Sunday, April 1, 2007 10:36 PM CDT
NTC dominates LIC in all-star contest
By MIKE MONAHAN, Staff Writer
mmonahan@jg-tc.com
TOLEDO -- The 14th annual Central Illinois All-Star Boys’ Basketball game Saturday was dominated by the National Trail Conference. The NTC, a team featuring four members of the third-place IHSA Class A team, Teutopolis, and having four of its 13 players go over the 1,000-point mark in their high school careers, scored the most points ever by one team in the event. The NTC poured in 164 points compared to 98 for the Little Illini Conference All-Star team. The 262 total points ties the 2000 game for the most points in one game.
The NTC has now won 11 games. The game also marked the final one, at least for a while, for Beecher City coach Grant Beals, who along with Brownstown’s Eric Lux coached the NTC to its biggest margin of victory.
“We had a lot of talent,” said Beals. “It is a great group of guys. I just put the players in and got out of the way. I enjoyed it very much.”
The LIC, coached by Marshall’s Tom Brannon, led just once as Cumberland’s Luke Plummer scored the opening basket. Plummer was one of eight Journal-Gazette/Times-Courier area players in the contest. The NTC scored seven straight points, taking the lead on a basket by St. Elmo’s Logan Mahon, who followed the bucket by drilling one of 15 NTC three-pointers. The NTC led 12-9 when it scored 11 of the next 14 points to take a 23-12 advantage with 11 minutes, 46 seconds left in the game that was played with a 20-minute first half and a 22-minute second half. A basket by Teutopolis’ Jason Runde and a three-pointer by Effingham St. Anthony’s Jesse Mumm made it 19-9. It was 21-12 when a basket by Neoga’s David Massengill put the NTC up by double digits, and the NTC’s lead remained in double digits the rest of the game.
Substitutes were put in every five minutes during the game at Waldrip Gym. The NTC sank 20-of-33 (61 percent) from the field during an 8:09 stretch as it went from a 14-9 lead to a 53-25 advantage.
The LIC struggled from the field in the first half, making 17-of-62 (27 percent) shots, trailing 65-37 at the half. The NTC was 29-of-66 (44 percent) in the first half. Mahon had the first dunk of the game in the final minute of the first half.
The game featured 24 three-pointers and five dunks.
In the second half Teutopolis’s Wade Koester, who was named to the Champaign-Urbana honorable mention All-State team along with Runde Saturday, erased little doubt as to which was the better team. Koester hit his first four shots, including three three-pointers, in a span of just 2:30 as the NTC took a 79-39 advantage. The NTC canned nine of 14 (64 percent) in the first five plus minutes.
Koester was named the NTC Most Valuable Player and is the second Teutopolis player to be the MVP, joining Doug Swingler in 2002.
The LIC scored seven straight points as four different players scored, including Martinsville’s Matt Higginbotham. The NTC reached the century mark on a rebound bucket by Massengill with 12:28 left in the game. The game ended in spectacular fashion as Ian Littlejohn of Casey-Westfield sank a half-court shot.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Littlejohn, who finished with 14 points, all in the second half.
Red Hill’s Robert Petty, who led the LIC with 20 points, was named the LIC MVP, becoming the first from Red Hill to do so. Petty, who is headed to Lincoln Land Community College, is also play in another all-star game April 13.
“It was fun,” said Petty, who was the only LIC player to score over 1,000 points in his career. “I wish we could have been closer. I got more into the flow of the game in the second half. I had not played since we lost to South Central in the regionals.”
After scoring seven points in the first half, Petty had 13 in the second half, including a dunk. Petty also sank three free of four free throws.
Oblong’s Landon Littlejohn scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, while Marshall’s Chase Boyer was also in double figures with 11.
The NTC had nine players finish in double figures, and the four from Teutopolis -- Koester, Rich Borries, Runde and Craig Westendorf -- scored a total of 70 points. Koester led the way with 25 point, 21 in the second half. Runde finished with 17, Borries 16, 12 in the second half and Westendorf 12. Mahon scored 17 points and Mumm had 16, including 13 in the first half. Beecher City’s Deano Tull had 12, while Massengill and St. Anthony’s Zac Bochtler had 10 points each.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Runde, who played his final game as he is to play baseball at Lincoln land. ”It was fun to score over 150 points. It was fun to play with people I had not played with before.”
Each participant and the coaches, including Beecher City’s Trenton Rexroad and Altamont’s Eric Heiden, who were unable to play due to injury or illness, received a plaque. The dunk contest and three-point champions as well as the MVP for both teams also earned a plaque.
