12 at halftime before the Cougars outscored Altamont 21-20 in the second half.

Altamont shot 41% from the field, 18 of 44, including 6 of 19 threes. Altamont made 8 of 13 foul shots, turned the ball over 14 times, and grabbed 27 rebounds.

South Central shot 30% from the field, 12 of 40, including 5 of 17 threes. The Cougars made 4 of just six foul shots, committed 19 turnovers, and pulled down 23 boards.

Alek Biggs and Aiden Jahraus each scored 16 points to lead Altamont. Also for the Indans: Kaden Eirhart 8, Tony Klitzing 4, Denver Duckwitz and Noah Teasley 3 each, and Derick Budde 2.

Logan Lotz scored 10 points, all in the second half, to lead South Central. Also for the Cougars: Hunter Brandt 7, Daniel Roberts 4, and Colin Miller, Seth Shumate, Keenin Willshire and Tanner Hester 3 each.

Altamont improved to 12-9 on the season, while South Central is 11-9.

South Central turns around and plays in the 5pm game Thursday against Cowden-Herrick, the first of a triple-header.

NTC Tournament

Game Four

SOUTH CENTRAL (33)

Lotz 3-4 -- 10, Roberts 2-0 -- 4, K. Hall 0-0 -- 0, Cowger 0-0 -- 0, Robb 0-0 -- 0, Brandt 3-0 -- 7, Hester 1-0 -- 3, Miller 1-0 -- 3, Shumate 1-0 -- 3, D. Hall 0-0 -- 0, Willshire 1-0 -- 3, Patton 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 12 FG, 4 FT.

ALTAMONT (52)

Budde 1-0 -- 2, Ruffner 0-0 -- 0, Suckow 0-0 -- 0, Biggs 4-4 -- 16, Jahraus 7-1 -- 16, Eirhart 3-0 -- 8, Robbins 0-0 -- 0, Duckwitz 1-1 -- 3, Klitzing 1-2 -- 4, Teasley 1-0 -- 3, Kollman 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 18 FG, 8  FT.

South Central            2    10    12      9    --    33

Altamont                  17    15     6    14    --    52

3-point FG -- South Central 5 (Brandt 1, Hester 1, Miler 1, Shumate 1, Willshire 1), Altamont 8 (Biggs 4, Eirhart 2, Jahraus 1, Teasley 1).

DIETERICH 47, NEOGA 42

In one of the best games in the tournament this season, Neoga nursed an early lead before Dieterich began raining down threes. Dieterich led 11-8 as the second quarter began, but soon pushed the lead to 19-10 before Neoga regrouped. The Indians were within 22-20 at halftime, and it was that close for most of the second half. It was 34-30 Dieterich after three quarters, and Dieterich outscored Neoga 13-12 in the fourth quarter to post the five-point win.

The phone lines in the area went down with about a minute left in the contest, but Collin Hartke stepped up big for Dieterich at the close, hitting five straight foul shots to finish with nine points in the fourth quarter and 12 on the night. Evan Bohnhoff led Dieterich with 14 points including four threes. Also for Dieterich: Matthew Hunzinger 8, Cole Niebrugge 7, and Derek Kuhl 6. 

Reece Johnson and Trevor Roy each scored 16 points to lead Neoga in scoring. Mitchell Cornell scored eight points and Levi Peters scored two points.

Dieterich hit 37% of its shots, 15 of 41, including 6 of 15 threes. The Maroons made 12 of 15 foul shots, turned the ball over 14 times and pulled down 22 rebounds.

Neoga made 46% of its shots, 19 of 41, including none of 14 three-point attempts. The Indians made four of just six foul shots, committed 11 turnovers, and grabbed 19 rebounds.

Dieterich is now 14-7 on the season, while Neoga is 11-8.

As we said, a triple-header Thursday night. At 5pm, CHBC vs. South Central, at 6:30pm, St. Elmo/Brownstown vs. Windsor/Stew-Stras, and at 8pm, St. Anthony vs. North Clay. Hear all three games on 979XFM and check out the live video stream on You Tube.

NTC Tournament

Game Five

NEOGA (42)

Banning 0-0 -- 0, Fearday 0-0 -- 0, Peters 1-0 -- 2, Johnson 6-4 -- 16, Lanham 0-0 -- 0, Keller 0-0 -- 0, Roy 8-0 -- 16, Cornell 4-0 -- 8. TOTALS 19 FG, 4 FT.

DIETERICH (47)

E. Bohnhoff 5-0 -- 14, Budde 0-0 - -0, Hunzinger 3-0 -- 8, S. Bohnhoff 0-0 -- 0, Hartke 2-8 -- 12, Einhorn 0-0 -- 0, Kuhl 3-0 -- 6, Niebrugge 2-3 -- 7. TOTALS 15 FG, 11 FT.

Neoga                   8    12    10    12    --    42

Dieterich             11    11    12    13    --    47

3-point FG -- Neoga 0, Dieterich 6 (E. Bohnhoff 4, Hunzinger 2).