CARLINVILLE — It certainly appears to be an harbinger of even bigger things to come.
Staunton’s Isiah Laux and Bryce Coalson combined for nine 3-pointers and the Bulldogs captured their first Carlinville Holiday Tournament since 2009 with a 52-47 win over defending champion Hardin Calhoun on Saturday.
“It’s huge for us, it’s really exciting for all of us,” Coalson said. “We’ve worked so hard offseason and to win it is great.”
Laux drained five 3s and finished with a team-high 18 points, while Coalson had 17 points. Coalson, a junior, drained the go-ahead trey with six minutes left in regulation. The team totaled 11 3s in the win and the Bulldogs improved 12-2 overall after a 16-16 campaign last season.
“They both can absolutely shoot it,” said Staunton head coach Ty Laux, Isiah’s dad. “They go against each other just about every day in practice, they hate losing to each other in our shooting drills. It just shows the work they put in the offseason.
“There’s no reason to not be a great shooter. If you want to be a great shooter, you just got to put in the work and they’ve definitely done that.”
Junior guard Aaron Bodner sealed the win with a layup in the final 20 seconds and chipped in nine points.
Lane Eilerman led Calhoun (6-5) with 15 points.
HARDIN CALHOUN 41, CARLINVILLE 33: The Warriors opened the third quarter with a key 9-0 run en route to its third straight Carlinville Holiday Tournament title.
Senior forward Kate Zipprich triggered the sequence with an assist to senior guard Anna Oswald and scored six of her game-high 15 points in the frame. Oswald and Sadie Kiel had eight points apiece for Calhoun, which improved to 10-3.
Senior guard Isabella Tiburzi led Carlinville (12-3) with 13 points. Senior teammate Jordyn Loveless added eight points.
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