MT. PULASKI — By their very name, a regional tournament is consider to be within the region of the teams.
This year’s IHSA Class 1A tournament had some unique situations and one of them was the Salt Fork Storm traveling to Mt. Pulaski in the regional tournament.
On Wednesday night, the trip for Salt Fork was difficult but rewarding with a 44-43 win over Decatur Unity Christian. The same couldn’t be said for Friday’s regional championship.
The 200-mile road trip featured a very disappointing ride home after Argenta-Oreana defeated Salt Fork 49-40 in the title game.
The Storm (19-11 overall) had a 23-19 halftime advantage but the Bombers turned things around with a big third quarter, outscoring the Storm 13-4.
Argenta-Oreana (19-13) sealed the victory at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, as the Bombers were 6-of-9 at the charity stripe.
Damian Guide scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half for Argenta-Oreana, while Carter Logue and Tyson Oros chipped in with 15 and 11 respectively.
Salt Fork senior Kamdyn Keller had a big first half, scored 14 points with three 3-pointers, but he had just six points in the fourth quarter on a pair of 3s to finish with a game-high 20. He was the only player for the Storm in double digits, next was Ian Church with 7, then Grant Wilson with 6 and Jameson Remole had five.
At Mt. Pulaski
IHSA Class 1A regional championship
Argenta-Oreana 49, Salt Fork 40
Argenta-Oreana (49) — Tyson Oros 2 6-6 11, Flowers 1 0-0 2, Carter Logue 5 2-4 15, Damian Guide 6 4-7 16, Montraze Brummett 1 0-0 2, M.J. Hall 1 1-2 3. Totals: 16 13-19 49.
Salt Fork (40) — Grant Wilson 1 4-4 6, Gavin Holmes 0 0-0 0, Ian Church 3 1-3 7, Payton Hageman 0 0-0 0, Kade Smith 1 0-0 2, Kamdyn Keller 7 1-2 20, Jameson Remole 2 0-0 5. Totals: 14 6-9 40.
Argenta-Oreana 8 11 13 17 — 49
Salt Fork 12 11 4 11 — 40
3-pointers — Argenta-Oreana 4 (Logue 3, Oros 1). Salt Fork 6 (Keller 5, Remole 1). Total fouls — Argenta-Oreana 11, Salt Fork 15. Fouled out — none.
Records — Argenta-Oreana 19-13 overall. Salt Fork 19-11 overall.