The teams were tied five times during the first quarter, including a 15-all heading to the second frame. The Panthers exploded with a 21-3 second quarter advantage to lead 36-18 at halftime. Leland used pin-point passing and strong outside shooting to help them in the second eight minutes.

Guards Bob Stratton (12 points) and Norm Wesson (14 points) swished long shots with the Bulldog defense looking to cover the middle and when the middle opened up, Will Wright (19 points) hit from in the lane. Merle Jacobs led Paw Paw with 12 points.

Key: field goals-free throws-points

Leland (60) - Wesson 4-6-14, Stratton 5-2-12, Johnson 4-0-8, Wright 8-3-19, Tellefson 2-2-6, Burns 0-0-0, Flower 0-0-0, Rierson 0-1-1, Sawyer 0-0-0, Leonard 0-0-0. Totals 23-14 60.

Paw Paw (41) - Ambler 3-0-6, Taber 0-5-5, Stroyan 2-5-9, Greenberg 2-0-4, Jacobs 5-2-12, Shaddick 0-0-0, Luce 1-0-2, Hawbaker 1-0-2, Kehm 0-1-1, Manahan 0-0-0. Totals 14-13-41.

Total fouls - Leland 11, Paw Paw 13.

Plano led 14-12 after the opening eight minutes with their pressing defense causing Waterman problems. Reaper sharp-shooter Bob Hellgren’s drive made it 16-12 early in the second, but the Wolverines came alive. Sparked by five points each from sophomore center Jim Olson and junior Jim Maple, Waterman went on a 19-6 run to turn things in their favor. The teams played a relatively even second half with Plano unable to threaten the winners.

Bruce Swann led Waterman with 21 points, Olson added 14 and Maple 13. Plano was paced by 19 markers from Hellgren.

Waterman (68) - Fay 1-0-2, Maple 4-5-13, Olson 2-10-14, Stryker 0-3-3, Swann 9-3-21, Gallagher 1-1-3, Forrer 1-1-3, Bowman 2-2-6, Joranlien 0-1-1, Martin 0-2-2. Totals 20-28-68.

Plano (47) - Allen 1-0-2, Pace 0-0-0, Monkemeyer 1-2-4, Hellgren 8-3-19, Osborn 5-2-12, Lucas 1-0-2, Heistein 1-0-2, Van Gundy 1-0-2, Harseim 1-2-4, Boyer 0-0-0. Totals 19-9-47.

Total fouls - Waterman 16, Plano 26. Fouled out - Allen.

The top-seeded Indians raced out to a 31-13 lead after one period and led at halftime 46-21. Shabbona was led by 20 points each from Marv Straw and Jerry Wisted. Norm Wesson topped Leland with 13 points.

Shabbona (80) - Straw 7-6-20, Brown 1-0-2, Mullins 7-0-14, Todd 3-0-6, Wisted 9-2-20, Buland 1-0-2, Espe 1-1-3, Voga 0-0-0, Fleming 2-0-4, O’Kane 3-3-9. Totals 34-12-80.

Leland (50) - Wesson 4-5-13, Burns 0-7-7, Johnson 1-0-2, Sawyer 1-2-4, Wright 2-2-6, Flower 1-0-2, Tellefson 1-2-4, Stratton 3-4-10, Hall 1-0-2, Leonard 0-0-0. Totals 14-22-50.

Total fouls - Shabbona 25, Leland 14. Fouled out - Tellefson.

The Huskers held a slim 12-10 advantage after one quarter and pushed it to a 21-17 lead at halftime. Serena still led 41-40 with 3:10 left to go in the contest.

Red Raider Jay Heitmann then swished a field goal and Dale Sanders followed with a nice driving shot to make it 44-41 Earlville. Sanders then left after his fifth foul, but Serena missed both free throws with :47 left. Tom Major hit a pair of free tosses six seconds later and the winners led 46-41. A basket by Husker freshman Jerry Hanson in the closing seconds ended the scoring and Earlville advanced to the semifinals with a 46-43 victory.

