01-14-13
BY JACK BULLOCK
BENTON – Heading into the Benton Invitational Tournament, the Carlyle Indians got one of their key players back after missing 13-games due to injury.

Matt Hilmes, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, left a big void in the middle of the Indians frontcourt after breaking his hand in an early season game against Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.

His return to the paint paid dividends on Monday night.

Hilmes' inside efforts complimented the outside shooting of senior guard Cody Huels.

The inside-outside attack from Carlyle, and a defensive effort that forced Okawville into a tough offensive night, was a combination that produced a 47-40 come-from-behind win in the opening game of the 40th annual BIT.

Huels netted 17-points for Coach Andy Palmer's Tribe while Hilmes got loose inside for 13-points.

Trailing early in the game, this duo got the Indians into a better flow offensively in the second half and their defensive effort forced a poor shooting night by the normally hot shooting Rockets.

Okawville led 21-8 midway through the second quarter only to witness the rally from Carlyle.

“It's a good win. We battled back down 21-8 and it didn't look good but our kids kept working,” said Coach Palmer. “Cody hit some big 3's for us and it is good the have Matt back in there, too. He gives a threat in the post. We didn't know exactly what to expect tonight from him (Hilmes) because he hadn't had any real contact. He has been shooting the ball and he has been running to stay in shape, but the physical contact was a question. But he came back and gave us what we needed.”

The Rockets were topped by Jacob Brammeier and Jeremy Weeke with 11-points each.

But Coach Jon Kraus' normally offensively effective crew struggled on Monday night, hitting just 15-of-40 shot attempts, and just 3-of-19 from behind the 3-point line.

Okawville also committed 15-turnovers, including four in the fourth quarter to help stop their potential rally.

The Rockets appeared to be headed for an easy opening night victory, thanks to a 9-0 sprint to begin the second quarter, six of which came from Weeke.

The 6-foot-4 senior guard, who had missed three games due to a sprained ankle that was initially thought to be a broken bone in his foot, scored six of those points.

Weeke grabbed a rebound for a score to begin the run and then he produced a pair of nice moves while posting up near the basket.

When sophomore Nick Strubhart nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner with 4:13 left before that half, the Rockets were blazing at 21-8.

“The first quarter was horrible. We were still on the bus or something. We had no energy about us on either end of the floor. I tried to get on them (the team) a little bit and told them to play with a little bit of pride and get their energy up,” Coach Palmer added. “We are at our best when we can get up and down the floor. We got some buckets in transition and were able to get a lead.”

But at this point Carlyle began to get that Huels/Hilmes combination going.

Hilmes netted a pair of shots and his steal and fast break lay in got Carlyle back into the contest.

A couple of 3-pointers by Huels and yet another Hilmes score in the final seconds (15-2 run) closed the gap to just 24-23 at the break.

“He (Hilmes) is a very good player and we knew that coming in,” said Coach Kraus. “He's a tough kid and we played against him last year, he has played against us since he was a freshman. He took us on the blocks a few times. And Huels made some big shots.”

While the Rockets got off to a great start, their second and third quarter problems kept them from keeping the lead.

Carlyle, after having just one lead (4-2) in the early moments of the contest, got the advantage back for keeps with a strong defensive stand in the third frame by forcing some bad shots and four additional turnovers by Okawville.

The Rockets added to their issues by missing four-consecutive free throws while Carlyle was making its move.

The Indians took advantage and control with a 7-0 run to close the frame.

Back-to-back scores off of miscues by Okawville got the rally started.

Carlyle's 6-foot-2 junior forward John Becker was the benefactor by converting a pair of fast break scores.

His second lay in forced an Okawville stoppage at 30-29 Carlyle with 4:56 left.

Conner Obermeier and Weeke combined to miss those four freebies and when Huels made his third of four 3-point shots, this one from the right wing, the Indians had grabbed the momentum at 33-29 heading into the fourth quarter.

A 9-1 scoring spree to begin the final quarter was the dagger that the Tribe hurled at Okawville.

Huels dialed long-distance for the fourth time and Hilmes muscled in for a pair of baskets.

Becker scored again on a nice baseline drive for a reverse lay in and a 42-32 lead which forced Coach Kraus to use another timeout.

