For the second straight season, Pacific sophomore guard Cullen VanLeer was named the MVP of the Owensville Boys Basketball Tournament.
VanLeer led the Indians to their second straight championship, defeating Sullivan last Saturday in the title game, 53-20.
In Pacific’s three tournament games, VanLeer scored a total of 56 points, averaging 18.6 points per game.
“It was a team effort. Everybody contributed. Zeth (Boyer) had 16 points in our first game. Tanner (Brown) had 18 in our second game,” VanLeer said. “We came here thinking we were going to win every time. I have high hopes for this team.”
The second straight MVP award made John VanLeer a proud father and coach.
“It feels pretty good. Cullen has worked hard at it. Being coach and dad, it’s pretty neat,” John VanLeer said. “I try to keep it in perspective. He’s pretty humble and that’s a good thing about him.”
First-team all-tournament selections were Sullivan’s Justin Biermann and Seth Mesey, Hermann’s Craig Winkelmann, Cuba’s Kody Ettinger and Linn’s Sam Vogel.
Named to the second team were Pacific’s Zeth Boyer and Tanner Brown, Sullivan’s Adam Weiland, Cuba’s Ryan Bouse and Salem’s Chad Elliott.
Sullivan’s Joe Lochner was given the sixth man award.
