PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Blue Devils claim fifth straight Vermilion County title

Jan. 21—DANVILLE — History was made Saturday night in the Vermilion County Tournament.

On the team side, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin joined Armstrong-Potomac as the only schools to win five straight county titles in the boys tournament.

While Armstrong-Potomac senior Kollin Asbury scored 27 points in the fifth-place game, giving him 116 in four tournament games, which is good enough for second all-time behind Kenneth Martinie of Allerton, who scored 145 in five games. Asbury actually ties Martinie in points per game at 29.0.

"That really means a lot to me," Asbury said. "I've been playing this game since I was 5 and I have loved every minute of it."

But, Asbury quickly admitted he would trade his scoring record for the title title.

That's an honor Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin senior Ayden Ingram has enjoyed his entire high school career. Ingram joined an exclusive group on Saturday when Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin defeated Oakwood 62-50 in the championship game.

In three years, Ingram's team was 9-0 in the county tournament. The only year that he wasn't on the winning team was 2021 when the County Tournament wasn't held because of COVID restrictions.

"It's a great feeling to cap off my county tournament career undefeated," Ingram said. "It kind of sucked that we didn't get to play the tournament in my freshman season, because it would be cool to say that I won County all four years."

And Ingram saved his best for the title game.

"I came out with a lot of confidence, because I knew this was my last county game and I wanted to finish it off with a bang," he said.

But, what happened in the pool games against Salt Fork and Westville, where Ingram had 18 total points?

"I just didn't have the best shooting games," he said. "And I was turning the ball over.

"In this game, I made my first jumper. It was good to see the ball go through the basket and I got really comfortable."

Ingram finished with 19 points, including four pivotal 3-pointers.

"That was a big momentum boost coming out after halftime," said Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin coach Gary Tidwell. "We weren't going a very good job defensively, as we were just matching baskets back-and-forth.

"Ayden hit a couple of big 3-pointers to start the half and he also had two big ones to get us going in the first half."

Bis-Henn/Ross-Al (20-3 overall) had a 9-0 run in the second quarter to open a lead against Oakwood and then the Blue Devils held the Comets to just 1 field goal for a stretch of 12 minutes, 29 seconds in the second half.

"It was like that our last game with them," said Oakwood coach Jeff Mandrell, whose team lost to BHRA 64-53 back in December. "We just had too many turnovers and we couldn't get our shots to fall at the right time."

And Mandrell gave credit to Bis-Henn/Ross-Al for its balanced offensive attack.

"They have a lot of different people that can score," he said, noting that all five starters had scored in double figures in at least one County Tournament game. "If you get someone shut down, than they have someone else that can come through for them. That's what makes them a good team."

Both teams had three players in double figures. The BHRA trio of Ingram (19), Chaz Dubois (19) and Keison Peoples (13) combined for 51 points, while the Oakwood trio of Alec Harrison (16), Cort Vermillion (13) and Carsen Dudley (13) combined for 42.

"We knew Alec would be a challenge inside, and for the most part, he was able to get some baskets because of his size," said Tidwell. "But, I think our guys were physical and made it a challenge to get the ball into him on a consistent basis.

"I was pleased with our defensive effort."

That's because the BHRA full-court press gave the Comets (17-6 overall) problems throughout the game.

"I think we did a better job with all ball press this whole tournament," Ingram said. "Our rotations are a lot better from the beginning of the season, and we are creating even more offensive opportunities.

"When you are able to get a team to turn over the ball, your chances to win increased greatly."

Both coaches were pleased that Saturday's championship game was played at a packed Mary Miller Gymnasium on the campus of Danville Area Community College.

"Of course, we wanted to win it, but to play in that type of game with that atmosphere was a great experience," Mandrell said. "It's probably better than the atmosphere in most regional games now in the four-class system."

Tidwell agreed.

"It doesn't get any better — standing-room only crowd," he said. "Each community had a huge fan base and then there were all of the neutral fans from the other games."

But, what about the player's experience?

"It's a really cool experience to play on a college court and with the DACCtron," said Ingram, referring to Watchfire Signs video board.

Westville 58, Hoopeston Area 37

Becoming a 1,000-point career scorer is supposed to be a great night for any high school player.

Westville senior Drew Wichtowski accomplished that honor Thursday night in the Tigers loss to the Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin Blue Devils, but those 4 points were all that he scored.

Determined to make amends, Wichtowski came out firing in Saturday's third-place game against the Hoopeston Area. The senior scored a game-high 29 to lead his Tigers past the Cornjerkers.

"Our guys came out ready to play after Thursday's disappointment," Westville coach Ed Barney said. "We moved the ball well and we found the hot hand — Drew.

"If you look at his career, Drew tends to hit more shots as the season goes on."

Wichtowski made five 3-pointers on Saturday to go along with making 6-of-7 at the free-throw line. Sophomore Easton Barney chipped in with 12 for the Tigers.

Wyatt Eisenmann was the only player in double digits for Hoopeston Area with 13.

Salt Fork 45, A-P 40

Even with Asbury's game-high 27 points, the Trojans came up short in the fifth-place game against the Salt Fork Storm.

Senior Jameson Remole scored a team-high 24 points for Salt Fork, including making 6-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Joining Remole in double figures was senior Evan Webb with 12 points. Cole Bailey had 11 points in the losing cause for Armstrong-Potomac.

Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 62, Oakwood 50

Oakwood (50) — Brody Taflinger 2 0-0 4, Cort Vermillion 3 6-8 13, Carsen Dudley 4 3-4 13, Jackson Dudley 1 0-0 2, Alec Harrison 7 2-2 16, Bryson McDaniel 1 0-0 2, Brandt Hobick 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 11-14 50.

Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin (62) — Keison Peoples 5 3-4 13, Micah Stanford 1 2-2 4, Ayden Ingram 7 1-4 19, Chaz Dubois 6 7-8 19, Caden Kelemenic 2 1-2 5, Anderson Thomas 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 14-20 62.

Oakwood 16 13 10 11 — 50

Bis-Henn/Ross-Al 18 20 10 14 — 62

3-pointers — Oakwood 3 (C.Dudley 2, Vermillion 1). Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 4 (Ingram 4). Total fouls — Oakwood 19, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 13. Fouled out — Jackson Dudley.

Records — Oakwood 17-6 overall, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 20-3.