Panthers feast on fourth straight tourney title
By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer
Nov 24, 2006 - 10:52:04 CST
IRONTON - The South Iron Panthers thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving for the fourth straight year on Thursday night with a 65-52 victory over West County in the finals of the Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving Tournament.
The win marked only the second time in the 80-year history of the event that a school has claimed four consecutive titles. South Iron reeled off five straight championships starting in 1961.
Kyle Alcorn scored 20 points and David Prater had a huge game with 18 points, 15 rebounds and four steals for the Panthers (3-0), who were awarded the top seed despite missing 11 seniors from a season ago.
Corey Whelehon tallied 11 points with eight boards and Travis Graham dropped in 10 points for the third-seeded Bulldogs, who defeated Clearwater and Central to reach the finals.
West County (2-1) cut an early seven-point deficit to 14-12 on a baseline jumper by Graham near the end of the first quarter, but a series of athletic baskets by Prater helped South Iron stretch the margin.
Prater banked in a stumbling shot with his back to the hoop, then ignited the crowd with a two-hand slam off a midcourt steal. Terry Moore answered with a driving layup for West County, but Alcorn muscled his way inside for a basket to build a 29-22 halftime lead.
Levi Middleton drilled a pair of three-pointers as South Iron opened the third quarter on a pivotal 10-0 run. His fourth triple of the night extended the margin to 48-29.
Alcorn further widened the gap with a pair of fast-break layups to start the final stanza. Whelehon netted a pull-up jumper and offensive putback to help the Bulldogs close the action with a 14-4 scoring surge.
Middleton finished with 12 points and Austin Casteel added 10 to give the Panthers four players in double figures.
West County 12 10 13 17 - 52
South Iron 16 13 21 15 - 65
SCORING:
West County - Whelehon 11, Graham 10, Watson 8, Moore 7, Lewis 7, Dowd 3, Stacy 3, Morgan 2, Gidden 1.
3-point FG - Graham 2, Dowd, Stacy.
South Iron - Alcorn 20, Prater 18, L Middleton 12, Casteel 10, J Middleton 3, Dement 2.
Ellington 67, Central 65
IRONTON - The most climactic contest of the entire tournament occurred in the battle for third place, as fourth-seeded Ellington edged No. 4 Central, 67-65 in overtime.
Gordan Seigrist connected four times from beyond the arc, and scored a team-high 25 points for the Whippets (2-1). Derrick Brewer collected 20 points and Matt Smith posted 11 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Central (1-2) battled valiantly against a deeper and larger Ellington squad, despite making no substitutions until late in the fourth quarter. The game featured five ties in the final stanza, and a total of 13 lead changes.
Senior Jimmy Thompson produced his second 25-point outing of the tournament, and corralled six rebounds to pace the Rebels. Brian Gross had a big second half to finish with 20 points, and Dominic Petty scored 15.
Smith scored on back-to-back possessions to give Ellington its largest lead of the night at 14-7, but Central surged ahead by one point when Petty connected from the deep right corner. After a Seigrist triple pushed the Whippets to a five-point cushion, Thompson battled inside for two field goals to make the halftime margin 28-27.
Seigrist and Gross took the offensive initiative for their respective teams in a third quarter that ended even at 43-43, trading long triples near the close of the period. The game was deadlocked again at 50-50 with 3:40 left in regulation, setting the stage for an eventful final stretch.
Seigrist regained the lead for the Whippets with a three from the right wing, but Gross calmly sank three free throws at the other end. Brewer and Thompson matched conventional three-point plays in the final minute to make it 58-58, and a long-range miss from Seigrist forced overtime.
Central scored first in the extra session on a baseline drive from Thompson, but Ellington surged ahead by four with 19 seconds remaining. Petty hit a quick three to bring the Rebels to within 66-65, and Central would have two chances to tie the score after Brewer made 1-of-2 ensuing free throws.
A huge defensive play saw Smith block a baseline layup out of bounds with three-tenths of a second left, and an inbounds bank shot by Aaron Bates narrowly missed at the buzzer.
Ellington 16 12 15 15 9 - 67
Central 11 16 16 15 7 - 65
SCORING:
Ellington - Seigrist 25, Brewer 20, Smith 11, Baysinger 4, Fox 3, Boyland 2, Walker 2.
3-point FG - Seigrist 4, Brewer, Fox.
Central - Thompson 25, Gross 20, Petty 15, Bates 5.
3-point FG - Gross 2, Petty 2, Bates.
Arcadia Valley 80, Lesterville 71
IRONTON - The Arcadia Valley Tigers placed 11 players in the scoring column, and pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Lesterville 80-71 in a fast-paced consolation final.
Arcadia Valley (2-1) held a narrow 54-53 advantage entering the final eight minutes, but made 13-of-15 free throws overall to seal the victory. Junior Dereck Wilson delivered a team-high 26 points, and Thomas Jackson added 11 for the Tigers.
Senior James Chadbourne knocked down six three-pointers on his way to a game-high 27 points for the Bearcats (1-2). DeAndre Peterson netted 18 points and Ty Starks added 17.
Arcadia Valley 20 21 13 26 - 80
Lesterville 22 16 15 18 - 71
SCORING:
Arcadia Valley - Wilson 26, Jackson 11, Minor 8, Nations 7, Holder 6, Sutton 5, Smith 4, Robbs 2, Pryor 1, James 1.
3-point FG - Wilson 3, Nations, Sutton.
