Delphi 8th wins White County Tournament

Tournament champions Delphi 8th grade boys' basketball team won the annual White County Tournament played at Chalmers on Saturday. The Oracles defeated the host Frontier team 51-47 in the championship game. Team members pictured are (l-r): Front - Tyler Smith, Cody Murray, Austin Hawn, Michael Rogers, Clay Maxfield and Dustin Salyer. Middle - Dayton Rumell, Brad Roth, Jesus Olivas, Jing Guo, Nick Zink and Shane Hyman. Back - Cheerleaders Courtney Hodge and Heather Reece, Jordan Wagner, Coach Dan LePage, Jason Stewart, Coach Charlie Harris and cheerleaders Taylor Flora and Ashley Dirbas. Photo provided

Delphi's 8th grade boys' basketball team captured the White County Tournament on Saturday, defeating the host team, Frontier, 51-47 in the championship game.

The Oracles earlier had defeated North White in the opening round game by a score of 38-29. The Falcons earned their berth into the championship by beating Tri-County in the other morning session.

In the second quarter of the championship, Delphi overcame a 10-7 first quarter deficit to change the momentum of the game and tie the score at 21 apiece at the half.

Led by inspired, full-court defensive pressure, the Oracles forced several Falcon turnovers in the third quarter that led to a flurry of lay-ups in transition to take a 42-32 lead at the end of three periods.

Frontier was able to narrow the gap in the final quarter, but could not get any closer than the fourpoint margin of victory.

Delphi's Dustin Salyer was a force on the inside and on the press, leading the Oracles with 29 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Austin Hawn and Michael Rogers each added four steals and four assists apiece, many during the key third quarter spurt.

Hawn finished with nine points, Rogers added seven and Tyler Smith chipped in with six off the bench.

Vs. North White

In the early game, Delphi trailed 14-12 at halftime, but outscored the Vikings 26-15 in the second half to take control of the contest.

Hawn led the Oracles with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Salyer added 12 points and six rebounds.

Rogers again added four steals to go along with his four points, and Cody Murray also played a solid game defensively, finishing with four steals.

Vs. Carroll

Against Carroll Monday night, Delphi took command of the game early and led 28-10 at halftime, allowing both teams to use all of their benches by mid-third quarter.

Rogers converted many of his five steals into several transition lay-ups to lead the team in scoring with 15. Hawn added 10 points and four rebounds, while Salyer led with five rebounds and eight steals to go along with his nine points.

Jordan Tooley led the Cougars with eight points.