PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Tigers, Cornjerkers and Comets open County Tournament with wins

Jan. 15—DANVILLE — Winning your first game in the Vermilion County Tournament is an important step toward claiming the big prize.

On Saturday at the Mary Miller Gymnasium on the campus of the Danville Area Community College, the Westville Tigers, the Hoopeston Area Cornjerkers and the Oakwood Comets each took that step but in very different fashions.

Westville spotted the Salt Fork Storm a 10-0 lead in the game's first six minutes before coming back for a 39-30 triumph.

Hoopeston Area seemingly had things rolling well on both ends of the court as the Cornjerkers cruised past the Armstrong-Potomac Trojans 71-49.

And Oakwood just simply took care of its business, leading from start to finish in a 54-38 win over the Georgetown-Ridge Farm Buffaloes.

All three teams are now in good position, along with top-seeded Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin to claim the 2024 Vermilion County Principal's Association Tournament Title this coming Saturday.

The slow start for Westville was definitely a concern for coach Ed Barney.

"It wasn't pretty," he said. "A win is a win and you move onto the next game."

Besides making shots, which was something the Tigers struggled to do in the game's opening minutes, Westville also needed to make a defensive change.

"We were switching our defense a little bit, from man-to-man to zone," Barney said. "It seemed like they were just beating us off the dribble when we were in man, so we went to our zone exclusively.

"And, we were able to make things happen."

After scoring 13 first-quarter points, the Storm (10-8) was held to just 8 points in the second quarter but it was Salt Fork's inability to score in the third quarter that really turned the game around.

The Tigers (15-3) outscored the Storm 10-1 to turn a 1-point halftime deficit (21-20) into a Westville 30-22 lead.

"We decided to pack it in and make them beat us from the outside," Barney said.

Westville senior Drew Wichtowski had a game-high 17 points in the victory and he is just 4 points shy of 1,000 in his career.

Up next for Westville is a contest against Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin on Thursday.

"The first game is always a rough one, because you are playing in a different gym and a different atmosphere," Barney said. "Not a lot of teams have a ton of varsity experience. We have two players that played here last year, so it takes a little time to adjust to the different atmosphere."

Senior Jameson Remole was the leading scorer for the Storm with 12 points. Salt Fork will play Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin tonight.

Hoopeston Area 71, A-P 46

Slow starts had been an issue coming into the county tournament for the Cornjerkers.

But on Saturday, Hoopeston Area had a little extra motivation. They wanted to cheer up their head coach, Kevin Root, and they did that with a convincing victory.

"It's been a tough day for me. I had to say goodbye to my college roommate and teammate at his celebration of life ceremony today," said Root referring to Jason Craft, a Hall of Famer with Root at Eureka College. "I broke down a couple times talking to my team before the game. I finally told them to just get me a 'W' and they responded. I love them."

And while the quick start was important, Hoopeston Area (15-6) continued to pull away from Armstrong-Potomac in the second half.

"We played them earlier this season at the Gibson City tournament and had a big halftime lead on them before they came back to tie it at 41. So, we knew they could play with us," Root said. "We did a nice job of hitting some shots and I think our defense picked it up. I think our kids are ready for this county tournament."

Senior Owen Root had a team-high 25 points for Hoopeston Area, joining him in double figures were Kendrick Sigerill (16) and Mason Rush who hit a tournament-high five 3-pointers for 15 points.

Kollin Asbury had a game-high 26 points for the Trojans, who fall to 10-9 overall, and he was the only player from Armstrong-Potomac in double digits.

Both teams are back in action tonight. Hoopeston Area faces Georgetown-Ridge Farm, while Armstrong-Potomac takes on Oakwood.

Oakwood 54, Geo-RF 38

Freshman Carsen Dudley made quite a first impression in his inaugural game of the Vermilion County Tournament.

Dudley knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter, helping the Comets build a double-digit lead that they would never relinquish in a triumph over the Buffaloes.

Dudley finished with 14 points, while senior Alec Harrison had a game-high 22 for Oakwood, which improves to 15-5 overall.

Georgetown-Ridge Farm had two players finished in double figures as Dylan Vice had 11 and A'Jhon Watson chipped in with 10, but one of few bright spots for the Buffaloes came from junior Sawyer Willis, who came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers in the game's final minute.

