Landon Hulsing, Bureau Valley open Wally Keller Invite with win over Stark County

KEWANEE – Coach Jason Marquis stepped up to sing the national anthem when the P.A. system wasn’t ready to answer the bell Monday night for the first game of the Wally Keller Invitational at Wethersfield High School.

The rest of the crowd joined in, then his Bureau Valley Storm carried the music the rest of the way to the tune of a 78-50 victory over Stark County.

“I was confident we’d play hard, everything else we were going to find out,” Marquis said. “We made a big point early in the year to value our possessions. I think coaches had us at seven or eight turnovers for the game. That’s a big thing for us to be able to do that, but it all starts with our defense. Thought we gave up a few too many bunnies, little slow on some rotations and out of position inside.”

Storm senior center Landon Hulsing scored a game-high 23 points with sophomore Blake Foster adding 13 and senior Elijah Endress 11.

“We didn’t have that many turnovers, and we were just passing and communicating well, so I think we played well,” Hulsing said. “I would have liked to win by more, obviously, but a win is a win. I think we can bring more the rest of the week, but it’s a good start.”

Hulsing scored six points in the first quarter, Endress had five, and Logan Philhower added four as the Storm built a 19-14 lead at quarter’s end.

Hulsing was just warming up.

The BV big man scored 12 points in the second quarter to power the Storm to a 42-22 halftime lead.

“He’s come a long way. He had six finishes with his left hand, and if I saw him use his left hand six times as a sophomore at the varsity level, I might fall over,” Marquis said. “And for the first time in two or three years, he had a little fire after one of those three-point plays. Good to see him step up in the leadership. Good to see him have some fire. He’s always worked hard, but I think we’ve got that compete in his blood now and I’m proud of him.”

Hulsing couldn’t help but think of one shot he missed.

“I missed one of them that was easy, but other than that all of them were falling,” he said.

The Storm scored 12 straight points to open a 34-18 lead, then got two baskets by Hulsing and a putback by Birkey to close the first half with a 20-point lead.

Sophomore Jake Taylor came off the bench to score all of his eight points in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Wyatt Birkey also finished with eight points.

“I thought all 15 kids, the ones on the floor and the ones who weren’t on the floor, they were engaged. They showed a lot of maturity in terms of being engaged,” Marquis said. “The big message in the locker room was to be a good team, you’ve got to stay hungry. You get fed one meal and you don’t have that hunger anymore. That’s when you end up 1-1.

“The boys are going to enjoy this one. The coaches are going to stay around and scout [Annawan vs. Elmwood].”

Connor Daum led the Rebels with 17 points, and Ross Saner and Dillon Steelman added eight each.

The round-robin tournament runs throughout the week with the Storm playing Annawan on Tuesday and Putnam County on Wednesday, both at 5 p.m. Following a break for Thanksgiving, the Storm will meet the host Flying Geese at 5 p.m. and finish at 3 p.m. Saturday against Elmwood.