Story by I70sports.com’s Seth Whitehead–
The Vandalia boys basketball team’s best offensive performance of the season propelled it to an impressive 68-61 win over top-seeded arch rival Greenville Friday in the third-place game of the Vandalia Holiday Tournament.
Despite playing without leading scorer Tanner Robbins (ankle injury), the Vandals scored a season-high in points and shot a blistering 56 percent from the field, including 10 for 16 shooting from three-point range (63 percent).
Junior Wade Brannon set the tone with a career-high 31 points, including 6-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc, 5-for-5 shooting from the free-throw line and 10-for-14 shooting from the field overall. Brannon also grabbed six rebounds and averaged 17.2 points-per-game and 6.5 rebounds-per-game in five tournament games.
The second-seeded Vandals’ shooting was all-the-more impressive considering Greenville (10-6) had allowed just 41.5 points-per-game in the tournament coming into the night.
Brannon scored 15 points in the first quarter alone, as the Vandals (8-6) enjoyed a 19-14 lead after eight minutes of play. Vandalia extended its lead to as many as nine in the second quarter and enjoyed a 37-33 halftime lead.
But just 24 hours after third-quarter collapse against Shelbyville cost the Vandals a shot at a championship game appearance, it looked like it was going to be déjà vu all over again against Greenville, as the Comets started the second half with a 10-0 run that had it up 43-37 halfway through the third.
The Vandals stopped the bleeding and flipped the script this time, however, as freshmen Andrew Casey and Qwentyn Stombaugh spearheaded a 10-2 Vandals run that put them back in the lead for good. Casey hit a pair of free throws after an Isaac Sachan steal to stop the Comets’ run and Stombaugh followed with a three-point play. Casey then evened the game at 45 with a 3-pointer and sophomore Kohner Depew put the Vandals ahead with a transition bucket in the final minute of the frame.
Brannon then started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to kick off a 10-2 run that put the Vandals in charge for good.
Underclassmen accounted for 31 of the Vandals 68 points, as Casey finished with 12 points, Depew had 10, Stombaugh had six and Brenton McCarty had three.
Isaac Sachan scored six points and made the all-tournament team after making 9 of 15 3-pointers during the tournament and averaging 9.3 points-per-game.
The Vandals finished the tournament with a 4-1 record and will return to action on Jan. 5 with a South Central Conference game at Litchfield.
Vandalia Scoring
Wade Brannon — 31 points
Andrew Casey — 12 points
Kohner Depew — 10 points
Qwentyn Stombaugh — 6 points
Isaac Sachan — 6 points
Brenton McCarty — 3 points
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