Steeleville boys win consolation championship
<span>Nic Hagel scored 24 points and Andrew Grafton added 12, powering Steeleville to a 71-38 win over Thompsonville last Wednesday to clinch the consolation championship of the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament.</span>
<span>"I think it was nice to get all our guys some quality varsity time, especially the last three games," said Steeleville coach Bryce Bainter. "The first game showed us that if we don't come out and rebound and defend, you can get beat."</span>
<span>After a first-round loss to Vienna, which lost to Sesser-Valier in the tournament's fifth-place game, Steeleville (9-4) steamrolled its remaining three opponents by an average of 26.5 points.</span>
<span>"I thought our effort was there the last three games," Bainter said. "It helped that we shot the ball a little better, but we did make an effort to do things better."</span>
<span>Hagel was named to the all-tournament team, and recorded his 1,000th career point in Steeleville's 87-43 win over Century on Dec. 29.</span>
<span>"Right now, he's in a groove," Bainter said. "This is the first time since his sophomore year that he's been healthy at this point of the year.</span>
<span>"Last year, he battled through some injuries and he's not only our leading scorer, but our leading rebounder and has become a pretty good post defender."</span>
<span>Bainter also touched on the achievement of reaching 1,000 career points.</span>
<span>"He reached 1,000 points, which for anyone is a great accomplishment," Bainter said. "He's put in the time and effort to reach that, so I'm happy for him."</span>
<span>Against Thompsonville, Steeleville took a 23-8 lead into the second quarter and went to the locker room at halftime with a 43-18 advantage.</span>
<span>Owen Gross also contributed 11 points and Dusty Sutton chipped in eight for the Warriors, who begin the second half of their season on Friday against Lebanon in Steeleville.</span>
<span>Woodlawn won its sixth straight tournament championship on Dec. 30, defeating Christopher 69-62.</span>
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