11-23-11
BY JACK BULLOCK
CRAB ORCHARD – For the Crab Orchard Trojans, heading into the 2011-12 season most basketball fans in southern Illinois already knew about the top two guns returning for their senior seasons.

However Coach Jon Brown has had a very pleasant surprise with a third senior who has stepped up and made a big difference.

While Ben Kissing and Drew Johnson have gotten a lot of the attention of not only the media but other teams trying to stop this duo, 6-foot-3 senior and first time varsity player Hunter Arnold has stepped forward and has helped Crab Orchard in a big way in the team's first three wins of the season.

The Hardin County Cougars found that out on Wednesday night.

While Kissing and Johnson were scoring leaders as per usual, Arnold scored nine of his 14 points in the opening quarter as the Trojans improved to 3-0 on the season by outlasting their GEC rival, 72-55 at the Crab Orchard Turkey Tournament.

Coach Brown wasn't sure what to expect from Arnold heading into the season but after the first three games of the season it is clear he is going to be a significant factor in this team's attempt at defending its conference title and a repeat of their regional title run.

“Hunter Arnold got us some rebounds and some stick backs early when we were struggling,” said Coach Brown. “He has got some height and long arms. He's a tough kid and has a nice touch with the ball. He has worked hard and he just needs more time on the floor. He gives us another presence around the basket.”

Kissing scored 24 points and Johnson added 17 for Crab Orchard (3-0) who shook off a stubborn Hardin County (2-1) club in the first and third quarter with scoring runs while handing the Cougars their first defeat of the season.

Hardin County head coach Rodney Lane saw some good things from his team but knows there is still a lot of work to do, especially on the defensive end as they had a hard time keeping the Trojans off of the offensive glass.

“We got off to a good start and got the ball down the floor for some easy buckets but it seemed like the Arnold kid got a lot of their offensive rebounds early,” said Coach Lane. “Then with Kissing, it is tough to handle him one-on-one. He stepped out and hit some 3's. When you have to guard him that far out on the floor with a big man, with as quick as he is and can handle the ball the way that he can it puts your defense in a tough situation.”

Hardin County jumped out to an early 6-2 lead with Kyle Holloman, Garrett Flemmings and Brandon Flemmings all scoring points that forced an early Crab Orchard timeout.

After back-to-back scores by Holloman gave the Cougars a 10-9 advantage, Crab Orchard went on a 12-0 run to take back the lead for good.

Arnold helped the Trojans rally by hitting some big shots.

A rebound basket was part of a run that gave Crab Orchard back the lead for good.

Then the senior forward stepped out and nailed a 3-pointer and also picked up another score in the lane.

Kissing added a 3-pointer and a nice spin move in the paint and sophomore Caleb Perry scored on a fast break lay on an assist from Johnson to give Crab Orchard a 21-10 lead.

Holloman closed the quarter with a lay in to make it 21-12 at the end of one.

The Cougars hung around in the second quarter in part because Crab Orchard sent them to the foul line too many times.

Hardin County hit 8-of-12 free throws in the quarter which helped keep the Cougars within striking range.

A 6-0 run with Holloman scoring all six points cut the Crab Orchard lead down to 36-26.

However every run by Hardin County on this night was responded to by the high scoring Trojans.

Deaton nailed a wide-open 3-pointer from the left wing to close the half with Crab Orchard up 39-30.

Crab Orchard, with Kissing scoring five quick points to open the second half, used a pair of runs to put some distance between the two teams.

A Johnson 3-pointer fueled a 7-0 sprint for a 51-34 lead with 4:35 to go.

Johnson scored 12 of his points in the frame and his 3-point bomb from the right win just before the buzzer made it 61-45 heading into the fourth quarter.

The scrappy Cougars would get no closer than 15 the rest of the game.

Besides Johnson, Kissing and Arnold, Crab Orchard got six points each from Perry and Deaton.

Coach Jon Brown's club was 25-of-61 overall while hitting 9-of-30 from behind the arc.
They held a 33-27 rebounding edge but 15 of those were on the offensive end with 11 of those coming in the first half.

Kissing added 10 rebounds to his game-high 24-points.

“He (Kissing) has worked extremely hard on his post moves and assistant coach Ray (Kissing, Ben's brother) has worked with him on getting him better offensively around the basket,” added Coach Brown. “A lot of drills have gotten him much better when he puts the ball on the floor.”
Hardin County suffered its first loss despite 24-points from Holloman and nine points each from Garrett Flemmings and Tony Parkinson.

The Cougars finished with 18 turnovers, with seven coming in the third quarter when Crab Orchard put the game away.

From the field Hardin was a respectable 21-of-46 overall and hit 3-of-9 from behind the arc.

Both teams head back into action on Friday afternoon with Crab Orchard playing Elverado and Hardin County playing GEC rival Pope County as the tournament resumes.

“They (Hardin County) are a dangerous team, aside from the German kid they are the same team that they had last year that beat Eldorado in the regional,” said Coach Jon Brown. “I can't say enough about the job that Coach Lane has done down there since he has taken over. He has those boy's playing hard and organized.”

In other games from Wednesday night Dongola got 20-points from Jordan Eads and Austin Hinckle as the Demons downed Pope County, 52-47 in overtime. Andrew Jeschke netted 14 points and Dalton Porter chipped in 13 as Elverado beat Joppa, 60-34.

Hardin County (55) – Holloman 9 1 3-4 24, G. Flemmings 4 0 0-0 8, Parkinson 1 2 1-3 9, B. Flemmings 2 0 5-6 9, McClenahan 0 0 1-4 1, Hayes 0 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0 0-0 0, Vaugh 2 0 0-0 4, Hickes 0 0 0-0 0, Walker 0 0 0-0 0, Robinson 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-18, 3FG-3, FT-10-17, PF-17.
Crab Orchard (72) – Johnson 2 3 6-6 17, Wece 1 0 0-0 2, Kissing 7 2 4-4 24, Perry 3 0 0-0 6, Arnold 3 2 2-6 14, McCree 0 0 0-0 0, Deaton 0 2 0-0 6, Emery 0 0 0-0 0, Craig 0 0 0-0 0, Bailey 0 0 1-2 1, Ray 0 0 0-0 0, Galloway 0 0 0-0 0, Tarlton 0 0 0-0 0, Stephens 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-16, 3FG-9, FT-13-18, PF-20.
Fouled Out – Holloman, Hardin County.
Technical Fouls – McClenahan, Hardin County.