The script couldn’t of been any better for Centralia. The Orphans locked up with arch rival Mt Vernon for the championship of the 73rd annual Salem Invitational Tournament in front of a capacity crowd at B.E. Gum. The Orphans avenged an earlier loss this season with a 44-32 victory. Centralia trailed 13-7 after the opening quarter but then outscored the Rams 38-19 over the final three quarters to earn the program’s 23rd SIT championship. The Orphans were led by Dustyn Collins who finished with 20 points. Michael Organ hit a pair of big 3’s in the second quarter as the Orphans were mounting their comeback and finished with 8. Scott Steward Tournament MVP Archie Goewey added 7. Archie becomes the first freshman to ever win the SIT MVP, as he was when he took the honor at the Centralia Holiday Tournament. Brogan Holloway scored 12 to lead Mt Vernon. The win is Centralia’s 2400th in program history.
Joining Goewey on the 1st Team All Tournament were the Rams Cale Mauer and Dave Barnes along with Alex Kremer of TTown and Chris Bush of Champaign Central. 2nd Team went to Collins, Salem’s Noah Nix, Jaxon Marlow-Evans of Carbondale, Mt Vernon’s Trevor McClure and Luke Swanson of Champaign.
