CARLINVILLE – In one of the state’s longest-running basketball tournaments, the Southwestern Piasa Birds were trying to join an elusive club.
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They were trying to become just the second team to win four straight Macoupin County Tournament titles.
But the top-seeded Staunton Bulldogs had other ideas.
The two met in the championship game of the tournament’s 106th installment Friday night inside a packed Carlinville High School gym in which defense proved to be the best offense.
The Dogs went on to win a low-scoring affair 38-21, claiming their first county title since 2012 at Mt. Olive. It was the program’s 16th county title, only behind Southwestern (17) and Gillespie (22).
With such a long running tournament, the two teams were bound to have some history.
Staunton lost to the Piasa Birds in the semifinals in 2023 before beating the hosts Bunker Hill for third place. The Dogs also lost to Piasa in the semis of the 2019 tournament.
The Piasa Birds won titles from 2022-24, trying to join Gillespie as the only team to win four straight. The Miners did so from 1953-56, the first three under head coach Adolph Tenikat and the fourth under George Berggren.
A 13-point run from the Dogs to close out the first quarter and open the second halted all ideas of that Friday night.
But the teams went blow for blow in the beginning.
Aaron Bodner sank a couple of free throws to end a 2-minute-14-second offensive drought to open the game. Ian Brantley did the same on the other end before Ethan Sharp nailed a three-pointer. Once again Piasa’s Ike Autin matched it to tie the game at five.
Then Staunton began its run, thanks to some huge baskets from Jeremiah Graham off the bench.
He scored the game’s next seven points before Sharp closed the quarter with another triple. Staunton led 15-5 after the first quarter.
“He got us a couple layups, hit a big three, and got us some much-needed momentum,” Staunton head coach Ty Laux said of Graham. “That’s just what he does, he comes off the bench and he’s a sparkplug. He ignites us, and that’s what we expect of him. He comes in, does his job and does it very well.”
But it was the 6-foot-3 senior Sharp that proved to be a tough pill to swallow for Southwestern.
“They’ve got a lot of kids that can play, man, and it’s hard to guard everybody,” Piasa head coach Jason Darr said. “We really felt like their big kid (Sharp) kind of sparked them early in the first quarter from the perimeter, and we were hoping that wouldn’t happen. But it’s something hard to come back to.”
Luke Moore opened the second quarter with a three to extend the lead to 18-5. Staunton would lead 25-11 at halftime.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 15 points at 28-13 and again at 30-15 before going on to win the game by 16.
Piasa attempted a run as John Kunz scored the final basket of the third and Brantley had back-to-back baskets to open the fourth to make it a nine-point game at 30-21.
But Staunton slammed the door shut and scored the final eight points of the game, six of which came from the free-throw line.
Foul trouble wasn’t the issue for Piasa. It was the intense defense played against Brantley, the team’s leading scorer.
Brantley came into the game having scored 24 points against Mt. Olive in the tourney’s opener and another 17 points against Carlinville in the semifinals.
Staunton held him without a field goal in the first half and just seven points on the night, which led Southwestern. Austin had six points, Ryan Lowis had four, and Cason Robinson and Kunz each had two.
“Anytime he touched it, there were four guys sometimes, hanging on his arms and whatever else,” Darr said regarding Brantley.
“But yeah, somebody else has to be able to shoot the ball, Darr continued. “We have to be able to make a shot from outside 15 feet, that’s what it really comes down to. We just struggled tonight. We’ve had nights where it’s been good, but our biggest struggle this year has been consistency from the perimeter. It is what it is; I’m proud of our kids. Winning three of these in a row is a really, really hard thing to do.”
Brantley typically averages 17.4 points per game. Lowis is next on the team at 11.3 PPG.
“I think both teams knew coming in it was going to be a defensive battle,” Laux said.
“We came in; I thought we had a great game plan. Obviously, you’ve got to shut Brantley down. I thought Sharp did a great job on him, and as far as our team defense, we did a great job on everybody being aware of where [Brantley] was at all times, trying to keep him off the boards. I think we made him work for everything.”
It was the second time this season Staunton beat Southwestern. The Dogs won their South Central Conference opener against the Birds back on Nov. 30 by a score of 50-38.
Staunton improves to 16-4 on the season and is 3-0 in the SCC.
The Dogs were led by Moore with 10 points, Sharp with eight, and Graham with seven. Bryce Coalson and Bodner each had four, Lucas Dillon had three, and Isiah Laux had two.
As for as pre-season goals, this was ranked pretty high for the Dogs.
“It was number two,” Laux said. “We went in order. First, was take care of the Christmas tournament; we did that. Next was county. Obviously, the conference tournament is one of your biggest ones, but we just kind of put them in order. This was the second thing on the list, and we accomplished it.”
Two players who have been helping Staunton get it done are Bodner and Sharp. Along with Brantley and Lowis from Piasa, they were both named to the all-tournament team.
“Whatever role you put them in, you know they’re going to excel,” Laux said. “Sharp does all the little things. He’s the type of kid on the team that you’ve got to have. And he also just battles. Nobody plays harder than him.”
“Those two guys are the epitome of what it takes to win a basketball game,” Laux continued on Bodner and Sharp. “It doesn’t matter how many points they score. They’re both capable of having big scoring games, but whatever needs to be done, that’s what they’re going to do to win.”
Piasa falls to 12-10 on the season and is 2-1 in the SCC. They’ll play next at home on Wednesday, Jan. 29 against White Hall-North Greene.
Staunton hosts Granite City on Saturday, Jan. 25.
The conference rematch between the Dogs and Birds is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. in Staunton.