Little comes up big
By Lenny Sementi
Tuscola’s boys’ basketball team kicked off the Monticello Holiday Hoopla with a 62-45 victory over a strong Neoga squad in their first of three pool play games. No one played better than senior guard Will Little. Little was a jack of all trades delivering 14 points, a game best four steals and four assists while also securing five rebounds. He kicked off the tournament scoring 11 points in the first half on a perfect 5 for 5 effort from the field while also finding the open man around the hoop helping the Warriors to a 10-point advantage at the break up 33-23 on the Indians.
Neoga erased a four-point run by Tuscola to open the game thanks to the long ball hitting three treys in the first seven minutes, as the two teams traded leads five times in all before the Warriors went in front for good at the 6:50 mark of the second quarter. Jalen Quinn drove to the hoop for the go ahead, then Grant Hardwick finished off a fast break that started with a block by Ben Dixon before Little went to work. He hit a three with four minutes left in the half then followed it up with two more baskets, which set the tone for the final two stanzas. Quinn capped off the second with a three of his own en-route to a game high 17 points.
Cade Kresin and Brayden VonLanken attacked inside after the break as the Indians defense extended out to stop Little and Quinn. The two seniors delivered 6 and 14 points, respectively, most of which came in the second half. Jacob Kibler led the way on the boards hauling in seven rebounds, while sophomore Grant Hardwick chipped in six points.
Thursday, Dec. 27
Tuscola 75; Argenta Oreana 33
2nd Pool Game
Bozarth’s boys shared the wealth as 11 Warriors scored a season best 75 points against Argenta Oreana in the contest moving them to 2-0 in pool play. Leading the way was sophomore Cole Cunningham off the bench chipping in a game and career best 12 points. He was perfect on the day hitting 3 for 3 from the floor, including a 2 for 2 effort from beyond the arc while also drilling 4 of 4 from the charity stripe.
VonLanken and Kibler were next in line both ending the Warriors’ second pool play game with 11 points in the blowout victory both connecting on 4 of 5 from the field. Tuscola went on a 14-2 run to end the first quarter after building a 10-3 advantage to blow open the game early. Hardwick kick started the run with a three ball and scored five of his seven points in the first three minutes off the bench.
The full story can be found in the Wednesday, Jan. 2 edition of The Tuscola Journal.