Cobden ends regional title drought with win over Cairo

It had been 56 years since the Cobden High School boys’ basketball team won regional basketball tournament title.

But that came to an end as the Appleknockers held on for a 55-43 win over Cairo to claim the Class 1A regional championship hosted by Cobden  Friday night, Feb. 28.

“We definitely had a home court advantage,” Cobden head coach Wendell Wheeler said.
“It was a good win for the community.”

The community came out in droves in the packed gymnasium and every seat was taken. Fans arriving late at the game, if they wanted to remain, had to stand in the lobby and view the game through the open doors.

“We put in a lot of hard work this season,” Wheeler said. “It’s good to see it pay off.”

Cobden’s Joe Brumleve opened the game with a basket. Cairo's Riko Nelson countered with a 3-pointer for the only lead for the Pilots in the game at 3-2.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Dylan Lewey boosted Cobden to a 10-3 early lead.

Brumleve scored again to close out the quarter and the Appleknockers were ahead 12-9 after one quarter.

Noah Franklin added a 3-pointer early in the next quarter and Brumleve and Tyler Franklin scored a basket apiece to close out the scoring and boost Cobden to a 21-15 first half lead.

Brumleve scored the first 5 points to open the second half and brought the crowd to its feet with a slam dunk later in the quarter. A free throw by Brumleve then closed out the scoring as the Appleknockers pulled ahead 35-25 going into the final quarter.

Tyler Franklin made a 3-pointer in the last quarter and Cobden took over at the free line to score eight consecutive points to hold off the Pilots, who fouled a lot late in the game trying to catch up.

Brumleve led the way for Cobden with 26 points, 7 rebounds and a blocked shot.

Noah Franklin added 12 points and 6 rebounds. Lewey had 7 points and Tyler Franklin had 6 points and 4 rebounds. Alex Remsey and Jose Lopez had 2 points apiece.

“We’re on a nice little run right now,” Wheeler said. “A lot of good things are happening for us.”

The Appleknockers, 24-8, with the regional title have now won nine consecutive games.

Cobden was to have played earlier Tuesday in the Class 1A Norris City/Omaha sectional against Woodlawn, which won the Edwardsville regional with a 52-32 win over Wayne City.

Cobden Defeats Century

Tyler Franklin scored a basket to open the game and the Cobden High School boys’ basketball team never trailed again on its way to a 66-47 win over Century in the first round of the Class 1A regional hosted by the Appleknockers’ Wednesday, Feb. 26.

“That was a good win,” Cobden coach Wendell Wheeler said. “We played pretty well.”

Tyler Franklin’s older brother, Noah Franklin, closed out the first quarter with another basket to give Cobden a 15-9 lead.

Dylan Lewey started the second quarter with a basket and Joe Brumleve scored to close out the frame as the Appleknockers built a 26-18 halftime lead.

Noah Franklin had a slam dunk early in the third quarter and Alex Remsey followed with a pair of 3-pointers as Cobden built a 48-35 lead at the end of the three quarters.

Early in the final quarter, Brumleve fired up the crowd with a slam dunk and Noah Franklin followed with a 3-pointer. The Appleknockers made six consecutive free throws to close out the contest.

Noah Franklin led Cobden with 28 points and 7 rebounds. 

Brumleve added 20 points and 9 rebounds. Lewey and Alex Remsey had 6 points apiece, Tyler Franklin 3, Sipriano Zamora 2 and Drake Campbell 1.