 02/11/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
BENTON – When you have multiple offensive weapons, opposing
teams will have a very difficult time defending you.
The Benton
Rangers found that out on Tuesday night when they hosted Nashville
in a key SIRR Mississippi Division battle.
The Hornets
got off to a great start offensively and had eight different
players hit key shots.
Despite
11 second half turnovers, the Hornets did enough late to secure
an important 53-45 victory over the Rangers at Rich Herrin Gym.
The triumph
marked the third consecutive conference road victory for Coach
Stote Reeder's team and they have momentum building towards
important contests the remainder of the season.
Nashville
will host Pinckneyville on Friday night in a game that should
determine the champion in this “rough-and-tumble”
conference race.
“Three-in-a-row
conference wins, two of them (Pinckneyville, Benton) are really
big. We showed toughness tonight. They trapped us in the second
half but we made enough plays,” said Coach Reeder. “Each
time they (Benton) would make a run, we would go get a basket.
We attacked their pressure the way we needed to. We keep preaching
'mental toughness'.”
The loss
for Coach Ron Winemiller's club broke a five-game winning streak
and dropped the Rangers to 23-3 on the season, 6-2 in the Mississippi.
Nashville
is now 7-1 on the season in the division as they avenged a 43-27
loss to Benton back on January 3.
Nashville
put together a dominant second quarter and survived all comeback
attempts by the hosts to get the victory.
Most
of the damage inflicted by the visitors on Tuesday night came
from long range.
The Hornets
nailed down 9-of-17 shots from beyond the 3-point line, three
of which occurred during a 15-7 second quarter which gave Nashville
a 28-15 halftime advantage.
Junior
forward Maddox Ritzel came up big for Nashville, leading the
scoring with 14-points.
The 6-3
Ritzel nailed down two of the Hornets' 20-footers, both in the
first half.
“He
(Ritzel) was fantastic tonight. He's in the conversation of
the best player in southern Illinois,” said Coach Reeder.
“I'm proud of him.”
Six-seven
senior Parker Schoenberg scored 13 for Nashville and senior
guard Ty Schoenherr added eight-points.
Schoenherr
and Ritzel canned back-to-back 3-pointers to close the first
quarter, turning an 8-7 Benton advantage into a 13-8 Hornets
lead.
Six-six
junior Nolan Schafer netted 18-points for Benton while Docker
Tedeschi, a 6-9 senior, added 16-points and nine-rebounds.
Both
hit key shots early in the contest, with Schafer scoring on
a rebound basket for the Rangers' final lead.
Closing
the first quarter and into the second, Nashville put together
an 11-2 run with both Ritzel and Schoenberg nailing down 3-pointers.
Senior
Brance Luessenheide added a 3-pointer and a drive inside and
the backbreaking long range shots by Schoenherr and Ritzel made
it a 13-point halftime lead.
“They
(Nashville) had some guys making shots and that's what we were
giving up,” said Coach Winemiller. “Schoenherr is
playing with so much more confidence than when we played them
up there.”
(CONTINUED) |
Benton
managed to rally to get close during the third quarter.