Here are the results from the Showcase Saturday boys basketball shootout
The Central State Eight Conference gets underway on Saturday at the ninth annual Showcase Saturday at the Bank of Springfield Center with all 11 league teams in action.
The day began with three non-conference games as Calvary beat Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran 66-59 before New Berlin topped Litchfield 54-41. Jacksonville started the action among CS8 teams with a non-conference tilt against Troy Triad.
Boys roundup: Boys basketball results from Springfield area for Dec. 1-2
Keep checking back throughout the day for updates as The State Journal-Register sports department has a roundup from each of the eight games.
CALVARY 66, CENTRALIA CHRIST OUR ROCK LUTHERAN 59
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Luke Blackford, Calvary. The sophomore forward shot 17 of 21 from the free-throw line and chalked up a career-high 31 points, six rebounds and six steals. He helped rally the Saints to a 44-39 advantage in the third quarter, shooting 7 of 9 from the line and scoring 11 points in the frame.
WHAT TO KNOW
Calvary (3-0) is buzzing after a breakout season and rallied from a 28-20 halftime deficit. The Saints particularly ruffled the Silver Stallions with a zone press. Junior guard REESE HUFFMAN hit the go-ahead 3-pointer following a KALEB LARSON steal in the final two minutes. How much the Saints accomplish this season depends on the supporting cast around Blackford and CONNOR BROWN, according to coach TIVES GARDNER. That includes JOSHUA LONG, who scored eight points. The sophomore point guard replaces AMARI ANDERSON, who transferred to Lanphier.
QUOTE TIME
“I think we had a slow start, but then we picked it up in the second half after talking in the locker room,” Blackford said. “We just decided to feed the ball into the paint, so I thank my teammates for that.”
Said Gardner of the defense in the second half, “They know what’s on the line. When you have four guys that came back from that sectional championship game, they know what’s expected of them. They go out, and I always tell them defense wins games. If the offense comes, it comes. But in order to win games, it’s defense.”
— Bill Welt
NEW BERLIN 54, LITCHFIELD 41
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tanner Frye, Jacksonville: The Pretzels' 6-foot-2 senior scored all 14 of his team-high points in the first three quarters as New Berlin established a 15-point lead. He was 5-for-8 from the field, 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point line and grabbed three rebounds.
WHAT TO KNOW
Litchfield (3-3) entered the game averaging 67.4 points and 80.7 in wins. But New Berlin's defense held the Purple Panthers to just 15 points in the first half and 26 points through three quarters. VICTOR MCGILL erupted with 10 of his 14 points in the final period as Litchfield only tied its season low in scoring. ... LUCAS BIXBY contributed five points and eight rebounds for the Pretzels (5-1) as he continues to work his way back from a broken collarbone he suffered during football season. GANNON DODD and GRIFFIN FUCHS each scored a dozen points for New Berlin. Dodd also had a game-best nine boards.
QUOTE TIME
"I think one of the big things was having (New Berlin's JACOB ROBERTS) lock down; having him on defense has helped us a lot," Frye said. "Today the emphasis was, (Litchfield) overplays a lot (defensively) so if we could get to the paint and kick out for 3s to score, we had a better chance to win this game."
Said New Berlin coach BLAKE LUCAS, "When we step on the floor, we look a little different this year. We've got more length and more athleticism. For this team, it's not a physical thing, it's a mental thing. I think we've got to believe in what we do."
Said Litchfield coach NICK GERNDT, "We've just got to move the ball more. We got stagnant there in the second quarter, and that's kind of when they pulled away. (In the second half), we came out and were moving the ball and got good looks. We like to take 3s, we want to take 3s; they just weren't falling tonight."
— Ryan Mahan
TROY TRIAD 46, JACKSONVILLE 42
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Drew Winslow, Troy Triad. The junior forwardscored the go-ahead bucket with under 3 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. He finished 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and scored eight points.
