What to know from the Sangamon County Tournament: Auburn captures first title since 1986

Here are the top three takeaways from the final night of the Sangamon County Tournament at Cass Gymnasium on Friday:

Auburn, Williamsville and Riverton each departed with wins to build momentum for the rest of the season. Pawnee lost its third-place game, but lapped up the experience.

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Auburn ends 38-year drought

The Auburn boys basketball team went the distance and trumped them all — at last.

The Trojans could finally exhale and proclaim itself champions after a series of close title brushes over the past year.

They emphatically exorcised those demons with a dominant 51-38 victory over New Berlin for their first Sangamon County Tournament title since 1986.

Auburn (17-2) surged ahead 38-19 after three quarters with exemplary defense. The Trojans trailed 11-8 at the end of the first period until limiting New Berlin (13-5) to just one field goal over the next 16 minutes. New Berlin’s premier senior duo, Gannon Dodd and Lucas Bixby, combined for just eight points in the loss.

Both Dodd and Bixby were named to the all-tournament team. Tanner Frye led the Pretzels with 12 points. It was the first time both Auburn and New Berlin met in the championship game over the tournament's 98-year history.

“That’s what you call a relentless effort by a great group of young men,” Auburn coach Seth McCoy said. “I couldn’t be any prouder of them.”

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Earlier this season, Auburn finished second place at the Bill Rucks Tournament in Mount Pulaski before settling for second again in the Waverly Holiday Tournament against Winchester West Central at the end of December.

The Trojans also bowed to Pleasant Plains 48-41 in overtime in last year’s County championship game after giving up the game-tying layup at the end of regulation.

Auburn senior guard Sawyer Smith said they had no doubts about this finale prior to the opening whistle.

“It just feels good to be able to get first place under our belt,” Smith said. “Last year, we came here and lost in overtime to Pleasant Plains and just come back and win it for the team, the community, the town and everybody, it’s an awesome feeling senior year.”

Junior forward Clayton Kessler paced Auburn with 13 points while junior guards Carter Hunley and Cooper Carter each had 10.

Smith, sophomore Jacob Barth and senior Grant Dobson had six points apiece for a balanced scoring effort.

“Just over the course of the season, we’ve been playing better and better,” Kessler said. “It’s going really well.”

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A heartfelt ceremony for beloved coach, administrator

Prior to the championship game, the annual tournament conferred its Friend of the County award posthumously to former Pawnee schools superintendent Tim Kratochvil.

He was previously the principal and football coach before becoming the superintendent in 2020. He died unexpectedly in September at 49 years old.

His family was on hand for the ceremony, including his parents Roger and Mary. That proceeded Pawnee’s 46-33 loss to Williamsville in the third-place game.

Pawnee, the No. 9 seed, certainly still exceeded expectations at fourth place, knocking off top-seeded Calvary, 48-42, in the quarterfinals along the way.

Coach Ryan Steffen believed Kratochvil perhaps stoked the run in some way.

“To know going into the tournament that he was going to be recognized on the final night, it’s something you really hope you can be a part of and to have it happen like this is awesome,” Steffen said.

Senior forward Tyler Surber helped orchestrate the team’s big upset with 19 points before falling to Auburn and Williamsville.

Pawnee managed to keep the Bullets in range with its 1-2-2 zone defense. Brayden Saling, however, tied a tournament record with seven 3-pointers and tallied 23 points for Williamsville.

“I think we surprised everybody, including ourselves,” Surber said. “No one expected the nine seed to beat the one seed and be in this position.”

Surber was more than acquainted with Kratochvil — whether through the baseball team or even a round of golf just for fun.

This was indeed something special.

“Tim was a great mentor toward basically everybody in the high school,” Surber said. “Everybody respected him, he was great toward everybody. He meant a lot to everybody on this team.”

Hawks soar higher

Riverton isn’t slowing down.

The Hawks, seeded fifth, captured the consolation title with a 54-50 victory over Calvary. They improved to 15-3 overall after a couple of seasons under the .500 mark.

Freshman guard Julian Rice has been a lightning rod.

He contributed just six points in the consolation final but still averaged 17.5 points per game over the week and was tabbed to the all-tournament team.

Riverton exhibited more balance across the board against the Saints. Senior guard Isaac Crumrine led the way with 13 points, followed by Antonyo Davis (nine) and Cameron Sutton (eight).

“I think the biggest difference with these guys is they’re connected,” Riverton coach Matt Mead said. “They don’t care who gets the credit for it. They’re here for each other and we have a different guy every night stepping up — it's a beautiful thing.”

Riverton previously dropped to Calvary 74-51 in the season-opener.

“Our chemistry coming into this year, I wouldn’t say it was the greatest,” Crumrine said. “But as we’ve come along this year, we’ve gotten a lot closer and it’s really shown on and off the court. We’ve bonded together well and we’re showing that we can win at every level.”

Crumrine, who also stars in soccer and cross country, hasn’t experienced this type of basketball success before over his high school career.

“We’ve got conference coming up next and it just feels really good to come in with a roll and get a trophy right before conference starts,” Crumrine said, referring to the Sangamo Conference. “It just kind of shows everybody else what we can do and what we’re capable of.”

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Auburn boys basketball wins first Sangamon County title since 1986