Trailing by 11 points with under three minutes to play, Trico scored the final 12 points to pull out an incredible 60-59 victory over Egyptian Saturday night to win the Trico Pioneer Invitational Tournament.
“I told the guys don’t panic, they are going to let us back into the game,” said Trico coach Shane Hawkins. “I knew if we could get a couple of stops and make some shots we could steal the momentum. The guys believed the whole time we could make a run and once the crowd got involved, the team just fed off it.”
Egyptian made 28 of their 48 shots in the game for a remarkable 58.3 percent. But during the stretch run, the Pharaohs turned the ball over five times and went 0-for-2 from the floor including what would have been the game winner as time expired.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Daron Meyerhoff and Blaine LePere closed the deficit to one point, 59-58 with just over 25 seconds left in the game.
After an Egyptian turnover, Trico tried to inbound the ball but the pass was deflected and found the hands of  Trico junior George Kuhlman under the basket. Kuhlman, like his name suggests, was cool under pressure and made the layup to give his team the lead 60-59 with 13.4 seconds remaining.
“The ball was tipped right to me,” said Kuhlman. “I guess I was in the right place at the right time. Once I got the ball, I was thinking please don’t miss and hoping nobody was going to block the shot.”
Egyptian had one final shot to win the game and its second tournament in as many weeks. Darmez Nelson was able to get a good look at the basket but his shot hit the front of the rim and bounced out as Trico players celebrated.
“We had our share of turnovers but we took care of the ball fairly well against a very athletic team,” said Hawkins. “This is a great learning experience for us. Egyptian is as good as any 1A team in southern Illinois.”
Trico got off to a good start in the game, making four three-pointers against the Egyptian zone defense. Tournament MVP Dylan Witthoft along with fellow all-tournament team selection Daron Meyerhoff each made two three-pointers in the opening quarter to boost their team to an 18-12 lead.
“It’s an honor to be named MVP especially with so many good players in this tournament,” said Witthoft. “We played fairly well but there is room for improvement. We knew we had to play Pioneer basketball to beat a good team like Egyptian.”
The Pioneers made 7-of-11 shots in the opening quarter, while Egyptian made 6-of-12. Nelson had 10 points of Egyptian’s 12 points in the first eight minutes.
Trico’s shooting cooled off in the second quarter, as the team made just 3-of-9 shots. Egyptian, on the other hand, made 9-of-11 shots and went on a 12-1 scoring run to claim a 32-25 lead late in the first half.
Witthoft gave Trico back some momentum by nailing a three-pointer at the buzzer as he team trailed 32-28 at the break. Devantae Price had a big second quarter for the Pharaohs scoring 10 points as his team outscored Trico 18-10. LePere had five points in the frame to pace the Pioneers.
The Pioneers came out strong in the second half, making their first four shots for an 8-2 scoring run to reclaim the lead, 36-34. However, the hot shooting wouldn’t continue for Trico, as the team went 2-of-9 the rest of the way in the third quarter and Egyptian ended the frame with a 12-5 run for a 46-41 lead heading into the fourth.
Egyptian looked prime to run away with the win, scoring the first nine points of the fourth quarter for a 55-41 lead.
Baskets by Kuhlman, LePere and Meyerhoff and a free throw from Chase Heins helped the Pioneers cut the lead to 59-48 with under three minutes to play.
It was all Trico down the stretch. A layup by Meyerhoff and a mid-ranger jump shot by Heins cut the deficit to seven, 59-52. Meyerhoff and LePere drained consecutive three pointers to set up the dramatic game winning shot by Kuhlman.
A balanced Trico attack paced the team offensively. Meyerhoff finished with 15 points, seven which came during the late stretch run. Witthoft finished with 13. Heins added 11 and LePere added 10.
“It is always good to start the season by taking care of your home crowd,” said Hawkins. “It is definitely a good start for us, but the season gets even tougher from here.”
Witthoft, Meyerhoff and Heins were joined on the all-tournament team by Austin Peck of Sparta, Jacob Combs and Darin Winkelman of Steeleville, Jacob Kueker of Red Bud and Marcus Marable, Nelson and Price of Egyptian.
