Flyers defeat Redskins for title

COLDWATER - The inside game of the Marion Local Flyers gave them a small lead over St. Henry at halftime of Thursday's Asset Allocation Associates Holiday Classic championship game.

In the second half, the outside game of the Flyers turned that margin from small to big.

Matt Kahlig and Tyler Prenger combined for 15 points and three three-pointers during a 23-10 run in the third quarter, and Marion Local romped to its first tournament title since 2013 with a 52-42 victory over the Redskins at the Palace.

"It was definitely a big-time war in the first half. Nobody could get much separation," Marion Local coach Kurt Goettemoeller pointed out. "That was kind of expected because both teams know each other pretty well. We have an advantage on them on the inside, and when we were able to knock down some perimeter jumpers, that really made a difference."

Marion Local and St. Henry were a combined 5-of-26 in the first quarter. Tyler Mescher scored the final five points of the quarter and the Flyers racked up five offensive boards to gain a 7-5 lead.

A total of four lead changes and two ties occurred in the second quarter. Parker Link had five points during an 8-2 run for the Redskins that gave them a 13-9 lead, their largest of the half. Mescher, though, continued to grind and cause problems in the paint. He scored six more of his half-high 11 points just before the break, and the Flyers went in front 19-17 during a half in which both teams made 7-of-24 from the field.

Kahlig had eight points - hitting two 3-pointers and a layup - in the first five minutes of the third and Prenger added seven points as the Flyers' 19-17 halftime lead ballooned to 38-21 in a hurry. St. Henry never recovered from that run. Marion Local held a double-digit lead the rest of the way en route to its second victory over St. Henry this season.

"Matt Kahlig and Tyler Prenger hit a couple big shots," Goettemoeller said. "That allowed us to get some separation."

"Marion Local was the better team," St. Henry coach Eric Rosenbeck said. "Coach Rosenbeck had a really bad game. We held them to 19 points in the first half. To change up what we're doing for no apparent reason, looking back on it, it allowed them to get comfortable in their half-court sets and hit some big 3s. But our kids' effort and tenacity was fantastic. Sometimes the coach has a bad game. In this case, I did."

A night after having hit just 37 percent of their shots in an overtime win against Coldwater, the Redskins had more shooting struggles. They finished Thursday's game 16-of-52 and 7-of-31 from deep.

"I also thought we did a whale of a job defensively because they're a good offensive outfit," Goettemoeller said. "We switched our matchups from the first game a little bit. Tyler Schlarman was a major concern for us. We put Nate Bruns on him, and I thought Nate and some of the other guys we rotated on to him did a good job. I also think our length bothered them a little bit, both shooting 3s and on the interior when they beat us off the dribble. They still had to shoot over our length."

The Flyers went 19-of-42 from the field 5-of-10 from long range. For the tournament, they were 46-of-85 (54 percent) from the field and 11-of-21 from the three-point line (52 percent).

Mescher had a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds on his way to earning tournament MVP honors. Bruns (11 points, eight rebounds) and Prenger (12 points) joined him on the all-tournament team. Kahlig also reached double figures with 12 points and added six boards.

Blake Hoying and Link led St. Henry with nine points apiece. Schlarman, who had a tournament-best 26 points in Wednesday's win over Coldwater, was named to the all-tournament team.

Consolation Game  
Coldwater 62, Celina 52

Derek Albers scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, and the Cavaliers answered every Celina run before pulling away for the win in the consolation game.

"He's a heckuva rebounder - period," Coldwater coach Nick Fisher said of Albers. "He was a little frustrated in the first quarter after missing a couple of bunnies. We just told him to keep playing hard and keep doing what you're doing. He did that, and it paid dividends in the end."

Coldwater led 14-10 after one quarter and 24-21 at halftime. Celina stayed close despite shooting just 8-of-29 from the field in the first half. The Bulldogs went on an 11-4 run to open the second quarter. Bret Schwieterman's 3-pointer gave them a 21-18 lead with 2:30 to go. But the Cavaliers outscored Celina 6-0 the rest of the way, with a three-point play by Albers and a trey by Cole Frilling giving them a three-point cushion at break.

Albers scored the first six points for the Cavaliers in the third quarter to give them their largest lead of seven. Celina cut the deficit to 30-27 midway through the quarter. Albers went on to score four more points to extend Coldwater's lead to nine points at 38-29. Once again, though, the Bulldogs bounced back, with Kole Murlin's layup at the buzzer finishing off a 5-0 run.

Celina was within two after Schwieterman's layup to begin the fourth. That was answered by a 4-0 Coldwater run. The Bulldogs got within two points after a Lucas Hone three-pointer followed by a free throw on the next possesion. That, however, was again answered by the Cavaliers as Sam Broering connected on a pair of three-pointers to extend the lead to nine with 2:30 to play.

"He's clutch. That's just the way he is," Fisher said of Broering. "You think every shot he takes is going in."

Albers was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts. Marcus Bruns also had a double-double for Coldwater with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Derek Thobe added six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to keep Celina at bay in the end.

The Bulldogs shot 18-of-53 from the field and were outrebounded 38-19 as they stayed winless on the season.

"I'm never upset with their effort - these guys play their butts off," Celina coach Jay Imwalle said. "We weren't bad in certain parts of the game. We only had five turnovers. But when you give up 15 offensive rebounds and shoot 32 percent, you're probably not going to win. Obviously we've got to improve in those areas."

Murlin reached double figures for the second straight night, scoring 12 points, as he earned all-tournament honors. Hone chipped in 11 points.