The 79th Annual Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament got into full swing Saturday as the topfour seeds were all victorious.
Macomb High was also a victor, while Bushnell-Prairie City dropped its opening round match.
MHS got 11 points from Carter Havens and 10 points from Drew Watson to pace the Bombers who needed a late surge to get past Peoria Christian 45-37.
MHS withstood three first quarter treys from the Chargers to take a 14-11 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Bombers matched their largest lead of the first half after a Watson basket made it 21-13 with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
But Peoria Christian would finish the half on a 6-2 spurt to trail only 23-19 at halftime.
The Chargers continued their surge in the third quarter as a Miles Zimmerman trey capped a 9-2 run to give PC its first lead since early in the contest at 28-27.
Havens drilled a threepointer late in the quarter to tie the score at 32-all before Zimmerman scored underneath at the buzzer to give the Chargers a 34-32 lead going into the final period.
Peoria Christian led 36-33 before Isaac Leinbach hit a trey to tie the score at 36-36. The Bombers’ defense took over from there as they held the Chargers to only one free throw over the final six minutes to secure the win.
“We talked in the pregame that they were very evenly matched and it usually came down to the team who was willing to make the winning plays,” said MHS head coach Jeremy Anderson. “I thought in the fourth quarter, we made those winning type plays. I think that was the difference in the game.”
Jacob Walton led Peoria Christian (5-5) with nine points.
MHS won the rebound battle by a 34-25 margin as Nolan Hoge hauled down 12 to pace the Bombers. He also added six points and four steals.
Leinbach and Nick Elbe added seven points each, while Kellen Martin scored four points.
Watson also had five assists, while Leinbach added two assists and two steals.
MHS (8-4) was scheduled to face third-seed Abingdon- Avon in round two action Monday.
The Bombers looked to avenge an earlier 46-41 loss to the Tornadoes at the B-PC Tourney last month.
B-PC (2-9) never led in its opening round contest as second-seed Brown County pulled away early and went on to a 57-21 win over the Spartans.
Brown County raced out to a 24-5 lead after the first quarter and led 41-13 at halftime.
De’Arion Ruffin-Thomas led B-PC (2-9) with eight points.
Braylon Griffitts was next with six points, followed by Logan Ash with three points. Connor Palm and Thomas Anderson chipped in two points apiece.
Brown County (7-1) had four players finish in double figures, led by Michael Kassing’s 14.
The Spartans were set to face Monmouth-Roseville Monday afternoon in consolation round action.
In other contests, topseed West Hancock survived a scare from Farmington before edging past the Farmers 43-39 while number-four seed Eureka needed a putback basket at the buzzer to escape past Camp Point Central 47-45.
Other action saw Mercer County down Liberty 62-55, Canton ran past defending champion Rockridge 52-31, Abingdon-Avon defeated Pittsfield 55-33 and Illini West needed a strong half to beat Monmouth-Roseville 52-28.
