Red Hill is 15-10 after a 61-41 win over Clay City in the title game of the Edwards County Regional.

Coach Bryan Havill has a team that has played well at times this season but have probably the weakest resume of the four combatants in this sectional. But home teams always have a puncher’s chance.

Leading the way on Friday night was Josh Hawkins – a 5-foot-9 junior guard – that has averaged 10.2 p.p.g. this season.

Hawkins scored 21 in the Salukis win over the Wolves.

Six-foot junior Trevor Albertson (11.9 p.p.g.) and 6-foot-2 sophomore Robert Young (10.2 p.p.g.) are the only Red Hill players averaging double-figures in scoring.

Matt Wirth – a 6-foot-3 junior forward – adds 9.6 p.p.g. and tossed home 17-points in the Clay City win.

Six-foot-three junior Eli Latch (3.5 p.p.g.) is the fifth starter in the backcourt.

Neoga (18-11) is a member of the National Trail Conference and these Indians finished at 6-3 in the NTC regular season race and that was good enough for fourth place.

Head coach Jason Hanson has three starters that are averaging double-digits in scoring.

Cody Boarman – a 6-foot-4 junior forward – leads the club with 12.9 p.p.g. but is questionable for the sectional after hurting his foot in Neoga’s 62-51 win over Stewardson-Strasburg to win the Cumberland Regional on Friday night.

Austin Robinson is a 6-foot-2 senior who is dropping in 12.7 points per night for Neoga while Dalton Robinson adds 10.5.

Six-foot-five senior center Jordan Russell chips in six points a game but leads the squad with 6.5 rebounds a contest.

Bryn Price – a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard – came up big in the Stew-Stras game throwing in 15-points.

Neoga has a marquee win on its belt this season as they beat Effingham St. Anthony 37-35 back in January.

They also lost a game at Red Hill to the Salukis 51-48 back in November during the Capital Classic – a tournament where they finished 0-3 and were also beaten by Altamont.

Woodlawn (26-1) is the highest ranked team in the sectional – statewide and on ABV.

The Cards are the top ranked team in Class 1A ABV and number three in the latest AP Poll.

They have gotten the job done against a variety of opponents this season by wearing down clubs in the second half.

They have outscored their opponents 62.5 to 40.5 this season.

Coach Shane Witzel plays a rotation of nine players who have all contributed.

Bronson and Dawson Verhines are brothers that have led the club in scoring and leadership.

The 6-foot-4 senior forward Bronson averages 14.1 p.p.g. which leads the squad.

Dawson is a 6-foot sophomore point guard who runs the offense and adds 8.9 p.p.g. He is the leading assist man with 3.9 a.p.g.

But defensively these two have done the most damage.

In two contests against South Central this season – the Verhines brothers threw a net over the high scoring duo of Isaac Grapperhaus and Tanner Bushue – holding those two in check in leading a defensive team effort of just 54-points scored by South Central (25 and 29) in two wins.

Two senior starters have been along for a four-year varsity ride and are important to the Cardinals on both ends of the floor.

Six-foot-three forward Jase Green (7.5 p.p.g.) and 6-foot forward Kyle Boldt (5.5 p.p.g.) have logged a lot of minutes in the past four winters and this duo deserves a lot of respect for the work put in and the roles that they play.

Green is a lefty that can hit the mid-range shot while also being able to get to the basket.

Boldt does a lot of his work around the basket and is a solid defender.

Both cause problems for opposing defenses that try to double-team the Verhines brothers.

Five-foot-ten junior Casey Hammond is second on the club in scoring (11.9 p.p.g.) and he is also an outside threat.

When Coach Witzel wants to go big – 6-foot-7 sophomore Josh Wiggs fits in nicely in the offense and clogs the middle on the other end of the floor.

He – along with Bronson Verhines – has been a recipient of many of Dawson’s assists around the basket as he averages 6.2 points a game.

He is third on the team in rebounding at 3.3 boards per outing.

A trio of seniors comes off the bench for Woodlawn and all have contributed.

Six-foot-one Jordan Wehrheim usually provides some offensive spark when he is on the floor while 5-foot-10 senior guard Luke Simmons has provided important reserve minutes.