Heitmann led Earlville with a game-high 20 points, while Wayne Stanford added 10. Serena’s Gordon Gullakson led the Huskers with 13 points.

Earlville (46) - Heitmann 8-4-20, Sanders 2-2-6, Morrill 2-0-4, Gibson 0-2-2, Major 1-2-4, Stanford 4-2-10, Harmon 0-0-0, Spurgeon 0-0-0. Totals 17-12-46.

Serena (43) - Brandenberg 0-3-3, Hanson 3-0-6, Reese 3-3-9, Anderson 1-4-6, Setchell 3-0-6, Gullakson 4-5-13, Johnson 0-0-0. Totals 14-15-43.

Total fouls - Earlville 15, Serena 18. Fouled out - Sanders, Morrill, Reese, Setchell.

Waterman used a full-court press and Jim Olson (17 points) and Bruce Swann (13 points) were hitting their shots early as they led 18-15 after one quarter. Sandwich out-scored the Wolverines 21-9 in the second quarter with Jerry Casner and Jim Hill accounting for five baskets, including a buzzer beater from half court by Casner to make it 36-27 Indians at halftime.

Waterman’s press again brought results in the third period and when Steve Maple scored two of his 13 points at the 3:50 mark, the Sandwich lead was just 45-43. The Indians however put together a huge fourth quarter and ended Waterman’s come back hopes while advancing to the semifinals.

Sandwich was led by Hill’s 20 points, Doug Abraham added 15 and Casner 13.

Sandwich (71) - Abraham 7-1-15, Fisk 1-0-2, Linder 3-3-9, Wilkening 4-4-12, Casner 5-3-13, J. Hill 9-2-20. Totals 29-13-71.

Waterman (58) - Fay 2-0-4, Gallagher 0-2-2, Forrer 0-0-0, Stryker 3-3-9, Olson 4-9-17, Swann 5-3-13, Maple 6-1-13. Totals 20-18-58.

Total fouls - Sandwich 14, Waterman 13.

The Royals jumped out to a 21-13 lead after the opening eight minutes and increased it to 44-33 at halftime. H-BR’s Bill Jandt scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to pace the charge. The Bobcats were able to cut the disadvantage to just five points (57-52) heading to the fourth frame, but fouls began to pile up and the Royals converted from the free throw line. The free tosses helped H-BR lead 67-59 late in the contest and they were able to advance to the semifinals.

Hinckley-Big Rock (78) - Florence 6-4-16, Engels 0-1-1, Lewis 4-2-10, J. Jandt 0-3-3, Harris 4-0-8, Hamilton 3-4-10, Mack 0-0-0, B. Jandt 7-8-22, R. Jandt 1-0-2, Benson 3-0-6. Totals 28-22-78.

Somonauk (70) - Stahl 6-1-13, Haas 3-1-7, Frien 2-5-9, Meyer 1-2-4, Gerlick 2-0-4, R. Brandow 4-6-14, P. Brandow 3-1-7, Lackey 4-4-12. Totals 25-20-70.

Total fouls - Hinckley-Big Rock 23, Somonauk 26. Fouled out - Harris, Haas, Lackey.

Earlville had their sights on what would have been one of the biggest upsets in Little Ten Conference tournament history, but Shabbona’s Ron Espe shattered the dream with a game-winning 15-foot jumper with three seconds left to give the top seed a 56-55 win. The overflowing crowd saw Espe end an already nail-biting contest with a one-hander from the free throw circle.

The clubs were tight early on as each missed easy shots and free throws, but a late spurt by Earlville tied the game at 15-all after eight minutes. The fired up Red Raiders, with Jay Heitmann hot hand, ran out on a 10-4 run early in the second to lead 25-19, but Shabbona closed the gap to 29-28 after a three-point play by Denny Fleming in the closing seconds of the first half.

The Indians still trailed by five with less than two minutes to go, but picked up four quick points to narrow the gap to 54-53. Earlville missed a free throw and Shabbona controlled the rebound with 15 seconds left. Moments later, after EHS had knocked the ball out of bounds, Espe took the inbounds pass, dribbled to the free throw line and let fly the game ender.

