The Panthers of Camp Point Central were beat on a last second shot by Illini Bluffs in the semifinal game. They used that to fuel a 51-43 win in the 3rd Place game over a Southeastern Suns squad that entered the tournament as the AP #1 state-ranked team in 1A. Both teams shot well (47% for Southeastern, 46% for Central), they held onto the ball (17 combined turnovers), and they were deadlocked with 21 rebounds each. The difference in this game was under the basket, where the Panthers had an eight points advantage (20-12).
Central (10-3) was led by three players who scored double-digits. Breyhar Wiskirchen had 18 points, Isaac Genenbacher added 12 points, and Drew Paben pitched in another 10 points. Genenbacher had a game-high 11 rebounds. Wiskirchen had a game-high four assists.
Southeastern (12-2) was led, once again, in scoring by Danny Stephens. Stephens finished with a tournament-high 30 points (on 12-of-19 shooting) and a team-high six rebounds. He also went 5-for-7 from behind the three point arc. The Suns entered the tournament undefeated and took two tough losses to Eureka and Camp Point Central. Their path to 1A postseason is still quite wide open. They’re one to watch as the calendar turns to 2023.
Camp Point Central wins their 10th trophy in Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament history. They’re still searching for a title, however, as they’ve never finished higher than 3rd Place. Southeastern ends their comeback MWHT appearance with a 4th Place trophy. Their only other trophy was in the 1978 event, when they finished 2nd.
Box Score
Camp Point Central Info
Southeastern Info
Chris Derry
December 30, 2022