WHAT TO KNOW
Triad (5-1) made 7 of 10 shots in the second period and had to rally from a seven-point deficit midway through the second period to lead 28-24 at the half. Jacksonville’s last lead was 40-37 on a basket by junior forward RYAN MCCOMBS to start the fourth quarter. The Crimsons went cold from there, making 2 of 8 shots and scoring just four points in the period. Junior guard AMAREE BURRIES scored a game-high 14 points, including two 3-pointers, to pace Jacksonville (2-3). Teammate ISAIAH MARTINEZ made three 3-pointers and added nine. Senior OWEN DROY netted a team-high 12 points for the Knights, who made 10 of 17 free throws, while Jacksonville was just 2-for-2.
QUOTE TIME
“We had opportunities to get good looks,” Jacksonville coach MICHAEL CAMERON said. “We passed up too many shots, and those are shots that we usually take sometimes. They’re (Triad) a very physical team, and we knew rebounding was going to be an emphasis. They had eight offensive rebounds to our four — rebounding hurt us.”
“We certainly have two guys (Burries and Martinez) that can score the ball, and they’re going to have a great year. We are looking for a couple guys to step up, and that will take some pressure off those two guys as well. If we can have a third factor in there. . .”
— Trevor Lawrence
CHATHAM GLENWOOD 46, NORMAL U-HIGH 23
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Cameron Appenzeller, Chatham Glenwood. The 6-foot-5 junior guard paced the Titans with eight points, 12 rebounds and four assists. He is committed to the South Carolina baseball team as a left-handed pitcher.
WHAT TO KNOW
Appenzeller has helped offset the losses of GAVIN SIMMONS and JACK DETTRO early in the season. Simmons and Dettro are out due to injuries, and coach TODD BLAKEMAN hopes both will be good to go after the holiday break. Appenzeller, in the meantime, has helped reinforce the backcourt alongside junior guard MASON MARSHALL, who averaged 14.5 points per game last season. The Titans (4-2, 1-0) found their rhythm working the ball inside to junior forwards MASON NEUMANN and JONATHAN HELM, who combined for 11 points and 10 rebounds.
QUOTE TIME
“We’re a little short in that area (in the backcourt),” Blakeman said, “but he’s (Appenzeller) done a nice job of taking care of the ball and getting us into our offense because they’re going to be all over Mason (Marshall) because he shoots the basketball very well. It’s how good the other four are going to be, and I thought they did a nice job today.”
— Bill Welt
ROCHESTER 59, SOUTHEAST 48
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Henry Buecker, Rochester. The senior guard had 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting and added six assists, four rebounds and seven steals. He had eight points in the second period as Rochester led 23-20 at the break.
WHAT TO KNOW
Rochester’s win was the first against Southeast in the program’s history. The Rockets did what Southeast does to many opponents in creating turnovers. The Spartans committed 15 turnovers in the first half and finished with 19 overall, while Rochester had nine total. The Rockets (2-2 overall, 1-0 in the CS8) seized control of the game, shooting 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the floor in the third period and held Southeast to 28.6% (4-for-14) for a 45-36 advantage after three. Rochester sophomore KAI BRUCE was sizzling from the floor, burying 4 of 8 3-point attempts and adding 15 points. Southeast senior forward JAYLENE SIMMONS played just 13 minutes due to foul trouble. He scored four points in the first stanza and finished with six. Guards REGGIE RICE (13 points) and STARREZ CURRY (11 points) each made three 3s for the Spartans (2-2, 0-1).
QUOTE TIME
“We had a tough road trip last night, and it was a good bounce back today,” Rochester coach TONY GAVIN said of the Rockets’ 67-55 loss to Tolono Unity on Friday. “I thought we got outworked (Friday), and I told the guys, ‘We are not going to be competitive unless we are outworking every team we play.’ Tonight, I thought they flew around, and it was the difference on defense. Kai is probably our best shooter, and I think he proved it. The win gives us a little confidence that we can handle the game at the end. Our composure was really good down the stretch, and hopefully that carries over in other games that are tight later in the season.”
Said Buecker, “It was a big win, so it’s pretty exciting. We all shot well today, and when we can shoot like that, we can win big games. Shoutout to the boys, I think they made almost all of them. Our defense led to a lot of offense for us. Our whole team kept our composure under the pressure of Southeast, which is usually what gets us, but we all kept our composure and made plays.”
