Cautious optimism for Elmwood boys

By NICK VLAHOS
For The Weekly Post

KEWANEE – Five games into the season, Josh Fugitt is cautiously optimistic about his Elmwood boys basketball team.

Elmwood finished 3-2 and placed third at the Wally Keller Invitational in Kewanee. The Trojans won the middle three games they played – 62-43 on Nov. 26 against Putnam County, 58-48 on Nov. 27 against host Wethersfield and 63-48 on Nov. 29 against Stark County.

The bookends were a 50-37 loss Nov. 30 against Bureau Valley and an opening 55-28 loss Nov. 25 to tourney-champion Annawan. The other matchups were more favorable, according to the Elmwood coach. Even then, Fugitt suggested his team’s defense needed improvement.

But Oliver Thornton and Bo Windish showed flashes of brilliance, and Garrett Webster played well all week, according to Fugitt. Webster led Elmwood in scoring against Wethersfield (17 points) and Stark County (21), and he and Karsyn Bolton shared the lead against Bureau Valley (10 each).

“He’s our most skilled and smartest basketball player, and most stats have shown that even back into last year at times,” Fugitt stated about Webster. “Bo’s athleticism and Oliver’s length gave us an advantage in the games we won, and they had plenty of great plays throughout the tournament.”

Windish and Thornton scored 20 and 15, respectively, against Putnam County, which managed only two first-quarter points. Against Wethersfield, Windish had 11 points and Quinton Johns scored 10. Against Stark County, Windish scored 17, Thornton 14.

“I was really proud of how much we battled at times against Annawan and Bureau,” Fugitt stated. “Both had players with much more experience than us … so I’m optimistic that if we keep improving, we’ll be competitive in February.”

Elmwood played at home Wednesday night against West Prairie. The Trojans head to Delavan for a game Saturday.

• Brimfield – Brady Johnson had 19 points Nov. 30 and Connor Doe scored 17 as Brimfield beat the hosts of the Peoria Heights tournament 61-25 to finish in third place.

In the middle quarters, Doe had 13 points and Johnson scored 16 as the Indians (3-1) broke from a 9-9 tie to a 56-18 lead. Doe and Johnson were all-tournament selections.

The previous night, Doe had 30 points as Brimfield defeated Varna Midland 56-48. He had 13 third-quarter points, including three 3-pointers. The only Brimfield loss came to tourney-champion Tremont, 46-41 on Nov. 26. Johnson had 16 points, and Doe and Tommy Burkitt each scored 10.

Brimfield hit the road Tuesday for a game at Flanagan-Cornell. The Indians play Friday (Dec. 6) at Stark County. Their home opener is Saturday against Annawan, with a 4 p.m. scheduled varsity tipoff.

• Farmington – All-tournament selection Landon Crawford had 19 points Nov. 30 to lead Farmington past North Fulton 39-32 in the third-place game of the Fulton County tournament at Havana.

Crawford also had 19 points Nov. 27 in a 63-59 tourney win over South Fulton. Boston Smith scored 14, including a 9-for-10 free-throw effort.

The Farmers (2-1) relied heavily on junior-varsity players for the tournament, according to Coach Marty Lozier. Most of the varsity roster still was recovering from a semifinal run in the football state playoffs. Canton won the tournament.

Farmington opened its home schedule Tuesday vs. Tremont. The Farmers travel Saturday (Dec. 7) to Carthage to play Illini West.

• Princeville – Jake Williams had 19 points Nov. 30 as three double-digit scorers led Princeville (2-2) past Manito Midwest Central 59-29 for fifth place at the Peoria Heights tournament. Tucker Sennett had 16 points, Brady Day 15.

All-tourney pick Williams had 15 points and Sennett scored 12 in a 56-47 loss Nov. 29 to Tremont. On Nov. 26, Princeville defeated Midland 69-38 behind 21 points from Williams and 11 from Sennett. In all, 12 Princeville players scored.

Princeville returns to Peoria Heights for a game Friday night.

• ROWVA-Williamsfield – The host team of the R-W Invitational finished 1-4, tied with Biggsville West Central and Henry. Port Byron Riverdale was 5-0 to win the six-team round robin, Galva was 4-1 and Monmouth United was 3-2.

The only R-W win was Nov. 30 at Billtown, on the last day of the tourney, 61-50 over West Central. Later that day, Riverdale beat R-W 75-46. The Cougars lost to United 66-41 on Nov. 29 at Oneida. No other information was available about those games.

In a tournament game Nov. 26, Dawson Traphagan had 18 points and Landon Hannam scored 11, but R-W lost 54-49 to Henry.

R-W is scheduled to play on Friday at Peoria Christian.