Marv Straw led Shabbona with 20 points, Jerry Wised chipped in 12, Espe 11. Earlville was led by Gibson’s 16 points, Heitmann and Wayne Stanford added 13 each.

Shabbona (56) - Straw 9-2-20, Mullins 1-4-6, Wisted 3-6-12, Espe 5-1-11, Fleming 3-1-7. Totals 21-14-56.

Earlville (55) - Heitmann 4-5-13, Sanders 2-1-5, Morrill 3-0-6, Gibson 6-4-16, Major 0-2-2, Stanford 6-1-13. Totals 21-13-55.

Total fouls - Shabbona 17, Earlville 17.

The Indians led 11-9 after one period and extended it to a 23-16 advantage at halftime. A huge 21-10 third quarter run by Sandwich put the game away and moved them into the championship game.

Jim Hill topped Sandwich with a game-high 17 points, while LaVern Wilkening added 16 and Doug Abraham 14. The Royals got 12 points in a losing effort from Bob Florence.

Sandwich (58) - Abraham 5-4-14, Fisk 0-0-0, Linder 1-0-2, Bernhardt 0-0-0, Wilkening 7-2-16, Casner 4-1-9, Hill 7-3-17. Totals 24-10-58.

Hinckley-Big Rock (35) - Florence 5-2-12, Lewis 0-0-0, Harris 3-1-7, Benson 0-2-2, Hamilton 2-1-5, Mack 0-0-0, B. Jandt 3-3-9, J. Jandt 0-0-0. Totals 13-9-35.

Total fouls - Sandwich 14, Hinckley-Big Rock 15.

The Red Raiders led 37-29 entering the fourth quarter, but the Royals fought back to tie the game at 41-all on a pair of free throws by Bob Florence with 3:15 to go. H-BR then took their first lead since early in the game on a single free toss by Bill Jandt 42 seconds later. Next Earlville’s Tom Major scored on a drive and Jay Heitmann swished a free throw to make it 44-42 Red Raiders. Two scores from the charity stripe by Wayne Stanford with 24 seconds left sealed the win and a third place trophy for the Red Raiders.

Stanford led EHS with 15 points and Roy Morrill added 11. The Royals Bill Jandt was a key in the fourth period rally and ended with a team-high 16 points.

A week prior the tournament, Shabbona had defeated Sandwich 72-49 in their league match up. The clubs both were 4-0 entering the game and Sandwich had won 12 games straight.

The 22-point final margin was not an indication of how close the game was. It was in the final four minutes, when Sandwich was forced to full court press, that the Shabbona club was able to push out to a comfortable advantage.

Shabbona started off slow, but once they got going their was no stopping them. Marv Straw found the range first for the Indians as they lead 8-2 early on. Sandwich, behind Jim Hill, Jerry Casner and LaVerne Wilkening teamed up to give the Indians a 12-10 lead at the 2:13 mark of the opening quarter. Bill Mullins nailed a long hoop and Straw a 20-footer and rebound basket and it was 16-12 Shabbona after one quarter. An early run in the second frame all but sewed up the title for Shabbona. Sandwich was able to get within eight points on a couple of occasions in the second half, but Shabbona’s team play wouldn’t allow Sandwich to get any closer.

Sandwich was able to limit Shabbona’s high-scoring center Jerry Wisted to just two points before he fouled out. Shabbona did the same thing to Sandwich top-scorer Doug Abraham, allowing him only one field goal.

Straw and Mullins led the champions with 18 points each. Senior Gary O’Kane was cited for his defensive play and added 13 points. Sandwich was paced by Casner’s 15 points and Wilkening’s 14 and both did a solid job rebounding against the taller opponent.

1958 Final Little Ten Conference Standings

                     W  L

Shabbona             9  0

Sandwich             8  1

Earlville            7  2

Hinckley-Big Rock    5  4

Leland               4  5

Waterman             3  6

Serena               3  6

Somonauk             3  6

Plano                2  7

Paw Paw              1  8