Boys Game 1 Westville 39, Salt Fork 30

Salt Fork (30) — Grant Wilson 1 0-0 2, Ty Smoot 0 0-0 0, Evan Webb 3 1-2 7, Kamdyn Keller 1 0-0 3, Jameson Remole 3 3-4 12, Ian Church 2 1-1 6, Maddux Stine 0 0-0 0, Hayden Chew 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 5-7 30.

Westville (39) — Easton Barney 2 2-6 6, Cameron Steinbaugh 1 2-2 4, Drew Wichtowski 6 5-5 17, Cade Schaumburg 0 0-0 0, Matthew Darling 1 4-6 6, Aidan Skinner 0 0-0 0, Tyler Miller 3 0-2 6. Totals: 13 13-21 39.

Salt Fork 13 8 1 8 — 30

Westville 5 15 10 8 — 39

3-pointers — Salt Fork 5 (Remole 3, Keller 1, Church 1). Total fouls — Salt Fork 24, Westville 12. Fouled out — Schaumburg.

Records — Salt Fork 10-8 overall, Westville 15-3 overall.

Boys Game 2 Hoopeston Area 71, Armstrong-Potomac 46

Armstrong-Potomac (46) — Nathan Rogers 3 0-0 9, Ryan Edwards 2 0-0 4, Kollin Asbury 10 6-8 26, James Husinga 3 0-0 7, Bowen Hesterberg 0 0-0 0, Cole Bailey 0 0-0 0, Luke Townsend 0 0-0 0, Rhys Showalter 0 0-0 0, Braxton Gerth 0 0-0 0, Hayden Johnson 0 0-0 0, JT Frerichs 0 0-0 0, Blake Learned 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 6-8 46.

Hoopeston Area (71) — Wyatt Eisenmann 2 0-0 6, Owen Root 10 3-3 25, Trenton Montez 1 3-4 5, Mason Rush 5 0-0 15, Kendrick Sigerill 6 4-6 16, Dylan Judy 1 0-0 2, Brayden Walder 0 0-0 0, Nick Cardenas 0 0-0 0, Zach Huchel 0 0-0 0, Dylan Deck 0 0-0 0, Cole Miller 0 0-0 0, Ethan Steiner 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 10-13 71.

Armstrong-Potomac 8 13 16 9 — 46

Hoopeston Area 18 18 13 22 — 71

3-pointers — A-P 4 (Rogers 3, Husinga 1), Hoopeston Area 9 (Rush 5, Eisenmann 2, Root 2). Total fouls — A-P 14, Hoopeston Area 13. Fouled out — none.

Records — Armstrong-Potomac 10-9 overall, Hoopeston Area 15-6 overall.

Boys Game 3 Oakwood 54, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 38

Georgetown-Ridge Farm (38) — Deven Vice 4 1-2 11, A'Jhon Watson 4 0-1 10, Jase Latoz 0 0-0 0, Jackson Pratt 1 0-0 2, JJ Hall 2 0-0 4, Landon Heck 0 0-0 0, William Runyan 1 0-0 3, Rylee Heck 0 0-0 0, Brady Chamberlain 0 0-0 0, Benjamin Vice 0 0-0 0, Austin Grider 1 0-0 2, Sawyer Willis 2 0-0 6. Totals: 15 1-3 38.

Oakwood (54) — Brody Taflinger 2 0-0 5, Cort Vermilion 2 0-0 6, Carsen Dudley 4 1-2 13, Jackson Dudley 1 0-0 3, Alec Harrison 7 8-10 22, Derek Drews 0 0-0 0, Alex Wallace 0 0-0 0, Sam Woodard 0 0-0 0, Ben Darling 0 0-0 0, Hayden Thomason 1 0-0 2, Bryson McDaniel 1 1-1 3, Brandt Hobick 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 10-13 54.

Geo-RF 2 11 13 12 — 38

Oakwood 19 14 16 5 — 54

3-pointers — Georgetown-Ridge Farm 7 (Vice 2, Watson 2, Willis 2, Runyan 1), Oakwood 8 (C.Dudley 4, Vermilion 2, Taflinger 1, J.Dudley 1). Total fouls — Georgetown-Ridge Farm 17, Oakwood 6. Fouled out — Runyan, Hall.

Records — Georgetown-Ridge Farm 4-16 overall, Oakwood 15-5 overall.