BSN Classic: VGH girls’ basketball places second, boys place fifth
By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
Villa Grove/Heritage Girls’ basketball
The Blue Devils (13-3) won four of their five games in the BSN Classic, at Bismarck, and placed second.
VG/H capped its performance with a final-game 52-33 triumph over a Unity team it had lost to earlier in the month by four points.
Kyleigh Block scored 17 points, which raised her career total to exactly 1,000. Aliya Holloman tallied 13 points and Madie Burwell hit a season-high 11 points, including six in the opening quarter when the Blue Devils jumped into a 17-7 lead.
By halftime, the VG/H lead was 30-10 and the Rockets had managed just four field goals.
The lone VG/H loss came to Benton Central, which is the third-rated team in its class in Indiana, 77-40.
Block scored 15 points and Holloman managed nine in that game. VG/H made just one fourth-quarter point, a free throw by Vanessa Wright.
Benton led 22-8 after one quarter.
“Other than that (game), we played really well against very good competition,” VG/H head coach Dan Sappenfield said. “It was a good confidence week to start the second half of the season.”
Also on Friday, the Blue Devils overpowered Cissna Park 65-13. Holloman hit a game-high 23 points. Samantha Campbell tallied 12 points and Block added eight.
VG/H led, 19-4, after one quarter.
In Thursday’s opening round, VG/H decisioned both Bismarck -Henning/Rossville-Alvin (50-35) and Lexington (59-43).
Block and Campbell led the way with 16 points apiece against B-H/R-A.
Campbell made eight of her points during a first quarter that ended with the Blue Devils leading, 20-9. Block nailed two first-quarter three-pointers.
Against Lexington, Holloman registered 22 points, Block hit 17 and Campbell contributed 16.
Lexington carried a 41-37 lead into the final quarter. Holloman tallied 13 of her points during the last eight minutes.
VG/H returns to action on Tuesday (Jan. 7) at Urbana against University High.
Villa Grove/Heritage Boys’ basketball
The Hawks (10-5) won three of five games in the BSN Classic and wound up in fifth place.
In Saturday’s fifth-place game at Bismarck, VG/H edged Centralia Christ Our Rock, 56-53.
Ierik Sorenson hit a season-high 17 points, including three shots from three-point range.
Logan Nohren, who scored in double figures in all five tournament outings, added 12 points and Blake Smith contributed 10 points.
Nohren and teammate Jake Eversole were among the all-tournament selections.
VG/H trailed the Centralia team 41-40 entering the final quarter.
On Friday at Heritage, the Hawks split their games, nipping Lexington 56-52 before dropping a 45-44 decision to Salt Fork.
Nohren made 21 points against Lexington, in a game where VG/H had to overcome a 31-30 halftime deficit.
Smith and Nick Coffin ended with eight points apiece.
Against Salt Fork, which led 13-9 after the first period, Smith set a new season high with 22 points. Nohren added 10 points.
On Thursday, VG/H started with a 73-37 triumph over Georgetown-Ridge Farm, but fell to Judah Christian 70-59.
Eversole led the way with 22 points against G-RF. Coffin knocked down 13 points and Nohren had 12. Smith and Sam Reno each netted eight points.
The VG/H lead at halftime was a slender 32-28 margin, but a 28-point third-quarter turned the game into a runaway. The Hawks drained 10 three-pointers in the contest.
Against Judah, Eversole led with 17 points and Nohren totaled 10. Judah jumped into a 25-12 lead after one quarter.
VG/H returns to action on Friday (Jan. 3) at Chrisman.
