02-26-18
BY JACK BULLOCK
2A SECTIONAL PREVIEWS
Last week ABV previewed the 1A Regionals.

Now it's time to take a quick look at the 2A teams who are still alive in the chase for a trip to Carver Arena.

The two sectionals that feed into the 2A Carbondale Supersectional are loaded with top-seeded teams, all with a chance to get to Peoria for the state finals.

In fact all eight of the teams who reached the Robinson and Wesclin Sectionals were the top-seeded teams in their respective regionals that they won last Friday.

All sport impressive resumes and seven of the eight have won 20+ games.

The combined won-loss record of the eight teams remaining is 194-46 (.816 win percentage).

ROBINSON 2A SECTIONAL

The Eldorado Eagles are making their second consecutive sectional trip after besting Black Diamond Conference rival Carmi-White County 51-30 to win the Fairfield Regional.

After narrowly defeating the Bulldogs in two previous meetings, Eldorado left no doubt in the win Friday night.

Head coach Josh Bradley and his Eagles sport the best record of the final eight teams remaining at 29-2.

Eldorado won all three of its regular season tournaments (Vienna, Eldorado, West Frankfort) and the lone defeats came to 3A teams Murphysboro and Massac County.

Wins this season include a sweep of the BDC East Division along with triumphs over 2A regional winners Anna-Jonesboro and Mt. Carmel; Harrisburg, 1A ABV top-ranked Cairo along with West Frankfort (2).

Braden Attebury is a 6-foot-4 senior who produced a career-best 29-points in the regional semifinal win over Fairfield.

Kale Oglesby, a 5-foot-9 senior, 6-foot-3 senior John Meredith and 6-foot-4 senior Jake Traxler are all capable of leading the Eagles in scoring on any given night.

Ray May, who is a 6-foot-3 senior, is another of the weapons for the Eagles.

Six-foot-three junior Joe Mayberry adds minutes and points for a team in search of their first sectional championship in boy's basketball since they won three straight on their way to three consecutive supersectional titles in 1975-77.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes are back into the sectional after taking care of Casey-Westfield on the road Friday night to win the 2A regional on the Warriors' home court.

Coach Jason Hanson got balanced scoring in their 53-42 win, with four players in double-digits in scoring.

Six-foot-five senior Eric Kremer scored 10-points and snagged 12-rebounds in the victory while teammate 6-foot-4 junior Dawson Smith added 11-points and also 12-rebounds as they dominated the stats in the victory.

Clint Weber, a 6-foot-6 junior, tossed in 10-points and grabbed 10-rebounds as they owned the inside.

Lee Hardiek, a 6-foot-1 senior, added 10-points for the 21-8 Wooden Shoes who play arguably the toughest Deep South independent schedule.

Had Teutopolis hit free throws better (15-of-28) a blowout would have occurred.

The 'Shoes won the Lawrence County Capital Classic and also have wins this season over Chicago Brooks and Effingham.

Some of the losses were to good teams; among them were Bloomington Central Catholic, St. Joseph-Ogden and 3A power Danville.

The story for the Mount Carmel Golden Aces has been the late season return of 6-foot-7 senior Jackson Marcotte who is back after suffering an ACL injury last spring.

The University of Wyoming football recruit, was last season's ABV 2A Player of the Year as he helped lead the Aces to a second place finish in the 2A state finals.

His return has been a big shot in the arm for a program that did more than just tread water until the Marcotte returned.

Brayden Stipp, a 6-foot-1 senior, has led this team to some quality wins during the regular season.

Juniors Bret Doan and Austin Rager have also been important in the 18-11 regional championship season.

Stipp and Rager scored 13 and 12 points respectively as they held off Harrisburg in the regional championship game on Friday night, 51-49.

Playing well at the end of the season while getting Marcotte back in the lineup the Aces have a shot at a return trip to Peoria.

The Aces are 12-4 against Illinois teams, included in that record is a 72-70 overtime loss to Teutopolis in the title game at the Lawrence County Capital Classic on November 25.

The Effingham St. Anthony Bulldogs are trying to do something no other boy's basketball team has ever done.

The Bulldogs won the 1A boy's basketball championship last March but were bumped up a class by the IHSA “success factor” and are now in 2A.

No one has ever won titles in two different classes in consecutive seasons.

But moving up hasn't dampened the hopes of Coach Cody Rincker and the Bulldogs as they won a 2A regional title on Friday night.

They topped Shelbyville, 71-58, to win the Vandalia Regional.

This veteran team lost just one senior from a season ago and have carried the winning ways into the sectional.

The Bulldogs have lost just three games this season, to Highland, Dieterich and Casey-Westfield while they have wins over Teutopolis, Effingham, Breese Mater Dei, Newton, Olney Richland and Marshall.

The won both the Vandalia Holiday Tournament and the National Trail Conference Tournament.

At the NTC they got revenge on Dieterich in the title game.

All five of the starters and some kids off of the bench all played on the Carver Arena floor last year and they would collectively like another shot at the Final Four.

Cade Walsh is a 5-foot-11 senior point guard who runs things on the floor for Coach Rincker.

