3-Peat For Spartyville

CHRISTOPHER - Saturday evening was nothing new for the 1A #2-ranked Waltonville Spartans as they once again found their way to the championship game of the Christopher Turkey Tournament. There they would meet conference foe and 1A #7-ranked Webber and Nathaniel Marlow. A hot start for the Spartans and gritty defense throughout got the job done as Waltonville walked out of Franklin County with a 54-47 victory and the Christopher Turkey Tournament title for the third straight year.

Waltonville would win the tip and immediately go on the offensive. Senior leader Gage Peterson knocked down a triple from the top of the key to push the Spartans ahead 3-0. Marlow would make a layup on their first possession to cut it to 3-2. Webber’s Carter Bain took the ball baseline for a layup to make it 4-3 Webber, but Waltonville junior Jagger Mayville connected on a jumpshot just inside the arc to help the Spartans regain the lead 5-4. A 3-pointer from the top of the key from Waltonville senior Weston Rose pushed the lead to 8-4. The Spartans would push their lead to 13-6 before Marlow threw up a ¾ court shot that was nothing but net to make it 13-9 at the end of the first quarter. The Spartans kept the pace in the second quarter as they used smart passing and good ball movement to find good shots under the basket. Waltonville led 23-20 at the half.

Spartan junior Witten Devor opened the scoring in the second half with a mid-range jumper to push the lead to 25-20. A Mayville layup and a Peterson 3-pointer pushed the lead to 32-21. Another Peterson bucket minutes later gave Waltonville their biggest lead of the night at 36-24. Webber wouldn’t go away without a fight though as the Trojans fought back to cut the lead to 37-32. Waltonville junior Carter Stewart made a strong move to the basket to push it to 39-32, but Marlow came right back down on the other end with his own layup plus a chance to convert at the free-throw line. That cut the lead to 39-35. A 3-point bucket from Waltonville’s Brigham Bequette pushed the lead back to 42-35 in favor of the Spartans. A Marlow 3-pointer would cut the Spartan lead to 48-42. Another 3-pointer from Bain closed the gap to 50-45, but that was as close as the Trojans would get as Waltonville tickled the nylon at the free-throw stripe to close out the game. The Spartans finished with the 54-47 victory and their third straight Christopher Turkey Tournament title. Gage Peterson was named MVP of the tournament. Waltonville is 3-0 on the season and will take on 2A Fairfield at home on Friday. Webber drops to 2-1 and will travel to 1A St. Elmo/Brownstown on Tuesday.