Carlyle mistakenly sent Okawville to the foul line on three consecutive trips and Weeke, Brammeier and senior forward Jake Hensler each hit a pair of shots for a 6-0 run that got the Rockets back in range.

But the Indians slammed the door shut, hitting five-straight from the foul line.

Okawville had rally chances in the final quarter, but were just 2-of-9 from the floor.

“To us there were three things that cost us the game tonight,” said Coach Kraus. “One, we settled for jumpshots and we were 3-for-19 from the 3-point line. Two, we were 9-of-18 from the foul line, that is too many free throws to miss. Three, we turned the ball over too much. When you are up 21-8, you should put the hammer down and we just didn't do a very good job.”

Carlyle hit 17-of-39 from the field and held a 29-22 rebounding edge.

The Indians committed just 10-turnovers in the contest and nailed 9-of-12 free throws to improve to 11-6 overall and 1-0 in the BIT.

Okawville (0-1, 13-5 overall) got six additional points from Hensler to follow Weeke and Brammeier as the Rockets, after an early hot start, cooled off considerably in the second half.

The Indians and Rockets both get back in action on Wednesday with Okawville playing Hamilton County at 6:00 pm while Carlyle will get a shot at unseating the 8-time defending champion Pinckneyville on 7:30 pm.

A win by the Indians could vault the club into title contention, a championship they haven't won out-right since 1989, the same season Carlyle won the Class A state title.

“It is good to get that first win and hopefully we can come back on Wednesday and play a little bit better,” finalized Coach Palmer. “When you lose that first game it is a different mind-set. So hopefully we will be more focused when we start the game. If not we will be in trouble again.”

Okawville (40) – Obermeier 1 0 0-2 2, Brammeier 3 1 2-2 11, Weeke 4 0 3-5 11, Hensler 2 0 2-4 6, Wisneski 0 1 0-0 3, Strubhart 0 1 0-0 3, Yehling 0 0 1-2 1, Rossel 1 0 1-2 3.
2FG-12, 3FG-3, FT-7-12, PF-12.
Carlyle (47) – Boehne 0 0 2-2 2, Hicks 0 0 0-0 0, Huels 1 4 3-4 17, Becker 3 0 3-4 9, Voss 0 0 0-0 0, Zachry 1 0 0-0 2, Hilmes 6 0 1-2 13, Walker 2 0 0-0 4.
2FG-13, 3FG-4, FT-9-12, PF-14.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

Hamilton County (45) – Steele 0 0 2-3 2, Billington 0 2 0-1 6, Lueke 2 0 6-10 10, Scattone 0 0 0-0 0, Gay 3 2 3-3 15, Biggerstaff 2 0 0-0 4, Stevens 2 0 1-2 5, Kelly 1 0 1-1 3.
2FG-10, 3FG-4, FT-13-20, PF-15.
Sesser-Valier (51) – Lingle 0 0 2-2 2, Gunter 1 0 1-2 3, Vanwey 0 1 0-0 3, Marlo 4 2 1-1 15, Baxter 0 0 1-2 1, Kulich 7 0 4-5 18, Hood 3 0 1-1 7, Eubanks 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-16, 3FG-3, FT-10-13, PF-20.
Fouled Out – Gay - Hamilton County.
Technical Fouls – None.

Pinckneyville (53) – Taylor 0 0 3-4 3, Hardin 3 0 0-0 6, Edwards 0 0 0-0 0, Luke 3 0 1-2 7, Miller 3 0 5-6 11, Fisher 2 0 4-6 8, Dahn 1 0 0-0 2, Bejma 1 0 1-1 3, Priebe 6 0 1-4 13.
2FG-19, 3FG-0, FT-15-23, PF-17.
Benton (39) – Rock 0 0 0-0 0, Forby 1 0 4-6 6, Owens 0 0 0-0 0, Buntin 1 0 0-0 2, Sheeks 3 0 4-7 10, Higgins 4 1 4-6 15, Myers 0 0 1-2 1, Hood 0 0 0-0 0, Ward 1 0 3-4 5.
2FG-10, 3FG-1, FT-16-25, PF-20.
Fouled Out – Ward - Benton.
Technical Fouls – None.