Shawnee started the game on an 18-0 run and didn't look back defeating Bluffton 80-37.
Individual scoring:
Jonica Schmutz: 10 points, 12 rebounds, one '3'Katie Althaus: 6 points, one '3'Sarah Stratton: 4 pointsJaime Lugibihl: 4 pointsSami Harrod: 3 points, one '3'Lydia Guagenti: 3 pointsSarah Amstutz: 3 pointsCarrie Bassitt: 2 pointsLindsay Bassitt: 2 points
After a one year hiatus the traveling trophy awarded to the champion of the McDonald’s Holiday Tournament is back in Pirate Pete’s chest after Bluffton snuffed out Arlington 57-47 in the championship game. Allen East defeated Cory Rawson 48-44 in overtime in the consolation game.
The Pirates enjoyed balanced scoring from Tyler Neal (17 points), Cory Hilty (16), Levi Gleason (12) and Spencer Tuttle (10) as they won their fifth straight game to move to 5-1. Coach Todd Boblitt was pleased with his team’s attitude. “We had a much better effort tonight. I could tell our kids had a true desire to win our own tournament and make up for last year.”
Bluffton carried a 19-18 halftime lead into the locker room and using their man-trap defense extended the lead to 34-29 after three quarters. BHS opened the fourth on a 9-3 run to open an 11 point lead with 5:25 left. That’s when things got interesting. The Pirates spread things out and let Tournament MVP Tyler Neal go to work one on one. Neal, who had 9 fourth quarter points, hit back to back buckets in the lane. On the other end, Arlington’s Damin Oman (23 points) was getting red hot himself and matched Neal shot for shot. With both teams in the bonus, free throws rose to the forefront. Bluffton shot just 9/19 from the line in the final stanza but it was more than enough for the ten point victory.
Spencer Tuttle and Cory Hilty joined Neal on the all tournament team. Arlington’s Damin Oman and Kevin Rogers, Allen East’s Aaron Swaney and Cory Rawson’s John Erford were also honored.
Individual Statistics:Tyler Neal: 17 points, 2 stealsCory Hilty: 16 points, 7 reboundsLevi Gleason: 12 points, 8 reboundsSpencer Tuttle: 10 points, 6/8 free throwsTyler Breidenbach: 2 points, 5 rebounds