CHRISTOPHER - Sesser-Valier's boys basketball team opened the 2009 season with a dominating performance, beating Webber Township, 71-31, in its first game of the 35th annual Christopher Turkey Tournament.

"I thought from top to bottom, 1 to 15, from the starters to the kids on the bench, everybody played hard," Sesser-Valier coach Chip Basso said. "After two weeks of practice, you're never sure where you are at when you finally play your first game. We showed if we do the little things, the wins will take of themselves."

The Red Devils (1-0) will next play Wayne City (1-0) at 7:45 p.m. Friday. Webber Township (0-1) plays Egyptian (0-1) at 6:15 p.m. Friday.

Wayne City beat Egyptian, 51-44, in overtime in the first game. Egyptian had a chance to win the game in regulation, with Rayshaun Woodson at the free-throw line with 4.4 seconds remaining and the score tied at 39, but the senior forward missed both shots.

"Wayne City is a scrappy group," Basso said. "They do the little things right to win basketball games."

Both teams seemed a bit rusty to start the game, missing several shots on both ends until Phillip Bodendieck swished a 3-pointer from left corner to give Webber a 3-0 lead 1:30 into the game.

T.J. Eubanks hit the first of his game-high three 3-pointers 19 seconds later and then gave the Red Devils the lead for good when Kendall Gibson stole the ball and passed it to Eubanks, who made a running layup. Eubanks finished with 13 points.

S-V took a 10-3 lead after Dane Eubanks sank two free throws and followed with the first of his two 3-pointers. The Red Devils then went on a 10-5 run to close out the first period with a 20-8 lead. They extended that lead to 33-13 at the half. The second half simply saw more of the same.

"You have to give them a lot of credit," Webber Township coach Sam Root said. "At the same time, we had six of our top eight making their varsity debut. I told the boys, ‘You are going to face the mountain right off the bat.' Sesser is a big unit who is supposed to do a lot of things, and I think they will."

Center Justin Matyi led all scorers for the Red Devils with 15 points, and Gowler led the Trojans with 11.