HINCKLEY-BIG ROCK 67, PAW PAW 60

 

H-BR had defeated Paw Paw 60-42 two weeks prior to the tournament.

 

The Bulldogs led 12-11 after the opening eight minutes, but the Royals used a 19-13 second quarter advantage to forge ahead 30-25 at halftime.  Paw Paw used a 20-9 free throw advantage to stay in the game, but were unable to seriously threaten the Royals in the second half.

 

Jack Willis led the Royals with a game-high 27 points, Steve Nehring added 17.  The Bulldogs were paced by Chuck Torman's 21 points.

 

WATERMAN 61, EARLVILLE 45

 

The Red Raiders held a 10-9 lead after one period, but Waterman responded and took a 24-22 cushion into the halftime break.  Earlville went on to out-score the Wolverines 37-23 in the second half to move on.

 

Waterman's Russ ViPond was the top scorer in the contest with 25 points, teammate Don Roberts added 15.  John Orr's 16 points was tops for the Red Raiders.

 

SANDWICH 72, SHABBONA 71 (OT)

 

In their match up earlier in the season, Shabbona led 38-25 at halftime and then turned four consecutive Sandwich turnovers in to scores and ran away with a 77-61 LTC regular season victory.

 

Sandwich trailed second-seed Shabbona by as many as 15 points in the third frame and were down 11 in the fourth before mounting a comeback and tying the game late.  Shabbona's Doug Sands looked to have put an end to Sandwich's upset hopes by converting a hoop in the late stages of regulation, but Sandwich's Doug Carter's field goal with under a minute to go, tied the score and sent the game into overtime.

 

Shabbona led twice in the extra period with Sands converting a trio of free throws.  Sandwich's Aaron Martin tied it at 67-all with a basket, and then a pair of Carter free tosses put his team ahead for good.  Sandwich star Gil Buttels (24 pts - 14 in fourth quarter) and Sands both fouled out moments later and Carter streached the lead to 70-67 with another hoop.  Mickey Hart gave Shabbona hope with a nice drive, but Martin sealed the game with a lay-up with six seconds remaining to give Sandwich their first win over Shabbona in ten years.

 

Along with Buttels game-high 24 markers, Rod Ferguson added 14, Martin 13 and Carter 10.  Shabbona, who played without leading scorer Cornel Recknor (flu), was led by 21 from Sands, 18 from Hart and 12 from George Cole.

 

SERENA 59, SOMONAUK 43

 

The top-seeded Huskers led just 23-18 at the break, but exploded on a 18-8 third quarter run to pull away and avoid the upset bid by the Bobcats.

 

Serena was led by the 1-2 punch of Gary Prichert's 20 points and Ron Olson's 16 points.  The Bobcats were paced by Chuck Landers and Dave Hanson who each scored 11 points, while Vinard Floyd added 10 in a losing effort.

 

PLANO 95, HINCKLEY-BIG ROCK 61

 

The Reapers led 18-15 midway into the opening quarter as both teams were red hot from the field.  A late 8-0 run by Plano had them in front 26-17 heading to the second frame and a 12-0 streak to begin that second period had them up 38-19.  They continued their aggressive play and led 57-27 at halftime, Norm Hage scored 20 first half points for Plano, Dan Keltner 14.  The Reapers used many reserves in the second half and pushed their lead to 78-45 entering the final eight minutes.

 

Hage ended the game with a game-high 22 points, Keltner not far behind with 21.  Dave Eads added 11 for Plano, Jim Thompson 10 for the winners.  The Royals were led by Charles Hillman's 21 markers and Jack Willis' 15.

 

LELAND 61, WATERMAN 51

 

The No. 4 seeded Panthers jumped out to a 13-12 lead after one quarter and still led 31-24 at the break.  Leland was up 45-36 midway through the final period before the Wolverines were able to slice the lead to 49-46, but they were unable to get any closer.

 

The Panthers were paced by Quentin Tellefson and Gerald Brouwer who each scored 15 points, Tom Sawyer added 13.  Don Roberts led Waterman with 16 tallies, Russ ViPond chipped in 15, Jim Swift 10.

 

SEMIFINALS

 

SERENA 79, PLANO 63

 

Top-seeded Serena raced to a 34-23 halftime lead as Gary Prichert's hoop with 2:45 left to go before the break put the Huskers on top for good.  It was somewhat of a revenge game for Serena who had fell to the third-seeded Reapers 84-73 two weeks prior to the tournament.  Serena hit on a impressive 52-percent of its shots from the floor in the contest, while Plano hit on hust a 39-percent clip.

 

Ron Olson led the Huskers attack with 25 points, while Norm Hage also paced Plano with 25 tallies.

 

LELAND 64, SANDWICH 46

 

Leland, the fourth seed, roared out to a 20-10 lead after the opening eight minutes, extended it to 32-21 at halftime and cruised in the second half to move into the title game.  Sandwich had beaten the Panthers two weeks prior 69-50 in a LTC regular season match-up, but the Indians only hit on 29-percent of their shots while Leland was 50-percent accurate.

 

Quentin Tellefson led Leland with a game-high 26 points, while Tom Sawyer pumped in 15.  Sandwich was led in scoring by Gil Buttels who ended the contest with 14 points.

 

THIRD PLACE GAME

 

PLANO 71, SANDWICH 70 (OT)

 

Plano center Norm Hage (tournament high 37 points) stole a pass and broke free for a last second lay-up to give the Reapers the victory.  Sandwich led 40-34 at halftime, but third-seeded Plano cut the disadvantage to 50-49 entering the fourth period and tied the game in regulation at 65-all.

 

The Indians played aggressive in overtime as they led on three different occasions, including 70-69 with :32 left.  Hage's steal and hoop with :04 remaining gave Plano third place honors.

 

Gil Buttels fired in 27 points in vain for the Indians.

 

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

 

SERENA 88, LELAND 62

 

The No. 1 Huskers took care of things early as they pushed out to a 22-10 lead after one frame and left to doubt the game's outcome by extending their advantage to 48-16 over the fourth-seeded Panthers at the intermission.

 

Gary Prichert finished up a strong tournament by netting a game-high 34 points for Serena.  Leland's Gerald Brouwer had a fine game for the runners-up as he fired in a team-high 31 points.