01-05-2019
BY JACK BULLOCK
VIENNA – Coaches, when talking about the beginning of games, like to use the phrase “punched them in the mouth” when describing a good start.

That is exactly what the Goreville Blackcats did, metaphorically speaking, to their Johnson County rivals Vienna on Saturday night.

Coach Todd Tripp's troops “smacked” the Eagles with a 10-0 run to start the contest as they led the whole route in the 54-39 romp that was never closer than double-digits from the middle of the second quarter on.

Goreville was a rude visitor as they won the Black Diamond Conference road game in front of a large crowd at Vienna.

The Blackcats played well on both ends of the floor and, despite not doing a good job at the foul line, dominated the game from start to finish.

Coach Cory Waters' club never got rolling as they fell to 9-9 overall, 2-3 in the BDC.

“I think we let our emotion get to us tonight. Before we could get our bearings we were down 10-0. We have been playing some decent basketball the last four or five games but we kind of regressed tonight,” said Coach Waters.

Goreville improved to 10-6 overall, 3-0 in the league, with three different Blackcats scoring 10-points.

Five-foot-eleven freshman Briley Dunn, 6-foot-1 sophomore Rhet Schuetz and 5-foot-8 junior Luke Brown all hit double-figures for Coach Tripp as his youthful lineup continues to get better with age.

The Blackcats were at the top of nearly every statistical column in this game between nearby rivals who co-op in football and meet on the fields of play in everything else.

Goreville forced 19 Vienna turnovers, including 14 in the middle two quarters as they controlled the game from it inception.

They also made things miserable for the hosts as defensively they coaxed a 13-of-45 showing from the floor (28.8 percent) and just 1-of-11 from the 3-point line.

It took a couple of minutes in the early part of the first quarter for the Blackcats to get on the ball.

And Brown was the one who got the 'Cats on the board first.

The junior guard nailed a pair of 3-point bombs; one from near the top of the arc and one from the left wing.

Then Dunn got his evening scoring started with a pair of nice drives to the basket for points.

His second one he switched hands and scored from the left side while being fouled.

Although he missed the free throw, Goreville was up 10-0 with 3:32 left in the opening quarter.

“When you have a rival game like this, you better be prepared for anything and I thought we came out with better intensity,” said Coach Tripp. “We got off to a great start tonight.”

Vienna didn't have a single player hit for double-digits in scoring during the matchup and it took them a little more than five minutes on the game clock to get their first basket.

Six-foot-four senior forward Zane Hutchison and 5-foot-11 sophomore Brendan Dahncke scored six-points each as they shared the top honor.

Two other Eagles; 6-foot-2 senior Kyle VanCleve and and 6-foot-4 senior Gabe Snell added five-points apiece.

Sophomore Brendan Dahncke and senior Justin Casey were next with four-points each.

Dahncke and Hutchison got the Eagles on the board finally with a pair of scores while sophomore Carter Bishop nailed a 3-pointer late in the quarter.

But the Blackcats also got first quarter help from junior Trent Glidewell, who followed up a Schuetz bucket with a fast break lay in.

The Bishop trey closed the scoring at 14-7 Blackcats.

A 10-2 beginning of the second quarter by Goreville put the Eagles in a tough spot.

Two of the scores came about from the defense as forced turnovers turned into fast break points.

Brown and then sophomore Kanon Webb each converted in transition.

Schuetz followed up with three consecutive baskets.

His first two came close to the basket posting up while his third came about as Goreville broke the Vienna full court press as Webb found Schuetz for an easy lay in and a 24-9 lead with 3:53 remaining in the second frame.

The Eagles responded with a pair of scores; by Hutchison and VanCleve before a medical emergency in the stands halted play with 2:49 left in the half.

An ambulance was called and the situation was taken care of as the two teams went to the locker rooms as if it were already halftime.

The teams came back out after the situation was attended to and played the final 2:49 of the second quarter and then resumed the second half as if it were a between quarters break.

If Coach Tripp believed his team would lose their momentum during the extended break, he didn't have to worry for long.

Junior guard Logan Hankins closed the scoring of the half with a fast break score and the Blackcats got buckets from Schuetz and Dunn to push their lead to 30-13.

Five different Blackcats scored in the third quarter as they extended the lead.

Landon Albright, Goreville's 6-foot-2 senior forward and leading scorer, was held to just six-points.

But all of those points came in the second half as Goreville's scoring balance was on display.

Senior Logyn Frassato also scored six in the second half for Coach Tripp.

“That is the thing about our team. Albright is our leading scorer and he came out and got six points but we have other guys that can step up,” said Coach Tripp. “Getting Glidewell back (from injury) and having a lot of kids that can score has helped us.”

Brown and Webb each got another score in the third quarter and the Blackcats, while holding the ball for just over a minute to end the frame, got a drive to the basket and a lay in by Dunn with :05 remaining to push the advantage to 42-23 heading a drama free fourth quarter.

The Eagles committed six of their turnovers in the third quarter, three of which were offensive fouls.

Vienna only had one time in the second half where they got consecutive scores while getting a defensive stop.

A transition score by Naese and consecutive free throws made by Casey and Snell cut the deficit to 48-35.

However the game was put out of reach as Goreville answered with three straight scores of their own.

Albright scored two of the baskets, one on a dish from Frassato and another on an offensive put back.

Frassato scored on a fast break for a 54-35 lead with 1:43 remaining, which prompted both head coaches to empty their benches.

“We we down 13 and we were in the bonus and came down and had three bad possessions and then they (Goreville) scored three straight times,” said Coach Waters.

With the score the way it turned out, Goreville was dominant in all phases.

The Blackcats ended up 22-of-46 overall from the floor (47.8 percent) while owning the boards with a 35-26 rebounding spread.

Included in that total was 15-offensive rebounds.

Goreville ended up with 14 turnovers but eight of them came in the final quarter well after the outcome was settled.

Both teams jump right back into league competition as Goreville will host rival Sesser-Valier on Tuesday night before traveling to Christopher on Friday.

The Eagles will try to regroup and with a trip to Trico on Tuesday and then they will host non-conference foe Anna-Jonesboro on Saturday night.

“I was really proud of our kids for coming back out (after the extended break) and staying with our defense,” said Coach Tripp. “We did what we set out to do tonight. All around the floor tonight we had guys helping out and taking charges. We did what we needed to do. My kids have stepped up and we are getting better every game.”