03/02/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARTERVILLE - In a contest that featured very few offensive possessions, neither Nashville nor Murphysboro had much room for error in their epic sectional showdown on Wednesday night at the Carterville.

However in this contest where the two teams mirrored each other statistically, one column gave a slight edge to the Hornets.

Coach Patrick Weathers' club was more efficient at the free throw line.

The Hornets ended up 7-of-9 from the foul line compared to just 4-of-9 for the Red Devils.

With the game hanging in the balance late in the fourth quarter, 6-7 senior forward Saxton Hoepker took advantage of his trips to the line and senior teammate Isaac Turner nailed perhaps the biggest shot of his prep career.

Hoepker, who along with Turner, led Nashville with 14-points, knocked down all six of his FT attempts in the game, with four of them coming in the fourth quarter.

Turner also scored 14-points for the Hornets (six rebounds) with none bigger than a his 3-point bomb from the top of the arc with 1:42 left to give his club back the lead.

Hoepker hit his final two free throws with just :34.9 remaining.

These clutch conversions by these two seniors were the difference makers late as Nashville survived and advanced to Friday night's sectional championship game, 33-30, in front of a large crowd at Carterville.

“We knew tonight that it was going to be ugly game for us to be successful. We're not going to score in the 50's and 60's and Murphysboro is one of the most athletic teams we've seen this year and we needed to defend and rebound against them,” said Coach Weathers.

Coach Daryl Murphy's club faltered late after going on the best run by either team in the game early in the fourth quarter (8-0) to take a 27-24 lead.

Even late in the battle the Red Devils had some chances, including an open 3-point attempt in the final seconds that would have tied the game and likely sent the teams to an extra session.

Five-seven senior guard and four-year starter Calvon Clemons had a 'good look' at a 3-pointer as the final seconds clicked away.

But his 20-footer from the left wing, after driving up the floor to get open, rimmed out.

The ensuing rebound was tipped out towards the the time line as time expired on the game, the Murphysboro season and the outstanding prep career of Clemons.

Clemons ended up as the game's top scorer with 15-points, exactly half of his club's points.

Senior teammate Tyreek Feggins scored 10 on the night, including eight of his team's points in the pivotal fourth quarter and six of which were during that important run.

Sophomore guard Karmelo Abernathy added four-points on a 3-pointer and 1-of-2 from the foul line while 6-5 junior AJ Walker was 1-of-2 from the line for his only point of the night but the center led the Devils with nine-rebounds.

“We got the 8-0 run after being down five and I thought we were in a good position but they (Nashville) came right back down and answered with shots,” said Coach Murphy. “But that's what they do. They never panicked, they were calm and kept playing it. You go through the course of a game like that, there are a few possessions that are just so important.”

Six-five senior Kolten Gajewski added five-points for the Hornets before fouling out late in the fourth quarter in what was a very physical game by both teams defensively.

The game featured three tie scores and seven lead changes.

Turner got his club going early by hitting a long 3-pointer on the opening possession but his club was just 2-of-6 in the first quarter to go with four turnovers.

In an offensively challenged game caused by two defensive minded teams, Murphysboro took a 6-5 lead at the end of the first on two buckets by Clemons on a drive to the basket and a 3-pointer from the top of the arc as the Red Devils were only 2-of-9 with three turnovers in that first stanza.

Hoepker put together his best quarter as the Hornets went to the second half up 15-14.

He converted two conventional three-point plays and added a tip-in dunk in the quarter.

His first score was on a back door cut to the basket while being fouled.

Hoepker also went up for a rebound where he grabbed the ball with one-hand and slammed it home to tie the score at 10-10 with 3:45 left.

A nice pump fake from the left corner by Hoepker turned into a baseline drive and a dunk for another 'And-One' conversion before intermission.

Turner and Gajewski started the second half with points.

Gajewski got fouled for a three-point play, converting on an inbounds play in the lane.

Another Turner score late in the period gave Nashville its largest lead at 22-17.

“We gave up a lay up on an out-of-bounds play. We had some situations where we missed some free throws and we didn't execute great at times,” said Coach Murphy. “I thought out of the gate tonight we were kind of nervous and I could tell they weren't at their best. We were playing hard but we weren't crisp on our offense. When you play a Nashville team you can't have mistakes.”

