01/16/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
METROPOLIS - Goreville head coach Todd Tripp came out in the first quarter in a zone defense against Carterville and that decision turned out to be a big mistake.

Carterville lit up the Blackcats from the outside, nailing down 5-of-6 3-pointers and 12-of-16 overall as the took command 30-17 at the end of the first quarter.

Coach Tripp switched back to a man-to-man defense the rest of the way and his club rallied for the win.

Sophomore guard Cole Tripp, with the game tied at 62-all and the final seconds ticking away, drove the right side of the lane and his running one-handed lay up banked in to beat the buzzer and completed the come-back in the Blackcats' 64-62 triumph in the first game of the 39th annual Metropolis “Superman Classic” Monday night.

After missing his first six shots, Tripp 'tripped up' the Lions, sending Carterville into the consolation bracket as the Blackcats advanced to the semifinals.

The final shot and the rally spoiled a brilliant scoring game from Carterville senior guard Caden Hawkins, who went off for 31 points in defeat as the Lions saw their mark slip to 14-5, which is now the same record as Goreville.

“That is his second game winner of the season,” said Coach Tripp about his cousin Cole's last shot. “This is great experience for him and the other young kids.”

The Blackcats got a team-best 11 points from junior guard Drake Moss and senior guard Ian Sopczak with 19.

Senior forward Marquavion Cleaves scored just six points but his defense in the second half on Hawkins was an important piece of the comeback for Goreville.

“We came out in something that we normally don't do. We came out and zoned them and both teams were trading buckets,” said Coach Tripp. “We talked about it at halftime. We were trying to play off of him (Hawkins) to stop his drives but he (Cleaves) is good enough to put the pressure on him. He did an outstanding job the second half.”

Both sophomore forward Conner Craig and junior guard Tyler Suits added to the balanced scoring with five points each while 6-6 sophomore Drake Buffington came off of the bench for and picked up a couple of important scores in the third quarter.

Besides Hawkins, Carterville got 12 points from senior Peyton Bittle and eight points and 10 rebounds from 6-5 senior Kade Lustenberger.

It looked like after the first quarter barrage of points that Coach Shane Hawkins' Lions were going to make quick work of Goreville in the 4/5 seeding matchup.

After trading baskets in the early going as both teams came out firing away, Carterville closed the first quarter with a 12-0 run.

Hawkins hit a trio of 3-point bombs in the first quarter and Lustenberger also nailed down a long range shot during the late run.

Senior Blake Burkey scored all four of his points in the first quarter and senior forward Adam Vanderzille both scored on cuts to the basket in the final minutes as the Lions' lead ballooned to 13 points at the end of the first quarter.

A bucket to begin the second quarter by Hawkins gave the Lions their largest spread of the night at 32-17.

Sopczak nailed down his third 3-pointer in the game that started the rally.

Suits, Moss and Cleaves all scored in succession as the Goreville was back in the game down just 35-29 with 3:40 left in the first half.

Hawkins answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc but the Blackcats closed out the half with a nice spin move on a drive in the lane by Moss and a fast break lay in by Sopczak as Goreville was down just 39-36 at intermission.

After a torrid beginning shooting the ball Carterville cooled down significantly in the second quarter, connecting on just 3-of-16 shot attempts.

It took most of the third quarter but the Blackcats finally got the lead.

Sopczak scored twice in the quarter on a steal and fast break lay in and a drive down the baseline that cut the Lions lead down to 43-42.

Trailing by five late in the quarter, Goreville got seven consecutive points on shots from Buffington inside, a 3-pointer from Moss that bounced in and a drive by Craig for a 51-49 lead with just under a minute left in the third.

A pair of free throws by Bittle sent the two teams to the final frame even at 51.

“The Buffington kid did a good job for us in the second half helping out defensively, distracting some of their shots,” said Coach Tripp. “Conner Craig, another sophomore, did an outstanding job for us. It was a total team effort tonight.”

The Blackcats looked like they had Carterville beat in the early going of the fourth.

Points from the foul line by Moss (3-of-4) and baskets by Moss and Sopczak gave Coach Tripp's club a 60-54 advantage.

But Hawkins showed he was more than just a scorer as he picked up a couple of assists on transition points by sophomore Drew Barrington and Lustenberger.

Hawkins tied the game with a driving score in the lane with :15.4 left.

After a Carterville timeout to set up its defense, Goreville didn't appear as if they were going to be able to get off a shot in the final moments.

Then Tripp got the ball and drove down the right side of the lane.

He let go of the the shot in plenty of time and the ball banked perfectly off the glass and in as the horn sounded on the Blackcats' win.

Goreville finished the game hitting 24-of-48 from the floor with most of the damage coming inside (18-of-28 from 2-point range) in the victory.

They also managed to get to the foul line enough (10-of-15) hitting 7-of-10 in the fourth quarter.

The Lions great start didn't carry over into the final three quarters.

Coach Hawkins' crew ended up just 24-of-56, and just 8-of-26 from the 3-point arc.

The Lions needed to get to the foul line more (6-of-8) than they did.

Goreville won the boards' battle 26-24 behind six rebounds by Cleaves and five from Tripp and survived four of their 11 turnovers in the final stanza.

The Blackcats will likely face top-seed Charleston (MO.) on Friday night in the semifinals.

The Blue Jays (12-5) are the two-time defending champions of the “Superman Classic” and have won 14 of the titles in the 38 previous editions.

Charleston has won 12 Missouri state championships in boy's basketball.

“We get a chance to play a team that is very, very good and you can't beat those guys unless you're playing them in games,” said Coach Tripp. “We get a chance to go at them.”

Graves County (52) – VeuCasovic 6 1 0-1 15, Pigg 3 0 2-2 8, MIlls 1 1 0-2 5, Holland 1 1 0-0 5, Waller 2 0 0-0 4, Hayden 0 2 0-0 6, Carrico 0 0 5-6 5, Tabbs 2 0 0-0 4, Hughes 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-15, 3FG-5, FT-7-11, PF-12.
Vienna (65) – Treat 7 3 0-0 23, King 0 0 0-0 0, Vaughn 3 2 0-0 12, Holhubner 2 4 1-2 17, Clay 2 0 0-0 4, Nichols 3 0 0-0 6, Constante 0 1 0-0 3, Webb 0 0 0-0 0, Whitnel 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-17, 3FG-10, FT-1-2, PF-10.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.