A back-and-forth affair that featured five lead changes highlighted the tournament’s first semifinal game, won by the Farmers of Farmington 45-43 over the Liberty Eagles. Liberty jumped out to a 19-10 lead with 3:27 left in the first half, but Farmington went on a 10-0 run to end the half, up 20-19.
The Eagles won the battle down low, with 30 points in the paint compared to Farmington’s 18. But Farmington shined behind the arc, hitting 7 of their 18 attempts. The second half was full of lead changes and tie scores…but the difference in the game was Farmington’s hot second half shooting. The Farmers shot 9-of-17 for 52.9% in the game’s last two quarters.
Farmington was led by Logan Morse’s 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Riley Embry added in 10 points and a team-high five assists and three steals. Ethan Evans and Keauntrey Barnes each swatted away three blocks.
Liberty’s Eagles also had a pair of double-digit scorers in Devin Klauser (13) and Breiton Klingele (11). Klauser led the game in rebounds with eight and also had three blocks. Breiton Klingele led his team with five assists.
Farmington advances to their second straight tournament title game and will meet the winner of Macomb/Eureka in the 9:30 Championship game (Game 26). Liberty awaits the loser of that game in the 8:00 Game 25.
In the second semifinal game, Eureka’s Hornets buzzed by the Macomb Bombers by a score of 44-31. Eureka started red hot, making their first four shots (including two 3-pointers) and surged to a 12-4 lead and a 17-10 lead at the end of the first. The Hornets would never relinquish the lead in this contest. Hornets sophomore Tyler Heffren scored 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from the 3-point line and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Each team took care of the ball well in this game, as the teams only combined for 16 total turnovers. Eureka scored seven points off of Macomb turnovers, but the Bombers never capitalized off of the Hornet’s nine turnovers. Eureka shot an even 50% from the field and held Macomb to just 32.5%. In a show of the discipline Eureka showed, they only committed five fouls in the contest.
As mentioned, Tyler Heffren scored 25 points…but he also led the game with 10 rebounds and two blocks. Heffren could possibly be on his way to a tournament MVP if voters noticed his fantastic play in this 3-day event. An impressive set of games for the Sophomore’s resume. Trevor Heffren was second on the team, scoring nine points and leading the team with three assists.
The Macomb Bombers were led in scoring by junior guard Connor Watson with 14 points. Caden Mainland pitched in another eight points. Connor Hamm led the Bombers with five rebounds, but did not score. Buckets were at a premium against the stifling Eureka defense.
Eureka (10-3) moves on to the Championship, represented by Game 26. There they will face the Farmington Farmers. Macomb (10-4) will compete in the 3rd place game (Game 25) and match up with the Eagles of Liberty.
Macomb found themselves in the trophy round for first time since the 2014 tournament and just like in that event, they take home the 3rd place hardware. This time the Bombers did it with a win over the Liberty Eagles 54-38. Macomb did it by dominating the glass, securing the basketball (only seven turnovers), and taking advantage of points off of turnovers.
The score was 9-7 before a buzzer-beater 3-point basket was made just inside half-court by Connor Watson to end the first quarter. The Bombers never relinquished the lead. The Eagles couldn’t get anything going offensively, shooting 15-of-43 (34.9%) from the floor in this contest. Macomb actually shot better beyond the arc (8-for-18 for 44%) than they did from inside the arc (9-for-23 for 39%).
The Bombers were led in scoring by a trio of double-digit scorers: Connor Watson (16), Caden Mainland (12), and Connor Hamm (12). Mainland led the game with 14 rebounds as well. Watson had a game-high five assists.
Liberty’s leading scorer was Cannen Wolf with 11 points. Breiton Klingele joined the double-digit scoring with 10 points of his own. Klingele led his team with seven rebounds.
Macomb (11-4) earns 3rd place with the impressive win. Liberty walks away with the 4th place trophy…a nice upgrade from the 5th place they earned in the 2019 event.
The 2021 Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament came to a close with the Eureka Hornets claiming their first ever tournament title by cruising to a 55-30 win over the Farmington Farmers. Eureka had won a tournament trophy two other times before: 4th place in 2012 and Runner-Up in 2018.
A championship looked unlikely as early as Day 1, when Eureka’s Tyler Heffren scored a layup with 35 seconds left in their opening round game to beat Abingdon-Avon by just two points. That scare must’ve awoken the Hornets…because their next three tournament victories were by an average margin of just over 19 points per game.
Eureka scored the game’s first two points with a Slater Wilcox jumper just 13 seconds into the contest. The Hornets – hungry for their first title – would never relinquish that lead. Eureka shot an astonishing 13-of-16 (81.3%) from the floor in the second half. For the entire game, they even shot an impressive 23-for-37 (62.2%), including 5-of-9 from beyond the 3-point line.
Farmington wasn’t getting the same rolls, shooting just 13-for-41 (31.7%) from field goals in the Championship game. The Farmers, down early, were trying to claw their way back in from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get many to fall, shooting just 3-for-17 from 3-point land.
Eureka was led in scoring by three players who turned in double-digit efforts: Tyler Heffren (16 points), Trevor Heffren (14 points), and Slater Wilcox (10 points). Wilcox, along with Tyler Tate led the Hornets in rebounsd with five each. Trevor Heffren led the game with four assists. Both Heffren brothers were named to the All-Tournament Team following the game.
The Farmers’ leading scorer was Corbin Rutledge, who finished with nine points. Logan Morse added eight points. Both Rutledge and Morse were named to the All-Tournament Team after the game. Ethan Evans and Keauntrey Barnes tied with four rebounds, to lead the team.
After the game, Eureka’s Tyler Heffren was honored as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He averaged 20 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, and didn’t miss a free throw in the entire tournament (10-for-10).
***Recaps Courtesy of the Macomb Western Tournament and holidaybasketball.com***