With the win, Trico finished tournament play with a perfect 5-0 record, while Egyptian went 4-1.
Steeleville 63, Sparta 45
Steeleville outscored Sparta 37-19 in the first half en route to a 63-45 win Saturday night.
With the win, Steeleville finished tournament play with a 2-3 record, while Sparta went 1-4.
“This was the first time we had everyone available to play this season,”
 said Steeleville coach Gerald Mumbower. “We played well and had good chemistry out there. Anytime you can go out and make your first eight shots of the game, things are going well.”
While Steeleville had its full roster for the first time this season, after three players were forced to sit the first four games after breaking team rules. Sparta, on the other hand, were devastated by injuries with Sean Lukes out with a dislocated kneecap and leading scorer Austin Peck sidelined with a broken wrist. Both players are expected to miss at least six weeks.
Sparta coach Rich Williams was not happy with the way his team played to finish the tournament in fifth place.
“This was the worsthigh school basketball I’ve been a part of in my 26 years,” said Williams.
Steeleville came out of the gate fast making its first eight shots to claim a 20-9 lead in the first quarter. Jacob Combs paced the Warriors with six points, while Darin Winkelman added five. Sparta had seven different players score in the opening quarter but couldn’t find that consistent offensive threat.
Leading 27-17, Steeleville finished the first half with a 10-2 run for a 37-19 advantage at the intermission. Winkelman tossed in nine points in the quarter, while Combs added five. Aaron Rushing scored six of Sparta’s 10 second quarter points. The bulldogs went 0-for-6 from the floor during the late second quarter run by Steeleville.
Sparta couldn’t find any offensive rhythm in the third quarter, going 3-of-9 from the floor with eight turnovers.
Combs added six more points for Steeleville in the third, as his team ended the frame with an 8-0 run for a commanding 47-25 lead heading into the fourth.
Christian Jackson scored six fourth quarter points for Sparta off the bench but it was not enough as Steeleville cruised to the 63-45 victory.
Winkelman and Combs each had 19 points to lead Steeleville.
Rushing finished with 10 points to lead Sparta, while DeVante Garrett had nine and Dwayne Dodson and Jackson each had seven.
“We got a lot better as the tournament went on,” said Mumbower. “This tournament will make us better as we head into the meat of our season. We were able to play  a lot of kids. Dylan Wesbecher didn’t score a lot of points but he did a nice job of getting us into our offense, Darin and Jacob showed good leadership out there and that is what we need from them.”
Red Bud 48, Shawnee 35
Red Bud jumped out to a 17-3 first quarter and never looked back in a 48-35 win despite making just 2-of-18 three-pointers.
The Musketeers led 24-11 at halftime and both team scored 24 points in the second half.
The win clinched third place for Red Bud with a 3-2 tournament record.
Garrett Salger led a balanced Red Bud attack with nine points. Jacob Kueker and Alex Phegley each had eight points, while Jason Greer added seven.
Early games on Saturday saw, Red Bud top Steeleville 41-35, Trico run past Shawnee 63-29 and Egyptian defeat Sparta 73-46.
Red Bud 51, Sparta 35
Red Bud outscored Sparta 35-17 in the second half to overcome a two-point halftime deficit for a 51-35 victory Friday night.
The Bulldogs led 8-6 at the end of the first quarter and 18-16 at halftime.
The Musketeers outscored Sparta 22-10 in the third and 13-7 in the fourth for the 16-point decision.
Jacob Kueker led the way for Red Bud with 22 points freshman Dwayne Dodson led Sparta with seven.
Trico 48, Steeleville 30
Trico outscored Steeleville in every quarter including 13-3 in the first quarter en route to a 48-30 win.
The Pioneers led 22-9 at the break and outscored the Warriors 17-15 in the third and 9-6 in the fourth.
Daron Meyerhoff led Trico with 13 points, while George Kuhlman added 10. Jacob Combs had the hot hand for Steeleville with 18 points.
The other game from Friday night ended with Egyptian running past Shawnee 76-41.