Adam Levitt, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, is a top scoring threat for the Bulldogs

Six-foot-two senior Alex Deters, 6-foot-2 senior forward and 6-foot-3 senior Alex Beesley are all veterans along with 6-foot-2 senior Jack Nuxoll.

Six-foot-five senior Brandon Runge and 6-foot-5 senior Wyatt Lawrence, along with juniors 6-foot-2 Luke Ludwig and 5-foot-9 Quinton Milleville provide a lot of minutes and production on a deep, talented squad.

Levitt scored 20-points while Walsh, Deters and Nuxoll added 15, 13 and 10 in the victory over the Rams.

TRENTON-WESCLIN 2A SECTIONAL

The Trenton-Wesclin Warriors got to the sectional with a win over Piasa Southwestern to take home the regional title at East Alton-Wood River.

Coach Brent Brede has five veteran players (four seniors and a junior) who have put a lot of minutes on the log in the past three seasons.

The Warriors are 25-4 on the year after the 45-37 victory over Piasa on Friday night as

Hunter Ottensmeier, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, is tops on the scoring parade for the balanced attack in Orange and Black.

Ottensmeier has averaged 14.3 points a night for the Warriors with 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Junior forward Nate Brede, the coaches' son, is a 6-foot-6 forward who has 12.7 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds.

Brandon Courtney, a 6-foot-3 senior, is at 10.3 points and 6-foot-3 senior Mick Stephens adds 7.6 points a contest on average.

Six-foot-two senior Justin Kellogg chips in just over seven-points a game for the Warriors.

Six-foot-one senior Blake Rakers comes in off of the bench for Coach Brede's bunch.

The Warriors are dangerous from the arc, as they have five players who are all over 30 percent from 20-feet.

The Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats and head coach Mike Chamness haven't had much recent postseason success but they took home their first regional title since 2004 with a 54-51 win over Chester at the Johnston City 2A Regional on Friday night.

Coach Chamness was a guard on the last regional championship team 14 years ago and his club is 23-8, which is a school record for wins.

Jake Parr, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, has been the top gun on this team for the past two seasons.

In the Wildcats' regional wins, Parr scored 25 points in each, hitting the game winner in the victory over West Frankfort in the semifinals and a pair of big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of the victory in the title game.

Five-foot-eleven senior guard Sheldon McGrath and 6-foot-4 senior Logan Sawyer have also contributed to the 2017-18 success.

The Wildcats have some good wins on the resume with victories over 3A Benton, 1A regional winner Goreville, West Frankfort three times and Du Quoin twice.

Anna-Jonesboro won the Goreville Invitational Tournament, finished third at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament and fourth at the West Frankfort Mid-Winter Classic.

The losses were to Nashville (2) and Pinckneyville (2), Massac County, Harrisburg, Eldorado and Marion.

The Pinckneyville Panthers once again are one of the favorites to reach Peoria.

Coach Bob Waggoner has his team playing well at the right time, with a prime example of this play coming on Friday night in a 73-33 mauling of Waterloo Gibault to win their own 2A Regional title.

The 28-3 Panthers are led by senior guards J.C. Moll and Grant Jausel.

The 5-foot-10 Moll has proven he can not only run the offense but he can put up big scoring numbers.

He scored 27-points on Friday night in the regional rout.

Jausel is a 6-foot-2 lefty that can do a lot of things offensively that makes him a match up problem.

In the middle is 6-foot-6 senior Tanner Spihlmann who gives Pinckneyville size and strength in the paint.

Kyle Luke, a 6-foot-2 senior, 6-foot-1 sophomore Dawson Yates and 6-foot-1 senior Tyler Rice are have been important to their success.

Devin Kitchen, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, brings important minutes and production to table and he is able to “sink” 3-pointers when needed.

Pinckneyville went 10-0 in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division and also posted some really strong wins.

The won the Carlyle Kaskaskian Classic title early in the season, took home third in their own Holiday Tournament and then tied for the title at the Benton Invitational Tournament championship.

The three losses came to 3A Benton in the semifinals at home in the Duster Thomas Hoops Classic at Christmas time and also a defeat to Missouri power Whitfield at the O'Fallon Panther Shootout.

Mounds Meridian was the other loss in double-overtime at the BIT.

The Nashville Hornets took home the Staunton 2A Regional title on Friday night by topping the Hillsboro Hiltoppers, 60-51.

Coach Wayne Harre has his Hornets in the same spot as they were a year ago.

Nashville will tangle in the sectional semifinal with Pinckneyville, the same team that they defeated last season at home.

Pinckneyville owns two narrow wins over the Hornets this season, which was the outcome last season.

If the Hornets are going to do it again to the Panthers they will need great games from their two top scorers; Bryce Bultman and Carson Parker.

Both are averaging double-figures in scoring and both scored 20-points in the win over Hillsboro.

Nashville is 23-7 on the season and they have two wins over Anna-Jonesboro and an early season loss to Trenton-Wesclin at the Mascoutah Tournament against the teams remaining.

They also have wins over 3A teams Benton, Columbia, Mascoutah, Breese Mater Dei and Breese Central and they shouldn't be counted out or overlooked.