02-02-08
BY JACK BULLOCK
BENTON - The Annual Benton Shootout has the name Rich Herrin Classic on the moniker.

Saturday's opening game of the four game event turned into a classic as well.

Behind 23 points from senior point-guard Jensen Dardeen – the Mount Carmel Golden Aces rallied for an impressive 69-61 double-overtime triumph over highly regarded Vienna in a rematch of last season's Hamilton County Class A Sectional Championship game.

Head coach Ryan Haywood saw his club rally after giving up a fourth quarter lead in a match up of ABV 2A Carbondale Supersectional ranked teams.

In a contest full of drama – Dardeen was the player who stepped up when the game was on the line to give his club a great win.

This 5-foot-9 guard hit 8-of-11 free throws - including 4-of-4 in the second overtime - as Mount Carmel finally earned its victory over a Vienna club that had its chances to close out the contest in regulation and in the first overtime.

Dardeen also hit two key baskets – the first one late in regulation that sent the game into the first extra session at 49-all.

His second huge bucket came on a drive in the lane with just six seconds remaining in the first overtime to force a second OT.

Mount Carmel closed out the game with eight consecutive made charity tosses in the second overtime.

“He (Dardeen) is a big-time player and we think an awful lot of this kid,” added Haywood. “I think he is one of the best point guards in the state. When we started making outside shots it opened things up for him to drive to the basket. With Thompson having four fouls we just let Jensen drive to the basket.”

The Eagles (18-5) were just 9-of-18 from the foul line and - when they needed to put the Aces down - they allowed their rivals too many second chances.

Dardeen's efforts were matched equally by Brett Thompson – Vienna's 6-foot-11 senior center who has signed with St. Louis University.

Scoring 20 points and dominating the boards with 21 rebounds – Thompson nearly carried his team to the victory.

However this D-I player hit just 2-of-8 free throws including four straight misfires in the second overtime.

As a team the Eagles were just 23-of-62 from the field – including just 2-of-18 from behind the 3-point line.

Mount Carmel - in contrast – hit 6-of-13 from behind the arc (24-of-53 overall) with Tyler Browning taking advantage of Vienna's zone defense by connecting on four of the trifectas.

Browning scored 16 point in the game for Mount Carmel as the Aces had three players (Jacob Deisher with 13) in double-figures.

“We allowed them too many runs especially in the second half,” said Vienna head coach Rick Metcalf. “We took the big lead late and should have won the game.”

Vienna's Tyler Smith was second on the Eagles club with 13 points while Derek Trovillion and Cory Belcher chipped in 10 points each.

Mount Carmel took the lead early and led every minute in the first three quarters.

With both teams matching up with zone defenses in the half-court set – it was the Aces that were Golden from the outside in the first frame.

Dardeen, Browning and Kyle Buss all connected from behind the arc in the opening quarter.

Browning hit the last two 3-pointers with the first one coming on a wide-open look from the left wing to give his team a 13-9 lead with 2:46 left in the opening stanza.

His last one came from a cross-court skip pass from Dardeen that found Browning open in the right corner.

His connection gave Mount Carmel a 16-13 lead with just over a minute remaining.

A Nick Robinson mid-range shot for Vienna cut the Aces lead to 16-15 at the first horn.

Mount Carmel moved out to a 23-17 lead following three-straight points from Jacob Deisher – a 6-foot-3 lefty swingman who took the ball to the basket for a score and added 1-of-2 free throws on the next trip.

But Thompson hit a pair of shots in the second quarter – including a transition dunk off of a steal and assist from Belcher.

He also converted a 3-point play as he was fouled by Browning on a spin move in the lane with 2:55 left in the half. His subsequent free throw forced a Mount Carmel timeout at 23-20.

Trovillion scored Vienna's last five points of the second period to even things at 27-all at intermission. He hit two 3-pointers in the first half and his second one with :39 left tied the score at the break.

The Aces took back the lead and held it for the entire third quarter.

Browning again was the thorn in the Vienna side with a pair of late 3-pointers.

His trey from the left wing following a big defensive play by Dathan Deisher gave the Aces a 41-37 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.

Deisher blocked a shot by Vienna's Smith which began a fast break that led to the Browning long range bomb.

Thompson scored seven points in the fourth quarter as the Eagles got their first lead of the contest.

Thompson and Smith scored five straight points for a 42-41 lead with less than a minute gone in the quarter.

Thompson put in an in close shot on a lob pass and Smith drove to the basket for a bucket while being fouled by Jacob Deisher. His made free throw gave the Eagles the advantage.