Lesterville - Ja Chadbourne 27, Peterson 18, Starks 17, Miller 6, Jo Chadbourne 3.
3-point FG - Ja Chadbourne 6, Starks.
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The win marked only the second time in the 80-year history of the event that a school has claimed four consecutive titles. South Iron reeled off five straight championships starting in 1961.
Kyle Alcorn scored 20 points and David Prater had a huge game with 18 points, 15 rebounds and four steals for the Panthers (3-0), who were awarded the top seed despite missing 11 seniors from a season ago.
Corey Whelehon tallied 11 points with eight boards and Travis Graham dropped in 10 points for the third-seeded Bulldogs, who defeated Clearwater and Central to reach the finals.
West County (2-1) cut an early seven-point deficit to 14-12 on a baseline jumper by Graham near the end of the first quarter, but a series of athletic baskets by Prater helped South Iron stretch the margin.
Prater banked in a stumbling shot with his back to the hoop, then ignited the crowd with a two-hand slam off a midcourt steal. Terry Moore answered with a driving layup for West County, but Alcorn muscled his way inside for a basket to build a 29-22 halftime lead.
Levi Middleton drilled a pair of three-pointers as South Iron opened the third quarter on a pivotal 10-0 run. His fourth triple of the night extended the margin to 48-29.
Alcorn further widened the gap with a pair of fast-break layups to start the final stanza. Whelehon netted a pull-up jumper and offensive putback to help the Bulldogs close the action with a 14-4 scoring surge.
Middleton finished with 12 points and Austin Casteel added 10 to give the Panthers four players in double figures.
West County 12 10 13 17 - 52
South Iron 16 13 21 15 - 65
SCORING:
West County - Whelehon 11, Graham 10, Watson 8, Moore 7, Lewis 7, Dowd 3, Stacy 3, Morgan 2, Gidden 1.
3-point FG - Graham 2, Dowd, Stacy.
South Iron - Alcorn 20, Prater 18, L Middleton 12, Casteel 10, J Middleton 3, Dement 2.
Ellington 67, Central 65
IRONTON - The most climactic contest of the entire tournament occurred in the battle for third place, as fourth-seeded Ellington edged No. 4 Central, 67-65 in overtime.
Gordan Seigrist connected four times from beyond the arc, and scored a team-high 25 points for the Whippets (2-1). Derrick Brewer collected 20 points and Matt Smith posted 11 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Central (1-2) battled valiantly against a deeper and larger Ellington squad, despite making no substitutions until late in the fourth quarter. The game featured five ties in the final stanza, and a total of 13 lead changes.
Senior Jimmy Thompson produced his second 25-point outing of the tournament, and corralled six rebounds to pace the Rebels. Brian Gross had a big second half to finish with 20 points, and Dominic Petty scored 15.
Smith scored on back-to-back possessions to give Ellington its largest lead of the night at 14-7, but Central surged ahead by one point when Petty connected from the deep right corner. After a Seigrist triple pushed the Whippets to a five-point cushion, Thompson battled inside for two field goals to make the halftime margin 28-27.
Seigrist and Gross took the offensive initiative for their respective teams in a third quarter that ended even at 43-43, trading long triples near the close of the period. The game was deadlocked again at 50-50 with 3:40 left in regulation, setting the stage for an eventful final stretch.
Seigrist regained the lead for the Whippets with a three from the right wing, but Gross calmly sank three free throws at the other end. Brewer and Thompson matched conventional three-point plays in the final minute to make it 58-58, and a long-range miss from Seigrist forced overtime.
Central scored first in the extra session on a baseline drive from Thompson, but Ellington surged ahead by four with 19 seconds remaining. Petty hit a quick three to bring the Rebels to within 66-65, and Central would have two chances to tie the score after Brewer made 1-of-2 ensuing free throws.
A huge defensive play saw Smith block a baseline layup out of bounds with three-tenths of a second left, and an inbounds bank shot by Aaron Bates narrowly missed at the buzzer.
Ellington 16 12 15 15 9 - 67
Central 11 16 16 15 7 - 65
SCORING:
Ellington - Seigrist 25, Brewer 20, Smith 11, Baysinger 4, Fox 3, Boyland 2, Walker 2.
3-point FG - Seigrist 4, Brewer, Fox.
Central - Thompson 25, Gross 20, Petty 15, Bates 5.
3-point FG - Gross 2, Petty 2, Bates.
Arcadia Valley 80, Lesterville 71
IRONTON - The Arcadia Valley Tigers placed 11 players in the scoring column, and pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Lesterville 80-71 in a fast-paced consolation final.
Arcadia Valley (2-1) held a narrow 54-53 advantage entering the final eight minutes, but made 13-of-15 free throws overall to seal the victory. Junior Dereck Wilson delivered a team-high 26 points, and Thomas Jackson added 11 for the Tigers.
Senior James Chadbourne knocked down six three-pointers on his way to a game-high 27 points for the Bearcats (1-2). DeAndre Peterson netted 18 points and Ty Starks added 17.
Arcadia Valley 20 21 13 26 - 80
Lesterville 22 16 15 18 - 71
SCORING:
Arcadia Valley - Wilson 26, Jackson 11, Minor 8, Nations 7, Holder 6, Sutton 5, Smith 4, Robbs 2, Pryor 1, James 1.
3-point FG - Wilson 3, Nations, Sutton.
Lesterville - Ja Chadbourne 27, Peterson 18, Starks 17, Miller 6, Jo Chadbourne 3.
3-point FG - Ja Chadbourne 6, Starks.