— Trevor Lawrence
Decatur MacArthur 82, Springfield High 52
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Sean Lee, MacArthur. The Generals’ 6-foot-4 sophomore was 10 of 13 and 6-for-7 at the free-throw line to score a game-high 26 points. Lee also had seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
WHAT TO KNOW
Springfield High turned the ball over 31 times but 25 of those came after the first quarter when the Senators ended the period tied 21-21. … Springfield High went more than eight minutes without a field goal. BRODY SCHEFFLER scored on a runner with 2 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first quarter. The Senators didn’t hit another shot from the field until VALOR KOMOLAFE scored a layup with 2:02 left in the half. In that span, SHS went from up 17-13 to down 41-26 after Komolafe’s bucket. … Scheffler led the Senators (0-5, 0-1) with 14 points, while JAIYDEN WILSON made nine free throws to finish with 13. MacArthur improved to 4-1 (2-0 CS8).
QUOTE TIME
“(MacArthur coach) Terise Bryson is a great coach; it’s a very disciplined team,” Springfield High first-year head coach MARQUES WARFIELD said. “He gets the most out of his talent every year. They didn’t do anything that we weren’t prepared for: the biggest thing for us is just having the mental fortitude and discipline. Right now, we’re in a rebuild, so it’s habits that I’m fighting against. We’ve got plenty of potential: I like what we have, I like how we started, it’s just got to be consistent and put it in for an entire game."
Said MacArthur coach TERISE BRYSON, “Our boys had to get used to the (bigger) court. I knew we were going to start off sluggish. We ain’t used to playing on this … long court like this but I thought once our kids adjusted to it, we’d be alright. Our team, it’s about pressure. We don’t worry about scoring; it’s mostly defense.”
— Ryan Mahan
LANPHIER 56, DECATUR EISENHOWER 53
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Shaunassey Hatchett Jr., Lanphier. The 6-foot-4 junior forward went 9 of 10 from the field and posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He led the team with 13 points in the first half for a 29-21 halftime lead.
WHAT TO KNOW
Lanphier (3-3) jumped to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter but allowed the Panthers (1-4) to wiggle their way back into the game and never could put them away until the final buzzer. Hatchett and junior guard JAIQUAN HOLMAN (23 points) combined for 42 points in the win. AMARI ANDERSON, a junior transfer from Calvary, had five points.
QUOTE TIME
“I thought we came out and did a great job in the first quarter,” Lanphier coach BLAKE TURNER said. “I thought that defensively we were dialed in and then I think jumping out to that big lead, we just got too comfortable. When you get comfortable, bad habits kick in.
“My message to the guys is the conference has changed. We only get to play teams one time now for conference, so this is one of those we almost let it slip away, and we wouldn’t have been able to get it back. I think there needs to be a sense of urgency in that regard. You want to be able to control your own destiny, and when you start giving games away, you put yourself in a bad position for that.”
— Bill Welt
Lincoln 38, Sacred Heart-Griffin 35
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Karson Komnick, Lincoln: The Railsplitters’ 6-foot-3 sophomore came off the bench and scored nine of Lincoln’s final 13 points as the Railers rallied from a 29-21 third-quarter deficit. Komnick scored four points in Lincoln’s 10-0 run to close the third period — including an offensive rebound putback off his own missed free throw to pull Lincoln in a tie with SHG for the first time since it was 3-3.
WHAT TO KNOW
Lincoln’s DREW HAYES led all scorers with 11 points and he grabbed a team-high six rebounds. … SHG committed 13 fouls in the second half as the Railers upped their pressure. Hayes also had a game-best five steals. … CAM BRINKMAN led SHG with 10 points. BRYCE MUSGRAVE scored all eight of his points in the first half.
QUOTE TIME
“Score. Get open. Help the team win,” Lincoln’s KARSON KOMNICK said about what was going through his mind. “We came out with a nice win. Our defense gives us a lot of points, and it feels great when we get turnovers and get easy scores.” ...
Said Lincoln’s DREW HAYES, “It was more pressure on the ball, better rotations and (SHG) kind of folded under pressure a little bit having some younger guys in the game. I think they played three freshmen tonight — and sometimes, experience matters.”
— Ryan Mahan
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Boys basketball shootout: Calvary, New Berlin get early wins at Showcase
