A battle of two seeded teams turned south early in the first half as the Hornets shot well and knocked off the previously unbeaten Southeastern Suns by a score of 56-25. Southeastern led by 2 with 7:33 left in the first quarter, but that was the last time they would have the lead. Eureka led 13-6 after the first quarter and Southeastern was left backpedaling for the rest of the game. Southeastern tried to come back with threes, but they just weren’t falling. The Suns shot just 2-for-18 behind the three point arc for the game.
Eureka (9-3) was led in scoring once again by Tyler Heffren’s 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Tyler Tate added 14 points and a team-high in both rebounds (six) and assists (four).
Southeastern (12-1) falls for the first time this season. Danny Stephens did what he could, leading his team in both points (20) and rebounds (six) in an effort that added to his tournament resume where an All-Tournament selection is essentially guaranteed. Only two other players scored for the Suns. Josh Kaltenbach scored three points off the bench and Aiden Akers added two points.
Eureka advances to the Championship game to defend their own title that they earned in last year’s tournament. They will face the Illini Bluffs Tigers, who knocked off Camp Point Central in their semifinal. That game will be held tonight at 9:30 in Game 26. Southeastern will battle the aforementioned Camp Point Central Panthers in the 3rd place, to be held at 8:00 in Game 25.
Box Score
Eureka Info
Southeastern Info
Chris Derry
December 30, 2022
