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 The Toppers snapped their five-game losing streak as they made
history by winning the 1500th game in Mount Pulaski High School
basketball.
Head Coach Ryan Deibert, who is in his seventh season at the helm
and who was once a member of the Toppers himself, realized the
significance of the win and was very humble following the game. "It
says a lot about the history of the program. For me it’s an honor to
be a part of that. I am a small part of it. You look at all the
great players to come out of here, all the great teams to come out
of here, all the great coaches of the past to come out of here, to
me it’s just awesome to be a small part of that.”
The five guys that made up the starting lineup Tuesday night for the
Toppers in the historic win included seniors Will Stewart, Dalton
Litterly, and Brett Huff, junior Lukas Aylesworth and sophomore
Peyton Taylor. Those guys hit the hardwood at 7:30 p.m. and once
Stewart made the first basket for Mount Pulaski, the Toppers never
trailed the entire game.
The Toppers played fast and furious in the first quarter, running
out to a 15-2 lead. Heyworth simply could not buy a basket at one
stretch and even missed an easy layup thru the lane. At the end of
the first quarter Mount Pulaski held a 16-8 lead.
Brandon Huff led off the scoring for the Toppers in the second
quarter with a layup that extended the lead back to ten points. Twin
brother Brett Huff then got the defensive rebound and tossed a full
court pass to Stewart for the next Topper basket. Heyworth would run
off the next five points unanswered before Taylor decided there was
no one to pass to so he just banked one in from the free throw line
to put Mount Pulaski up 22-13 at the 5:14 mark.
Meanwhile, Heyworth took advantage of the Toppers missing shot after
shot and pulled to within two points, 22-20 the score with just 1:35
remaining in the second quarter. Finally, Brett Huff scored to give
the Toppers a 24-20 halftime lead.
The Toppers scoring would continue to be in bursts throughout the
third quarter, but luckily Mount Pulaski got the best of Heyworth
here, outscoring them 17-13.
The key moment of the third quarter was without a doubt when Brett
Huff drained a long three, nothing but net, at the 2:00 mark and put
Mount Pulaski out in front 37-30. The crowd loved it and it gave the
Toppers a nice lead, that is until those Hornets came buzzing back.
At the end of the third, Mount Pulaski was on top 41-33.
The buzzing began in the fourth quarter, as the Hornets were the
ones moving fast and furious, striking back at the Toppers. Around
the 4:00 mark the Toppers lead was cut to four points, 45-41. Mount
Pulaski managed to get back on track and run off six points, topped
off by a sweet assist from Stewart to Taylor, who tossed in his
final bucket of the evening, giving the Toppers a 51-41 lead and the
6”7 sophomore his career-high of 18 points.
From here on out Mount Pulaski managed to hold a ten point lead
thanks to the intentional fouls committed by Heyworth. Mount
Pulaski’s shooting was better than the night before from the line in
the final minutes and was certainly good enough for the win. The
final score 61-52.
Mount Pulaski now has 5 wins and 7 losses on the season.
[to top of second column] |
Mount Pulaski scoring
Taylor 18
Stewart 12
Brett Huff 10
Litterly 9
Aylesworth 6
Brandon Huff 4
Oliver 2
Heyworth scoring
Witten 21
Eller 10
Day 7
Williams 5
Shelton 5
Schultz 4
Writer's musings:
If you are keeping track of history, throughout the 97-year
basketball program, Mount Pulaski now has 1500 wins and 968 losses.
The team reached 1000 wins back in the 1982-83 season and I can
honestly say I was a freshman in high school at the time, but do not
remember that significant win. I can go from memory and say that
senior class would have included guys like Jerry Clements, Bruce
Kutz, Stan Manes and Tom Baker. Ok, I dug the yearbook out for that
one after all. Also on the team were juniors Darren Anderson, Sam
Jimison, Danny McCue, Roger Cook, Deron Powell, Mike Seitzer, Doug
Maxheimer, Jeff Haley, Rick Edwards, Scott Olden and Steve Hayes.
There was one sophomore on the varsity team that season and that was
Pat Walsh. Ed Butkovich was the head coach of that Mount Pulaski
team.
Interestingly, here we are some 30 odd years later and in the gym
Tuesday night were people in the crowd with connections to that 1000
win team. First off, Hayes and Walsh were spotted in the stands
taking in the game. Mrs. “B”, Pat Butkovich, was also in the crowd
cheering on the Toppers. Jeff Clements, older brother to Jerry, was
yelling from the bench as the assistant coach of the current
Toppers. If you remember the Topper Golden Girls from 1982-83, two
of them were also in attendance Tuesday night. Yes, it’s true. Debby
(Awe) Aylesworth and Jo Ellen (Sams) Walsh were part of the Toppers
Golden Girls, as was a young woman named Dorla Cates. Dorla was not
at last night’s game, but her parents, Dean and Doris Cates, were
seated with Pat Butkovich and they continue to be supporters of the
purple and gold basketball program.
Nice to see so many familiar faces that have a long history with the
Mount Pulaski basketball program. One of the huge advantages of a
smaller school I suppose. You could also say these people just have
a love for the game.
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Meanwhile, the 2015-16 Toppers will continue to try to add to the
wins and will play the host tournament team, St. Teresa on Monday,
December 28 at 6:00 p.m.
[Teena Lowery] |
