Three champions
were crowned this past weekend in the fifth annual O’Neill Alumni Basketball
Tournament. Players from
O’Neill High School and
St. Mary’s High School competed. Twenty
four teams played in the three-day event that drew players from as far as
Texas , Florida , and
Hawaii .
In the women’s
division, the team from the classes of 04-05 went 4-0 to claim the
title. They defeated the team from 02-03 in Sunday’s final. Mary
Harder led the winners with 25 points and numerous blocked shots. Lynnsey Davison
added 8. Earlier in the
tournament 02-03 derailed the two-time defended champion MOB team thanks, in
large part to the long range shooting of Lisa Harder and a stellar defensive
performance by Mary Kersenbrock. Other
teams in the women’s division included the 90’s/Community team as well as
00-01, and 06. Lisa Harder, Mary
Harder, Davison, Kersenbrock,
and Amy Brodersen Riggs
were named to the all-tournament team.
For the first
time, the men’s tourney was split into two divisions. Players
from 1971-1992 were in the green division while players from 1993-2006
played in the gold division. The
green division concluded play
on Saturday evening while the gold division final was played
Sunday afternoon.
The team made up
of players from 88-90 claimed the green division title with a 44-32 win over
85-87. The 85-87 squad was
dominant in their two pool play games, winning by an average margin of 30
points. But in the finals Jeremy
Strong and Kevin Morrow led 88-90 to victory. Strong
was solid on both ends of the court and finished with 20 points, while
Morrow added 12. Other teams in
the green division were Reeling in
the Years, That 70’s Show, 81-83, and 91-92. Mendel
Miller, Mike Gokie,
and Dave Eby joined
Morrow and Strong on the division all-tournament team.
Teams in the gold
division were divided into 3 pools with the pool winners and the best 2ndplace
team advancing to Sunday’s semifinals. The
95-96 team was
able to overcome a pool place loss
on Saturday to claim the title with a 45-38 win over the Class of
2000. KyleSchellpeper,
who earlier in the tournament set a single-game scoring record with 39, led
a balanced scoring attack with 12 points. 95-96
opened up an 11 point lead at the break, only to see the two-time defending
00 team battle back in the 2nd half. But
clutch baskets by Mitch and A.J. Heiss and Schellpeper’s free
throw shooting proved to be too much. Earlier
in the semifinals, 00 defeated 03 and 95-96 overcame a 9 point halftime
deficit to defeat 02. Named to the gold division all-tournament team were Schellpeper,
Mitch Heiss,
BeauHeiss, Travis Ptacek,
Seth Kallhoff,
Trent Thomas, Jed Givens, Chris Bahrji,
Ryan Cameron, and Ryan Bader.
Megan Waterman
Dugan won the women’s three point contest and Luke Mitchell won for the men.
Named to the All-Tournament Team were:
Women's: Lisa Harder, Amy Broddersen
Riggs, Mary Kersenbrock, Lynnsey Davison and Mary Harder.
Men's Division-Gold: Kyle Shellpeper,
Mitch Heiss, Beau Heiss, Travis Ptacek, Seth Kalhoff, Trent Thomas, Jed
Givens, Chris Bahrji, Ryan Cameron and Ryan Bader.
Men's Green Division: Mendel Miller,
Mike Gokie, Dave Eby, Kevin Morrow and Jeremy Strong.
Thanks to
everyone who helped make the tournament a big success.