Vienna's Belcher gave the Eagles a 49-47 lead by taking an assist from Thompson for a lay in at the 3;31 mark.

Mount Carmel evened the score when Dardeen drove the lane for a bucket with less resistance because of foul trouble by Thompson.

Thompson had picked up his fourth foul with 4:46 left on a charging call.

Mount Carmel got the ball back and held it for a final shot with 1:29 remaining.

Following a time out with :34.1 left – Dardeen got the ball to Jacob Deisher for an open look but he missed a shot from the left baseline just before the buzzer sending the teams to the first overtime.

Vienna jumped out to a quick lead in the first overtime and appeared headed for a hard fought win.

Baskets by Belcher and Robinson and two free throws by Sean Stram gave the Eagles a 55-51 lead with :21.3 seconds remaining.

But Dardeen forced the issue and got his team back even to force a second overtime.

He leaned in on a 3-point attempt and a foul was called on Vienna's Trovillion with just :12.9 left.

Dardeen – after missing the first charity – hit the next two free throws to cut the lead to 55-53.

Belcher took an inbounds pass but was tied up for a jump ball with :09.3 remaining.

Mount Carmel had the possession arrow and took the ball back setting up Dardeen for another drive to the basket. His bank shot with :06 left sent the game to a second extra session.

“He (Dardeen) is a big-time player and we think an awful lot of this kid,” added Haywood. “I think he is one of the best point guards in the state. When we started making outside shots it opened things up for him to drive to the basket. With Thompson having four fouls we just let Jensen drive to the basket.”

Mount Carmel finished off the Eagles in the second OT.

The Aces scored the first six points of the second overtime and added six consecutive free throws to ice the game.

Vienna was just 2-of-11 from the field in the second OT.

“When you have a four point lead and 21 seconds left you should win the ballgame,” said dejected Vienna head coach Rick Metcalf – referring to his team losing the lead at the end of the first overtime. “We didn't step up and make the free throws and the open shots that we needed to do at crunch time.”

Vienna – behind Thompson's 21 boards – won the rebounding battle 39-25.

However the poor showing from the floor – especially from behind the 3-point line – was too much to overcome.

“We have kind of been looking for a signature win and this one was it,” said Haywood – whose team improved to 15-7 on the season. “Up to this point we probably won the games that we were supposed to and dropped the ones maybe we weren't supposed to win. It is nice to show up and beat a team that is probably thought higher of than us since they were seeded higher in the sectional.”

Mount Carmel (69) - Buss 2 1 0-0 7, Drone 0 0 0-0 0, Dardeen 6 1 8-11 23, Browning 0 4 4-6 16, J. Deisher 5 0 3-4 13, Beckerman 2 0 0-0 4, D. Deisher 3 0 0-0 6.
2FG-18, 3FG-6, FT-15-21, PF-18.
Vienna (61) - Stram 0 0 2-2 2, West 0 0 0-0 0, Smith 5 0 3-4 13, Thompson 9 0 2-8 20, Trovillion 2 2 0-0 10, Nichols 0 0 0-0 0, Painter 0 0 0-0 0, Robinson 2 0 2-2 6, Belcher 5 0 0-2 10.
2FG-22, 3FG-4, FT-15-21, PF-12.
Fouled Out - Buss - Mount Carmel; Nichols - Vienna.
Technical Fouls - None.

BENTON 73, GOREVILLE 68
The Rangers held off the Blackcats in the final game of the event.

Sayler Shurtz and Trevor Myers each scored 16 points in the win to improve coach Matt Wynn's club to 7-17 on the season. Tim Coirn and Zach LaBuwi added 15 each in the victory.

Goreville (11-11) received 29 points from Tyler Sopczck in the loss.

HARRISBURG 87, WALTONVILLE 66
Behind 23 points from Coin Sheldon the Bulldogs rolled past the Spartans in the second game of the event.

Harrisburg (16-10) got another 20 points from Russell Rambert as ten Bulldogs scored.

The Spartans (15-8) were led by Gavin Bassett with 25 points. Joseph Lewis and Skyler Witges chipped in 18 and 11 points respectively.

ST. LOUIS (MO.) MCCLURE NORTH 61, MARION 42
With two SIU signees playing in the game the Stars of McClure romped in the second half for the win.

Torress Roundtree and Anthony Booker led the Stars with 25 and 13 points respectively.

Dustin Knight and Brandon Woods scored 13 and 10 points for the Wildcats.