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 Collier led all scorers with 17 points in the contest and it was
his string of threes that propelled the Toppers to victory. The
Toppers had made the first basket of the game but it was the Stags
who were in total control all evening until Collier's three with
5:10 remaining in the game gave the Toppers a slim 42-41 lead.
That first basket of the game was a nice ten-foot jumper by Peyton
Taylor to put the Toppers up 2-0. Antonio Coit-Kirk would quickly
get the Stags on the board and tie the game at 2-2. After a series
of missed shots by both teams, Hartem went ahead on a three by Brode
Hopkins. Michael Lowery's drive to the basket was good in the next
possession and he sunk the free throw shot to knot the score at 5-5.
Matthew Amidon fouled Max Boch under the basket and Boch's two free
throws put the Stags on top 7-5. Dalton Litterly's steal and layup
with 3:20 remaining in the first quarter tied the teams at 7-7.
Brady Wolpert kept the scoring on pace for the Stags and hit a three
to again put the Stags up 10-7. Lowery's drive to the basket pulled
the Toppers closer, 10-9. Blake Collier's layup moments later put
the Toppers up 11-10. The back and forth first quarter continued as
Boch nailed a trey for the Stags and again the lead was back to the
home team, 13-11. Brayden Curry entered the game for the Toppers and
he wasted no time connecting for a three to put MountPulaski back on
top 14-13. It was Hayes with the final bucket of the first quarter,
a layup, that gave the Stags a 15-14 lead.
 The second quarter started out with a ton of missed shots for both
teams, frustrating for sure for coaches and players. Finally
Lowery's three with 5:52 on the clock gave the Toppers the lead back
at 17-15. Hopkins would tie the game yet again at 17-17 with his
drive through the lane around the 5:00 mark. Hartem went on a little
scoring run at this point on a three by Hayes and a couple free
throws by Boch. Coach Ryan Deibert quickly called a timeout to
settle his players down. Enter the calm and cool Brett Huff for the
Toppers, who was just waiting for the right pass, and he got it from
Litterly, and hence drained a three to pull the Toppers closer,
22-20. The game got a little more physical at this point as several
fouls were called on both teams and the result was a few trips to
the free throw line. Hartem took advantage of those opportunities
and extended the lead 25-21. While the Toppers were struggling to
get anything to fall within two feet of the basket at this point,
the Stags just kept on hitting. Boch, who led the Stags with 14
points, managed to connect for a three just before the half and much
to the delight of the orange and black crowd, the Stags held a nice
28-21 lead going into the locker room.
Once the teams were back in action on the court, Coit-Kirk was ahead
of the pack for a layup and the Stags were running away with it,
30-21. To make matters worse for the Toppers, Lowery had two quick
fouls within a minute of third quarter action and he spent the next
five minutes viewing the game from the bench. Luckily for the
Toppers, a few trips to the charity stripe paid off and then Beau
Collier got fired up. He ignited his team back to life with a three
at the 5:20 mark to inch the Toppers closer, 30-27. Coit-Kirk
continued his tear on the Toppers, though, and his buckets kept the
Stags in the lead, 34-28. Hopkins was also fired up all evening and
his three gave the Stags breathing room with the score at 37-31.
Time for Beau Collier to take center stage again with another three
that drew a loud applause from the purple and gold crowd. At the end
of the third quarter the Stags were still on top 39-34.
[to top of second column] |
With 8:00 left to play the Toppers came out of the huddle knowing
they still had a chance but the Stags already had three players in
double figures: Coit-Kirk, Hopkins and Boch.
Again the Stags drew first blood in the fourth quarter on a layup by
Hayes to give Hartem a more comfortable 41-34 lead. However, Beau
Collier did not waste any time in the as he drained a three, but the
Toppers still trailed 41-37. Finally at the 5:10 mark Beau Collier
again for three gave the Toppers the lead 42-41. The Toppers would
score thirteen unanswered points in the fourth quarter and now all
of a sudden the Stags had buried themselves in a hole, 47-41. In
fact, Mount Pulaski would go on to shut down both Coit-Kirk and
Hopkins in the final quarter and outscore the Stags 22-6 in the
meantime.
Free throws by Blake Collier and Dalton Litterly as well as Lowery's
put back off the offensive rebound would seal the deal for the
Toppers in the final minute of play and give a deceiving final score
of 56-45. The game was indeed close for three and a half quarters
and anybody's game to win until the final two minutes.
The Toppers record improves to 8-7 while the Stags fall to 3-9 on
the season.
The Toppers take part in the Effingham St. Anthony Shoot Out today
at 10 am versus Clay City.
Toppers scoring:
Beau Collier 17
Lowery 13
Blake Collier 7
Litterly 6
Taylor 5
Brett Huff 4
Curry 3
Amidon 1
Stags scoring:
Boch 14
Coit-Kirk 11
Hopkins 10
Hayes 7
Wolpert 3
[Teena Lowery]
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