July 15, 2013
By Morgan Wenger
Tournament Director

Twenty one teams made up the four youth divisions in the 2013 Dawg Days Basketball Tournament. After several hotly contested games, four champions were crowned. Hiland took home the championships in the High School and Junior Divisions, the Golden Eagles won the Biddy Ball Division, and the Wooster Heat captured the Puppy Division crown.

The Biddy Ball Division was the most competitive division a year ago, and proved much the same this year. With every team having a realistic chance to win every game, each possession was important all day long. Hiland, although competitive, was unable to win a game during pool play. After a tournament win against the Future All Americans, they found themselves in the championship game against the Golden Eagles. Alex Oaks scored 14 points to lead the Golden Eagles to a 30-24 championship game win. Oaks led his squad in scoring with 9.8 ppg during the tournament. Chase Wells led Hiland with 7.6 ppg. The Future All Americans were led by Calvin Blair's 12.5 ppg while Jacob Reed led Da Bomb Squad with 11 ppg.

The WC Ballers were the only high school team to escape pool play with an unblemished record. This meant little to Hiland though, as they stormed out of the gates and beat the WC Ballers 30-16 in the second round of the tournament. This impressive win came after Hiland narrowly escaped against The Men Of Steel 30-27. The Titans defeated Kidron and the Rim Rockers to advance to the championship game against Hiland. After playing several close games during the tournament, Hiland dominated from start to finish in the title game and won 30-6. Todd Ropp led the way for Hiland with 12 points in the final game. Brady Schlabach led Hiland on the day with 11.7 ppg. Other leading scorers in the division included Tre'zhar Allen (Men Of Steel 13.0 ppg), Ben Kick (Kidron 10.8 ppg), Kalub Beatty (Wooster 12.8 ppg), and Peyton Bennington (WC Ballers 11.0 ppg).

The most dominant team in the 2013 tournament was Hiland's team in the Junior Division. They were never seriously challenged on their way to the division title. Chance Wells led the way for the Hiland squad with 13.8 ppg. Wells was able to dominate the game against every team. The Tropics lost the championship game against Hiland 30-23. Ezra Miller led the Tropics with 10.3 ppg. Other leading scorers in the division were Zach Geiser (Kidron 12.8 ppg) and Jalen Wenger (Details 12.8 ppg).

The most dramatic finish of the tournament came in the Puppy Division as Jack Williams hit a short jump shot to give the Wooster Heat a thrilling 30-28 comeback victory against Details in the championship game. The Wooster Heat finished the day 5-0. They were led in scoring by Jack Williams' 11.6 ppg. Other leading scorers in the division were Jalen Wenger (Details 16.7 ppg), Braylon Wenger (Details 10.3 ppg), and Jack Steiner (Bulldogs 10.0 ppg).

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