Jesse Hart – a 5-foot-9 senior guard – can also throw in some shots when needed.

Left-handed players tend to give teams trouble on defense and Woodlawn has four of them in Green, Hammond, Hart and Wiggs.

Altamont (25-4) rallied from a halftime deficit to beat Dieterich in the title game of the St. Elmo Regional and will face Woodlawn on Tuesday night.

Coach Doug Hill’s team averages 69 points a night and they are the happiest when the game is a track meet.

The Indians rely heavily on their backcourt for leadership as Kieffer McCarron and Landon Duckwitz handle those chores.

The 6-foot senior McCarron has a 14.3 p.p.g. scoring average while Duckwitz tosses in 10.9.

Duckwitz runs the show while McCarron is usually the number one option in their offensive half-court sets.

That is when they have to run offensive sets.

The Tribe would rather get into a transition game where Brian Suckow and Devin Frailey can get easy baskets.

The 6-foot-6 senior Frailey is second on the team in scoring with 13.5 points per outing while Suckow – a 6-foot-6 junior – nets 12 p.p.g.

Six-foot-nine senior center Greg Sperry is very important to the Indians when the game slows down as he can get open in the lane for shots while being a nuisance defensively for teams that dare to take the ball into the lane.

Sperry is the fifth player on the roster who averages double-figures in scoring at exactly 10 points per game.

Frailey and Sperry are the top rebounders with 7.5 and 6.0 rebounds respectively.

Mitch Ruff – a 6-foot senior who averages 4.2 p.p.g. – also sees a lot of court time in the Indians rotation.

Campbell Hill Trico Sectional.
The Carrier Mills Wildcats have won four Greater Egyptian Conference regular season titles in succession and are 25-4 heading into the sectional.

But not much is known about Coach Mark Motsinger’s team.

Crippled by a ridiculous conference schedule that allows just two non-league games in the season – Carrier Mills is an unknown in the postseason.

However when called upon – CM has played well against stronger opposition.

At the Eldorado Holiday Tournament in three days they beat West Frankfort, Eldorado and Anna-Jonesboro in succession and then put a scare into 28-1 Massac County in the championship game before falling 59-47.

They have a pair of narrow losses to Mound Meridian and their fourth loss came in head-scratching fashion to lowly to Caruthersville (MO.) early in the season at the Vienna Thanksgiving Tournament.

Luke Morgan – a 6-foot-5 senior center – averages 15 points and nearly nine rebounds a game for CM. He is the go-to guy on offense around the paint area and has the ability to score from anywhere inside the arc.

Morgan scored a team-high 23-points in the Wildcats’ 61-45 regional title game victory over Goreville Friday night at the Goreville Regional.

Dallas Beeding – a 6-foot-4 senior guard – averages 14 points a night. He does a lot of the finishing for the Wildcats in transition.

Five-foot-eleven senior guard Ryan Nichols is the top defender who shadows the other teams’ best scoring guard while adding 10 points a game.

Jordan Miller stands just 5-foot-7 but this junior guard is athletic and can run the point for Coach Motsinger. Miller kicks in eight points a game for the Wildcats.

Wyatt Kirkland is the fourth Carrier Mills player in double-figures in scoring averaging right at 10 points a game.

Carrier Mills missed DJ Campbell for part of the winter but this 6-foot-3 senior gives the Wildcats some depth in the middle of the floor.

If Motsinger wants to go big both Morgan and Campbell will be on the floor.

Coach Danny Kirk has the Sesser-Valier Red Devils (23-5) playing well and they are fresh off of winning the Black Diamond Conference West Division and just posted a 61-51 regional title game win over NCOE at Zeigler-Royalton.

Can you name any players in southern Illinois that are averaging a double-double this season? ABV can name one.

Six-foot-four junior center Justin Matyi.

Matyi is averaging 20.9 points a game while wrapping up 10.1 rebounds a game. Around the paint he is deadly and has put up some gaudy numbers this season – most notably a 39-point, 20-rebound showing against Trenton-Wesclin at the Pinckneyville Shootout.