12-29-2019
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE – The Murphysboro Red Devils suffered a heart wrenching 63-61 overtime loss to St. Mary (MO.) in the semifinals of the 56th annual Carbondale Holiday Tournament Sunday afternoon.

Coach Daryl Murphy's disappointed squad gave it a go in the third place game against St. Louis (MO.) Lutheran North a few hours later but things didn't go so well.

The Red Devils hung in with the Crusaders for a half but then the energy level bottomed out as they got outgunned in a 32-11 third quarter blitz.

Murphysboro fell to a fourth place finish with an 81-53 defeat at SIU Arena.

Murphysboro ended up 2-2 in the tournament and are now 6-3 overall.

Lutheran North improved their mark to 10-3 on the season with four players in double-figures in scoring with Tahj Patterson, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, leading the way with 23 points.

Another senior guard, 5-foot-10 Jordan Smith, tossed in 18 while junior forward Isaiah Williams added 16.

Junior guard Cleveland Washington contributed 11 in the win.

Coach Murphy received 11 points from junior guard JaQuan Jackson and 10 points apiece from senior Saviere Myers and sophomore Calvon Clemons.

“Our kids were spent from the semifinal game and the kids were really heartbroken,” said Coach Murphy. “I had kids crying after the (semifinal) loss because they didn't get to play in the championship game. But that is a good thing that they care.”

And for a half it looked like the Red Devils were prepared to take home the third place honors as they had an early first quarter lead and just trailed by four points a halftime.

Dezmond Clark, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, added eight points for Murphysboro.

He netted a pair of shots in the first quarter.

His second bucket off of a drive in the lane produced a 12-9 lead with 3:32 left in the opening quarter.

Putting together its first offensive run, Lutheran North took the lead with a 9-3 finish to the first period.

Williams scored twice in the run and Smith nailed a 3-pointer.

Williams then fed Washington on a fast break lay in off of a rebound for an 18-15 Crusaders' lead.

Following a pair of free throws by Clemons cut the Red Devils' deficit to one point, Lutheran North went on its first big run.

Senior guard Travion Ford got in on the scoring fun with a pair of scores while Patterson and Washington both scored.

A lay in by junior guard Devyn Jones moved the lead to 30-17 as the run ended at 12-0.

Coach Murphy's club battled back before the half ended.

Clemons, Myers and Clark all got points in the paint and junior guard Cornelius Davis hit a 3-pointer from the left corner.

Jackson also buried a 3-point shot from the right wing as the Red Devils trailed just 35-31 at intermission.

The third quarter turned into a nightmare for Murphysboro and they never could recover from a game changing 14-0 Lutheran North crusade.

In the run the Crusaders scored four baskets off of offensive rebounds and a pair of transition scores off of Murphysboro turnovers.

Williams, a 6-foot-3 guard, made a steal near halfcourt and he raced to the other end of the floor for a two-handed jam and a 43-31 spread.

Washington scored on a pair of drives and Smith grabbed an offensive rebound off of a missed free throw as the lead ballooned to 49-31 with 4:36 left in the third quarter.

Murphysboro only hit 3-of-10 shots in the third and handed over nine of its 15 turnovers.

Myers scored two of the Red Devils baskets and senior Aren Abell added the other score.

But Lutheran North threw in a late 7-0 run to close out the stanza.

Smith padded his totals with another 3-pointer and a steal and a fast break lay in while Washington added another basket to his night.

Smith made a steal and a fast break lay in that beat the third quarter buzzer as the Crusaders led 67-42.

A 10-2 run by Lutheran North pushed the lead to 77-47, which triggered a continuous clock for the final 3:22 of the contest.

The final numbers weren't pretty for the Red Devils as they were out-rebounded 33-18 overall and they hit just 20-of-50 shots from the floor.

They coughed up 15 turnovers, seven of which led to fast break scored from the Crusaders.

Without any paint presence without senior forward Jamarr McZeke, who hurt his knee on Saturday night, Murphysboro allowed 11 offensive rebounds.

“We had to play today without Jamarr McZeke (knee) who got hurt last night,” said Coach Murphy. “We're not very big to begin with and losing him made it tough for us today inside.”

Lutheran North ended up 35-of-60 overall along with 5-of-11 from the 3-point line.

“We let them get too many run outs on us, especially in the third quarter,” said Coach Murphy. “We just threw in the towel after that and let some of the kids play.”

Lutheran North (81) – Patterson 9 1 2-2 23, Moore 0 0 0-0 0, Smith 6 2 0-0 18, Calhoun 0 0 0-0 0, Williams 5 1 3-4 16, Washington 5 0 1-2 11, Jones 1 0 0-0 2, Long 0 1 0-0 3, #30 1 0 0-0 2, Ford 2 0 0-0 4, Lee 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-30, 3FG-5, FT-6-8, PF-12.
Murphysboro (53) – Abell 2 0 0-0 4, Clark 3 0 2-2 8, Jackson 3 1 2-3 11, Davis 1 1 1-2 6, Kuba 0 0 0-0 0, Shields 1 0 0-0 2, Myers 3 1 1-3 10, Clemons 3 0 4-4 10, Rogers 0 0 0-0 0, Frazier 1 0 0-0 2, Hale 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-16, 3FG-4, FT-8-14, PF-11.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

Six-foot senior guard Lunden Cook paced Jacksonville with 14 points while 6-foot-5 senior Carter Hayes added 10.

Six-foot-three junior Drew Ezard added eight points for the Crimson.

Coach Jason James Tribe was led by two players with six points each; Trajion and Jaden Smith.

Jacksonville (47) – Cook 4 1 3-5 14, Cave 1 0 2-2 4, Ervin 0 0 0-0 0, Richardson 0 0 1-2 1, Hays 4 0 2-2 10, Owens 1 0 0-0 2, Rohn 1 0 0-1 2, Hughes 1 0 0-0 2, Rohlk 2 0 0-0 4, Brown 0 0 0-0 0, Ezard 4 0 0-0 8.
2FG-18, 3FG-1, FT-8-12, PF-7.
DuQuoin (28) – Killian 0 0 0-0 0, Mays 0 0 2-4 2, Smith 3 0 0-0 6, Edwards 0 1 0-0 3, Pursell 2 0 0-0 4, Green 0 0 0-0 0, Roberson 2 0 0-0 4, Tra. Smith 3 0 0-0 6, Washington 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-10, 3FG-2, FT-2-4, PF-12.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

COVINGTON (TN.) 37, CAIRO 21
Senior Brandon Alston scored 10 points for the Chargers as they won the consolation title with a win over the Pilots.

Martez Logan and Travontae Powell added seven points each as Covington won a contest between tired foes.

Cairo and head coach Larry Wood were led by 12 points from 6-foot-6 senior Daurice Morse and five points from junior guard Terrell Jones.

Covington (37) – Deon 0 0 0-0 0, Powell 3 0 1-1 7, Logan 2 1 0-0 7, Tipton 2 1 0-0 7, Starks 0 1 0-0 3, Smith 1 0 0-0 2, Winfrey 1 0 0-0 2, McGarity 2 0 0-0 4, Alston 5 0 0-0 10, Fayne 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-15, 3FG-2, FT-1-1, PF-0.
Cairo (21) – Jones 2 1 0-0 5, Morse 4 1 1-1 12, Williams 0 0 0-0 0, #15 Wilkerson 0 0 0-0 0, Hervey 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-6, 3FG-2, FT-1-1, PF-4.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.