“If it wasn’t for our sponsors we couldn’t do this at all,” said Cumberland athletics director Kevin Maynard of Pepsi, the Mattoon Journal-Gazette/Charleston Times-Courier, the Effingham Daily News, Coaches Corner and Toledo Democrat. “I thought things went real well. We had to push it back a week due to a prior commitment for the gym and I was a little worried about that with the NCAA games going on, but I thought we had a good turnout. It is an honor for me and the school to host this and show how much we appreciate everyone. The players had a good time and that is who it is for.”
Dunk contest
The dunk contest featured eight contestants. Each of the eight contestants had two dunks in the preliminary round. Advancing to the finals were Massengill and Flora’s Kaleb Greenwood. Massengill won the dunk contest doing one dunk where he bounced the ball of the backboard and slammed it home. Massengill and Greenwood had three dunks in the final round.
“It means a lot to win it,” said Massengill, who is to play baseball at Lake Land. “I practiced one time before the contest, and I really don’t have a favorite dunk. It (the game) was exciting and fun.”
Three-point contest
Each team had four contestants each in the preliminary round held prior to the game. Altamont’s Ethan Wolff stole the show by sinking 13, including the final 10 of the 15 each participant shot. Wolff received applause after he was done at the top of the key and he finished off by banking in his final one as the crowd cheered him on.
Cumberland’s Bart Holsapple made eight tying him with Effingham St. Anthony’s Chris Bohnhoff and forcing a tiebreaker for the final spot. Holsapple advanced by making five of the 10 from each side, just beating Bohnhoff, who made four.
In the finals, Holsapple, who made 135 three-pointers during the season, tying him for fifth in IHSA history, sank eight again and he won the title over Wolff, who made five.
NTC (164)
Wolff (Altamont) 2-0-5; Bohnhoff (St. Anthony) 3-0-8; Mahon (St. Elmo) 7-1-17; Borries (Teutopolis) 8-0-16; Koester (Teutopolis) 5-5-25; Tull (Beecher City) 6-0-12; Massengill (Neoga) 5-0-10; Bochtler (St. Anthony) 5-0-10; Mumm (St. Anthony) 2-5-16; Runde (Teutopolis) 7-2-17; Westendorf (Teutopolis) 6-0-12; Bullock (Windsor) 2-2-7; Camfield (Windsor) 4-0-9; Totals 62-5-164
LIC (98)
I. Littlejohn (Casey-Westfield) 5-0-14; Holsapple (Cumberland) 1-0-2; Plummer (Cumberland 2-0-5; Higginbotham (Martinsville) 3-0-6; Diggs (Red Hill) 3-0-6; Burson (Casey-Westfield) 1-1-3; Ragon (Casey-Westfield) 3-0-6; Holmes (Edwards County) 3-0-6; Greenwood (Flora) 2-0-5; Mendenhall (Hutsonville-Paleistine) 1-0-2; Boyer (Marshall) 5-0-11; L. Littlejohn (Oblong) 5-1-12; Petty 8-3-20; Totals 42-5-98
3-point goals: NTC 15 (Koester 5, Mahon 2, Mumm 2; Bohnhoff 2; Wolff, Runde, Bullock, Camfield); LIC 9 (I. Littlejohn 4, Plummer, Greenwood, Boyer, L. Littlejohn, Petty)
Dunk contest participants: David Massengill (Neoga); Rich Borries (Teutopolis); Zac Bochtler (St. Anthony); Jesse Mumm (St. Anthony); Logan Mahon (St. Elmo); Kaleb Greenwood (Flora); Robert Petty (Red Hill); Rick Mendenhall (Hutsonville-Paleistine)
3-point contest results (first number is number made in preliminaries followed by number made in finals): NTC: Wade Koester (Teutopolis) 5; Ace Camfield (Windsor) 7: Ethan Wolff (Altamont) 13 and 5; Chris Bohnhoff (St. Anthony) 8 (4 in tiebreaker); LIC: Bart Holsapple (Cumberland) 8 (5 in tiebreaker) and 8; Kaleb Greenwood (Flora) 4; Landon Littlejohn (Oblong) 4; Lydon Burson (Casey-Westfield) 5
Contact Mike Monahan at 238-6854.
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Eric Hiltner(JG/T-C)
Little Illini Conference's Matthew Higginbotham attempts to block a shot by the National Trail Conference's Craig Westendorf during the 14th annual Central Illinois All Star Game at Cumberland High School on Saturday evening.
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Angie Miley wrote on Jul 17, 2006 8:05 PM: