Round 2 – After drawing a bye in the 1st round, The Italy Gladiators JV Boys knock-off the Rice Bulldogs. Italy jumped out to an early 15-2 lead over Rice and cruised to a 29-10 lead by halftime.

Halftime

Italy outscored the Bulldogs 15-9 in the 3rd period to take a 46-19 lead into the final period.

Thanks to the efforts of #5 Colton Campbell, #50 Kyle Wilkins, #4 Jase Holden and #20 Ryan Ashcraft, Italy went on to secure an opportunity to compete for the Tournament Championship. After #13 Larry Mayberry finished off the Bulldogs with a thunderous block, Italy had accomplished it’s 2nd round goal by defeating Rice 59-29.

Italy High Scorer:
5-Colton Campbell, 15-points

Rice High Scorer:
30-Thomas Phillip, 12-points

Championship Game

This was like watching a ballgame in the wild, wild West and Italy came out firing away. A hustling #21 Ethan Saxon set the pace for the Italy Gladiators JV as they traded shots back-and-forth with the Blooming Grove Lions in the 1st period. The ferocious Lions were no push over thanks to their muscle in the middle #21 P. Owen. However, Italy would take a 16-11 lead into the 2nd period over their long-time rivals, and the range war was on.

Italy’s sharp shooter #5 Colton Campbell wasted no time in this one. Campbell would put in 23-points before games end including four 3-pointers. By the end of the 3rd, Italy was starting to pull away 34-21 as the town folk were getting riled.

Halftime

Holden and Campbell are becoming Coach Mayberry’s two pistols with good accuracy and hair triggers. Big #50 Kyle Wilkins is more like Coach Mayberry’s shotgun since he’s such a blast to watch around the boards. And when Coach Mayberry needs to reload his arsenal, he slides in #13 Larry Mayberry, #33 Bobby Wilson, #11 Brandon Souder, #10 Devonta Simmons, #2 Jackson or his derringer #1 Garcia so he can fire-off a few rounds.

Italy’s #20 Ryan Ashcraft and #3 Sephus give Coach Mayberry rapid fire power allowing the Gladiators JV to defend its domestead with relative ease. Although the duel seemed evenly matched, Italy hit its target more times than Blooming Grove and the Gladiators JV had a 48-28 lead going into the final showdown.

Oh there were a few ricochets, but overall Coach Mayberry’s posse took out Blooming Grove with pin-point accuracy. After the dust settled, Italy had won the challenge 69-37 and Coach Larry “The Law” Mayberry cleaned off his spectacles.

Italy’s #4 Jase Holden had this to say of his squad’s performance in the big game, “We just played great team ball, especially on defense. I’m really proud of our team.”

Italy High Scorers:
5-Colton Campbell, 23-points
50-Kyle Wilkins, 12-points
4-Jase Holden, 6-points
20-Ryan Ashcraft, 5-points

Blooming Grove High Scorers:
21-P. Owen, 12-points
2-Q. johnson, 9-points