The top seeded West Hancock Titans used stout defense (12 blocks, five steals) to take the second semifinal by a score of 55-37 over the Macomb Bombers. Macomb went out to an 8-6 lead and before you could blink, the Titans went on a 15-point run to make it 21-8 early in the second quarter. This game was dominated in the interior by West Hancock, who led points in the paint by a staggering count of 38-18. Surprisingly, despite giving up a considerable amount of height, the rebounding battle was won by the Titans just 37-35. However, Cooper Knowles’s seven blocks were a game changer, as evidenced by anyone who watched this contest.
West Hancock’s Nolan Gooding led his team in scoring with 21 points. Cooper Knowles might be closing in on a potential tournament MVP with his third impressive performance in as many games. Against Macomb, Knowles had 14 points, 15 rebounds, and seven blocks. Hunter Froman added eight points and Jordan Crowley pitched in seven points and six rebounds.
Macomb was led by Drew Watson’s 19 points on 6/11 shooting (and 6/7) from the free throw line. Langdon Lambert was second on the team with five points. Nolan Hoge led the team in rebounding with seven. The Bombers led in second chance points by a count of 13-7.
West Hancock (11-2) will advance to the title game and will attempt to spoil Rockridge’s attempt at back-to-back tournament titles. That championship match will be an hour earlier this year, slated to start at 8:30pm. Macomb falls to a record of 10-3 and will play in the 7:00 third place game against the Peoria Christian Chargers.
Box Score
West Hancock Info
Macomb Info
Chris Derry
December 28, 2024