Jr. Hornets Win Okawville Tournament
The NMS eighth grade basketball team began the season with a perfect 3-0 record as they won the Okawville Tournament, which was held between October 24 and October 28. The Jr. Hornets defeated Valmeyer and Damiansville/Albers in pool play before defeating Wolf Branch in the Championship game. The Jr. Hornets won each game easily in the tournament, as each game was decided by at least 20 points.
Nashville got the tournament underway with a 50-18 win over Valmeyer on October 24. A four point game at the end of the first quarter, the Jr. Hornets broke the game open before halftime, out scoring Valmeyer 11-5 in the second quarter to take a 20-10 halftime lead. The Jr. Hornets continued to pour it on in the second half, as their lead ballooned to 23 points going into the final stanza. In the fourth, Nashville was able to cruise to an easy victory.
Leading the way for Nashville was Jaxon Goforth with 14 points. Preston Dagner added eight points in the win, followed by Cole Malawy with seven points. Camden Ritzel finished with six points, Gavin Baldwin with five points and Kolten Gajewski with four points. Will Barczewski, Ian Blazier, and Michael Combs each had two points to round out the scoring.
The Jr. Hornets next game in the tournament, was against Damiansville-Albers. Nashville again was able to use a big second quarter to lift them to a 44-20 victory. Damiansville-
Albers kept the game close in the first, as they were only down two points, but Nashville came out on fire in the second, outscoring Damiansville-Albers 15-6 to take a 11 point lead into halftime. The defense stepped up in the second half, as Damiansville-Albers only scored six points total in the second half.
Dagner led Nashville in the win with 12 points. Goforth added nine points, followed by Baldwin with eight points. Gajewski finished with four points, while Ritzel, and Nolan Heggemeier each had three points. Combs finished with two points to round out the scoring.
Nashville then moved on to the Championship game against Wolf Branch on October 28. The Jr. Hornets used a huge second half to pull away on their way to a 48-25 victory. The Jr. Hornets jumped out to an eight point lead after the first quarter, but Wolf Branch was able to cut the lead to four going into the second half of the game. The second half belonged to Nashville, as they gave up just seven points total, breaking the game open. Nashville outscored Wolf Branch 10-3 in the third quarter, and 16-4 in the final stanza winning the tournament.
Goforth led Nashville with 23 points in the game. Ritzel and Dagner each finished with eight points, while Baldwin finished with seven points in the win. Malawy added two points to round out the scoring for the Jr. Hornets.
Nashville's record stands at 3-0 on the season.
