DANVILLE — The start of Saturday’s Vermilion County Boys Tournament championship game was not the greatest for Aiden White.
The junior center for Westville was scoreless as the Tigers were down 28-15 at halftime to six-time defending champion Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin.
But in the second half, the Tigers got going and in the end, White would have the last moment.
The junior scored on a put-back with 1.8 seconds left as Westville would beat the Blue Devils 50-49.
“I was nervous at the start, but we battled back and it was a whole team effort,” White said. “Nothing was working and I felt they locked me up very good. But that’s why there are four quarters. The better team is going to come out and play four quarters. I think it is a team effort and I am really proud of these guys.”
“Even thought he didn’t have the greatest half, we knew he was someone that we could count on at anytime,” senior guard Easton Barney said. “When he put up the last shot, I knew he was going to make it.”
“The first half, he was going to the perimeter more than we would have liked because he was getting pushed on a lot,” Westville coach Ed Barney said. “I said hold your ground because there were going to be calls and if he would have stayed inside, we would have not gotten some calls. He’s a big part of the offense on the inside, which opens up the outside and we hit some 3’s in the fourth quarter because they had to start staying in.”
Even with the added focus on White, the Tigers were still down 43-32 but the Tigers continued to chip away before the final shot.
I was nervous for a second, no doubt and they are a great team,” senior Matt Darling said. “We were trying to keep the guys composed because we know we are a good team and we know we can do it. We executed and came out on top. I was keeping my head the whole time. There are a great team and keeping our head straight at halftime and thinking the game was 0-0 and we came out on top.
“I was a little concerned, but we made adjustments and changed our offense and defensively,” Ed Barney said. “We battled back one point at a time and that’s what we talked about at halftime. We don’t need 3-pointers, we just need to work the ball in, get good shots to start off the half.”
White had 17 points, while Darling had 13, Barney had 11 and Kiptyn Appl added seven.
“It feels so good,” White said. “Last year, we lost by 30. We took that effort worked in the offseason and we came out the victors.”
“It’s really been an surreal feeling and it hasn’t hit me yet, but it might later on,” Easton Barney said. “It has been a great season and I am ready to continue into the future with these boys.”
The win was part of a tournament and a season full of milestones and Ed Barney said family is a big reason.
“I have been with a lot of them since the first grade and Matt, Easton and Aiden play travel ball for me,” Ed Barney said. “They put in all the time and effort. It means a lot to win as a team and as a father, it makes it really memorable. Also, my brother (David Barney) and Matt’s father (Matt Darling) are also assistants, so it is a family affair. They have done a great job and everyone has led to our success, from the the JV players, the assistants, and the fans, who came alive in the end of the game.”
To continue the season, the Tigers (22-0) are just hoping to finish the regular season with the school wins record for a season (26) and a chance for more tournament wins.
“It’s so exciting in seeing all the work we put in pay off and we are still undefeated,” Darling said. “We are still pushing. We got goals we want to accomplish like conference regionals and the win records and we look to keep rolling for the season.
“One game at a time. We have a great slew of opponents in Salt Fork, Armstrong and Bismarck,” Ed Barney said. “So we have tough competition and conference is always tough when you are on the road. Our next goal is to win the conference and break the wins record.”
White, Easton Barney and Darling made the All-Tournament Team.
The Blue Devils are 15-4 and while last season’s team was full of seniors set for the occasion, BHRA coach Gary Tidwell said Westville’s seniors were not going to give things up so easily.
“They have some seniors that have been out for a while and they were not going to die easy,” Tidwell said. “They did a great job getting the ball to White in the second half, especially in the fourth and the last play was really huge. Credit them for going to their go-to guy.
“Keison (Peoples) had a great all-around game and did an outstanding job for us and I thought our other players played their roles well. We missed some point-blank opportunities and their length was a challenge as well, so we were not getting a lot of offensive rebounds either. It is a tough way to lose and when it comes down to the last play, you have to make a stop, but they made a play, so credit to them and we have nothing to hang our heads about.”
Peoples had 39 points for BHRA and ended up breaking a four-game tournament record with 133 points, but the senior can only think about improvement for him and the team.
“We came out and fought hard, but we lost, so we have to go back and fix some things,” Peoples said. “I won’t be there to lead them next year, but we just have to fix some things.”
Dylan Farr had four points, while Noah Rice and Micah Tidwell each had three points. Along with Peoples, Micah Tidwell and Reed Zarate made the All-Tournament team, a good sign for BHRA’s future.
“We have a young team and they are getting some valuable experience,” Gary Tidwell said. “They are a year away from being fully developed and I think next year, they will have some confidence and be balanced. We have guys that can shoot and we have some size inside. Unfortunately, we don’t have that balance this season, but I think going forward with the experience we are gaining and Keison’s leadership style, they are going to learn a lot from that and continue success for the future.
“We had a great run the last six years, but Westville is a good team and on paper, they are better than we are, so to lead for most of the game is a credit to our team and our program. We are going to take this as a positive and concentrate on getting better.”
The third place game was almost like the title game as Armstrong-Potomac fought back from a slow start and was able to get a 66-63 win over Oakwood.
“Games like this is what is going to help us down the line,” Armstrong-Potomac coach Caleb Gossett said. “Props to Oakwood because they shot the ball well tonight and it didn’t seem we could do anything to stop their 3-ball. But our guys fought through it and got the stops we needed to, some big time buckets and free throws.”
Luke Townsend had 23 points for the Trojans, while Rhys Showalter had 19, Gage Foster, Davyn Franzen and Aiden Blackford each had five and Ryan Edwards had four. Townsend and Edwards made the All-Tournament Team.
“I know that all of our guys played well whether it was shooting well or getting defensive stops,” Gossett said. “It was a total team effort and I was proud to see the guys get the win.”
Jaethan Perez led the Comets with 21 points, while Alex Wallace had 15, Carsen Dudley had 14 and Ben Darling added 11. Dudley made the All-Tournament Team.
“We knew they had good shooters and they were quick,” Gossett said. “In our first game with them, Alex Wallace was out, so we knew with him coming back, they would be improved. We knew we had to stop Dudley and minimize his impact but however, if you focus on the star, a lot of the other guys will have big games.
The Trojans are 14-6 and feel they are in for a big end-of-season run.
“We talked prior to this week that this could halt our momentum or boost us toward February,” Gossett said. “We have some games that we can get seven or eight in a row and that would look good at the regional seeding meeting. Thursday’s effort was good and this week was good for us as we build our momentum.”
For fifth place, Salt Fork defeated Hoopeston Area 50-43. Braxton Clem had 15 points, while Maddax Stine had 12, Zayden Bromley had nine and Eli Wear and Ian Church each added six. Bromley was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Brayden Walder had 14 points for the Cornjerkers, while Alandize Barnett had eight and Zach Huchel and Cole Miller each added seven.