02-04-05
BY JACK BULLOCK
JOHNSTON CITY - It wasn't pretty, but it was a win and the Carmi-White County Bulldogs will take it.

At this point of the season, any conference triumph is a welcomed sight.

CWC nabbed a road victory over Johnston City, 69-47 at Starrick Gymnasium Friday night in Black Diamond play.

Keegan Dennis put together a very good offensive night, netting a game-high 28-points to spark the 'Dawgs to top the Indians and continue their improvement after a rough January stretch in which they lost eight games in succession.

Coach Wade Thomas' club evened its record at 11-11 and 2-4 in the league.

The Tribe, on the other hand, fell to 7-17 on the season and 1-6 in the BDC East.

"I was pretty pleased tonight, we got off to a good start tonight and that was important," said Carmi-White County coach Wade Thomas. "We did a good job on their big people tonight and that was a key for us. Keegan (Dennis) finished well tonight. He got a few steals and had a good overall game for us."

The start that Coach T was talking about was a 13-2 romp from the opening tip that set the tone for the game in favor of CWC.

Within the first 1:40 of play, Carmi scored five times before the Indians knew what happened.

Alec Rice, a 6-foot-4 senior, scored two baskets in the run. His fast break lay in put CWC up 9-0 with 6:40 to go in the opening quarter.

Tyler Peebles stuck home a shot to stop the run temporarily but the Dawgs finished off its impressive start with Keegan Dennis scoring twice on drives to the basket.

JC did make it closer before the quarter ended with a 6-0 spurt, with Kris Ray, Kris Kirkpatrick and Alex Terrill scoring seven points. Terrill's 3-pointer from the right corner cut the deficit down to 13-9.

But that, as it turned out, was as close as the Indians would get to the lead the rest of the contest.

Dennis (4) and Jake Higginson (2) made six straight free throws as the game turned physical. That finished the frame at 19-13 CWC.

Reserve Mark Healy sparked Carmi-White County in the second quarter as he stepped off of the bench and hit a couple of big baskets.

A rebound and a spin move in the lane on two separate trips by Healy pushed the Bulldogs' spread to 29-17 with 4:22 before the break.

After yet another bucket by Peebles gave JC some hope, CWC put the 'hammer down' with a 11-2 run with five different Bulldogs inking the scorebook. When reserve freshman Travis Jones stuck home a shot from the right wing with 1:06 before intermission, CWC was in high gear at 40-21.

Johnston City had a big run at the Bulldogs to open the third period but they never got closer than nine in the second half.

A 10-2 run to open the second half, sparked by a 3-pointer from Terrill and two in the paint baskets by Kirkpatrick got the score at 42-33 with 3:19 to go.

However JC missed some opportunities in that run, failing three times at the free throw line and committing a couple of turnovers in the stretch.

"We played catch up the whole game and you can't do that against teams in our league," said Indians' coach Keil Peebles. "We didn't play very smart tonight and it showed. We are not good enough to individually beat people. We played better in the third quarter but not good enough overall to make it much of a game."

Carmi jumped right back on the Indians with Dennis scoring twice in a row on steals and fast break finishes.

Rice ended the quarter with a pair of scores.

His second one on an in bound pass found the mark just before the third quarter buzzer, sending the two clubs to the final stanza at 50-37.

A 10-2 scoring jaunt by the visitors put the outcome to rest at the beginning of the final quarter.

Two 3-pointers by Tyler Choate and two more baskets by Dennis and it was 60-40 with 4:15 to play.

The Indians could get no closer than 19 the rest of the way.

Dennis' 28 lead all scorers while teammates Rice and Choate chipped in 12 and 11.

Healy and Higginson added six points each for Coach Wade Thomas' group that have appeared to have turned the corner by getting back to an even record overall after a six-game losing skid.

"We had as good of a week of practice this past week as we have in a month," added Thomas, whose club is starting to get more confidence.

"During our losing streak it seemed like it was something different every night for us. Rebounding or missed lay ups or free throws. We were finding different ways to lose. Sometimes it was effort issues. But I hope we have seen the last of that losing streak."

Kirkpatrick finished with 12-points to top JC while teammates Terrill and Peebles pitched in 10 and eight.

Carmi-White County was 28-of-48 (58 percent) from the field while they held the Indians to a 17-of-39 (44 percent) in the big conference road win.

Both teams head back into action Saturday as the Bulldogs host Cairo in and important league game while JC jumps out of the frying pan and into the fire as they go to West Frankfort.

Carmi-White County (69) - Kittinger 0 0 0-0 0, Choate 1 2 3-4 11, Higginson 2 0 2-2 6, Dennis 9 2 4-6 28, Bradshaw 1 0 0-0 2, Rice 6 0 0-2 12, Jones 2 0 0-0 4, Healy 3 0 0-3 6.
2FG-24, 3FG-4, FT-9-17, PF-18.
Johnston City (47) - Humes 2 0 1-2 5, Kee 0 0 2-2 2, Terrill 0 2 4-6 10, Cobb 1 0 0-0 2, Pebbles 3 0 2-2 8, K. Ray 4 0 0-0 8, Kirkpatrick 5 0 2-5 12.
2FG-15, 3FG-2, FT-11-17, PF-15.
Fouled Out - None.
Technical Fouls - None.