However Clemons answered with a driving score to send the teams to the fourth quarter with the Red Devils down just three.

Gajewski scored his final points on a reverse lay in to open the final quarter before Murphysboro made their best offensive blitz of the night.

Feggins scored six of the eight consecutive Red Devils points with two of the scores coming on offensive rebounds.

One of the rebounds came on one of the few transition chances by either team as he grabbed a miss for a stick back score.

He also made a nice cut to the basket for a lay in which put Murphysboro up 27-24 at the 3:26 mark.

Two free throws by Hoepker and another Turner basket put the Hornets back in front before Feggins finished his scoring with yet another bucket.

His spin move in the lane resulted in a turnaround jumper for Murphysboro's final advantage at 29-28 with exactly 2:00 left.

Turner's 3-point bomb gave Nashville back the lead for good but the Red Devils had their late chances.

“He (Turner) knows he has all of the trust from me to take those kind of big shots,” said Coach Weathers. “He's a gamer; he's a competitor.”

Abernathy missed the first of a two-shot free throw trip. His second one cut the Hornets lead down to 31-30.

Following the Hoepker too free throws to extend the lead, Abernathy was called for traveling on a step back 3-point attempt.

Turner could have put the game away but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with :10.4 remaining.

Murphysboro secured the rebound and got a timeout to set the stage for one last chance.

The Clemons shot, from the left wing in front of the Murphysboro bench, looked good all the way until it bounced harmlessly off of the rim.

Neither team shot the ball well, as one could imagine viewing the final score.

Nashville was slightly better in percentage, hitting 12-of-33 (36.3 percent) while the Red Devils were at 33.3 percent (12-of-36).

Both teams were 2-of-10 from the arc.

With Walker leading the way Murphysboro won the rebound battle at 25-18.

The Hornets were a bit better handling the ball, committing just eight-turnovers compared to 10 for the Murphy.

The Red Devils fine campaign came to a close at 28-3 while the 26-4 Hornets will now face Clinton County rival Breese Central for the second time this season.

The Cougars beat Nashville, 51-40 back on January 22 in the final game of the Nashville Invitational Tournament.

It was a weekend in which the Hornets lost to both Central and Mater Dei (37-36) on consecutive nights.

Coach Weathers' crew hasn't lost since, rattling off eight-consecutive victories.

Central, on the other hand, also lost back-to-back games in early February (Mater Dei, Columbia) but are on a seven-game win streak.

These long time rivals will hook up on Friday night with a spot at SIU Arena next Monday night on the line.

“They (Central) are very well coached and they run a ton of great sets offensively. They execute them really well. They play well together and they are shooting the ball extremely well right now,” said Coach Weathers. “It's definitely going to be a challenge for us and we're looking forward to it.”

Nashville (33) – Schoenherr 0 0 0-0 0, Heggemeier 0 0 0-0 0, Hoepker 4 0 6-6 14, Gajewski 2 0 1-1 5, Turner 4 2 0-2 14. 2FG-10, 3FG-2, FT-7-9, PF-11.
Murphysboro (30) – Clemons 5 1 2-4 15, Feggins 5 0 0-1 10, Abell 0 0 0-0 0, Davis 0 0 0-0 0, Rogers Walker 0 0 1-2 1, Abernathy 0 1 1-2 4. 2FG-10, 3FG-2, FT-4-9, PF-12.
Fouled Out – Gajewski - Nashville
Technical Fouls – None.

Mount Carmel (67) – Sisson 10 0 1-5 21, Allen 0 0 6-8 6, Broster 0 0 0-0 0, Kennard 3 0 10-10 16, Smith 5 2 0-0 16, Gillihan 1 0 0-0 2, Martin 2 0 0-0 4, Laws 1 0 0-0 2. 2FG-22, 3FG-1, FT-17-23, PF-14.
Pana (56) – Schmitz 1 0 0-2 2, Lynch 0 0 1-2 1, Schoonover 10 2 5-8 31, Kuhn 2 0 1-4 5, Armstrong 0 0 0-0 0, Peebles 2 3 0-1 14, Hackler 1 0 1-2 3, Hudlin 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-16, 3FG-5, FT-8-19, PF-20.
Fouled Out – Schoonover - Pana.
Technical Fouls – Kuhn - Pana.