By JOHN ROARK
john.roark@register-news.com
SESSER — There was no Exile Island or tribal council for Waltonville High School’s basketball team, but Wednesday night’s script surely could have landed an episode of “Survivor.”
And surviving is precisely how the Spartans landed the 2009 Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament championship.
Taking each and every one of Sparta’s shots — figuratively, and literally — Mike Denault’s club outlasted Richie Williams’ Bulldogs 68-61 in the title game.
A 13-0 Spartans run to close the third period — after the Bulldogs (10-4) had built a 37-32 lead midway through the period — turned the tide. But it was only when the Spartans were able to hit enough free throws down the stretch — Waltonville finished 23 of 37 for the game, but missed eight in the fourth quarter — that Denault’s team escaped with its 11th win in 12 tries.
“I kept telling them in the huddle, let’s just survive,” Denault said. “(Sparta was) being physical and we didn’t handle it very well for a period of time. At the end, (the officials) started really tightening up with the calls both ways and we were able to get some benefit from that.”
But the Bulldogs challenged the senior-laden Spartans at every turn, trapping and double-teaming at almost every opportunity, forcing tie-balls and frustrating the Waltonville ballhandlers into turnovers and at times, hastily called timeouts.
“They do a lot of grabbing and clutching for the ball,” Denault said, “and we haven’t seen a lot of that. It think it was good for us to see that ... it’s hard to get better at it until you have experienced it.”
And that frustration appeared to be setting in on the Spartans when the Bulldogs, trailing 29-27 at halftime, went on a 10-2 run to grab the 37-32 lead on a David Sams stickback.
However, trouble was brewing when team leader Dartanus White drew his third foul and headed to the bench.
“He’s the leader of our team,” Williams said of White. “I felt like I had to take him out with three fouls. It really widened the gap ... give them credit; when Dartanus went out, they went right to the jugular.”
And it began when Joseph Lewis hit a layup, and Skyler Witges converted off a steal from Gavin Bassett, who had a tremendous performance with 17 points.
When a frantic end-to-end race turned into a Brock Wheatley driving layup, the Spartans had a 38-37 lead they would not relinquish. Dylan Johnson hit two foul shots, and Wheatley and Bassett added baskets to end the third period with the Spartans ahead 45-37.
“I think we got hurried a little bit early,” Denault said. “That’s (Sparta’s) game to play real fast.
“We want to play fast, but we’re not Sparta fast, we’re Waltonville fast. When we were playing at their pace, they were successful.
“When we played at our pace, we were successful. That was the difference for us,” Denault said.
But the Bulldogs — who’ve twice erased double-digits to avoid defeat — wouldn’t cave. Still pressing and trapping at every chance, Sparta did eventually begin fouling to send Waltonville to the foul line.
However, the Spartans didn’t do a whole lot to finish things off once they got ahead 58-43 with 4:03 remaining. WHS was often hitting just one of two foul shots when given the chance, and the Bulldogs began digging themselves out of the hole.
Waltonville still led 59-48 on a Wheatley free throw at 2:11, but Sparta’s Maurice Austin buried a 3-pointer off the right wing, beginning a frantic pace of free throws and layups.
When White hit a layup at 37 seconds, the lead was just three, 62-59.
The teams exchanged scores for a 64-61 count, and the Spartans then held the Bulldogs in check the rest of the way. Lewis hit a pair of foul shots at 27.1 seconds, and after Johnson blocked a Sparta shot, Witges sank two more to account for the final score.
Lewis led Waltonville with 19 points, Bassett adding 17, Witges 12 and Wheatley 11.
White scored 24 for Sparta, Sams 12.
Denault said his team had a great tournament — Waltonville won its second Sesser title after first winning it in 2005 — but added there is more to come.
“The thing I like is we’re 11-1 and we played well in this tournament,” Denault said, “and I still see a lot of upside for this team. We’re playing together, we always play hard and the kids are beginning to focus in on game plans and executing the things they have to do to be successful. Those few things are what it takes to be successful throughout the season.”
Witges and Lewis made the all-tournament team, as did Sams and White; Chris Baker of Century; Justin Mayti and Kendall Gibson of Sesser; Casey Hammond and Josh Wiggs of Waltonville; and Goreville’s Martin Powell.
Also, Woodlawn’s cheerleaders won the tournament’s top cheer trophy.
Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament
Championship game
Waltonville 68, Sparta 61
Spata 18 9 16 23—61
Waltonville 16 13 16 23–68
SPARTA (10-4)
DWhite 9 5-7 24, Shelton 2 3-4 9, Sams 6 0-0 12, Oliver 1 2-2 4, Austin 2 0-0 6, Kiner 2 2-4 6. Totals 22 12-17 61
WALTONVILLE (11-1)
Bassett 6 5-9 17, Wheatley 3 4-8 11, SWitges 2 8-12 12, Stanhouse 0 1-2 1, Johnson 3 2-2 8, Lewis 7 3-4 19. Totals 18 23-37 68
3-point goals — Sparta 5 (Austin 2, Shelton 2, DWhite), Waltonville 3 (Lewis 2, Wheatley). Team fouls — Waltonville 13, Sparta 27. Fouled out — DWhite, Austin.
