Game 13 was a bruiser. The West Hancock Titans devised and executed a game plan to somehow slow down 6’9″ defending All-Tournament player Hank Alvey and it turned into a tournament quarterfinal win over the Illini Bluffs Tigers by a score of 45-31. These two teams played a heated game earlier this year at the Spartan Tip-Off Classic on November 24th. The game was incredibly physical and featured numerous foul outs and contentious plays. The Titans took a 22-12 lead into halftime and outscored Bluffs in all but the 3rd quarter. The Tigers attempted to take the game long range, but unfortunately could only hit 3-of-18 from behind the arc.
West Hancock had two scorers finish with 12 points: Lewis Siegfried and Nolan Hurt. Gavin Grothaus had nine points and Gage Scott added eight. Grothaus also finished with a game-high 11 rebounds. Nolan Gooding swiped three steals on the defensive end. Bluffs only turned the ball over 12 times, but West Hancock took advantage when they did and converted those turnovers into 17 points. An impressive win for the Titans.
Illini Bluffs was led in scoring by the aforementioned Hank Alvey, who dropped 15 points. He also led the Tigers in rebounds with 10 and blocks with four. Only three other Bluffs players scored: Wyatt Hendel with six and Toby Cooper and Devon White each finished with five. Hendell also dished four assists. Only two teams have defeated a very talented Illini Bluffs team this season, West Hancock (now twice) and Macomb. They will continue to have success this season.
West Hancock advances to the tournament semifinals, where they will play the winner of Farmington/Rockridge. That will be Game 21, played Saturday afternoon at 1:00pm. Bluffs falls to the 5th place bracket, where they await the loser of Farmington/Rockridge in Game 19, played at 9:00am on Saturday.
Box Score
West Hancock Info
Illini Bluffs Info
Chris Derry
December 29, 2023