12-04-09
DU QUOIN TIP-OFF CLASSIC
WALTONVILLE 50, BENTON 43
The Spartans moved into the final game of the tournament unbeaten at 3-0 after a win over the Rangers Friday night.

Joseph Lewis paced Waltonville with 15 points while teammates Gavin Bassett and Skyler Witges added 12 and 10.

For Benton (0-2) Caleb Suver dropped in 22 points on Waltonville but didn’t get much help as no other Benton player scored more than six points.

Waltonville hit 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to close it out.

DU QUOIN 75, CAIRO 55
The Indians (2-0) can win the tournament title with wins over Benton on Saturday afternoon and Waltonville on Saturday night.

DQ pulled away with a 27-15 second quarter to lead 43-31.

Matt Gossett led the Tribe with 20 points with J.C. Davis 19 and Logan Schneider with 14 following up.

The Pilots (1-2) received 20 points from Lee Wright but no other double-figure scorers emerged.

Du Quoin held Cairo’s Arthur Williams to just seven points.

TRICO PIONEER INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
EGYPTIAN 84, ELVERADO 32
The Pharaohs picked up win number two on the season against overmatched Elverado in Friday night’s opening game.

Ten different players scored for Egyptian with Shelton Pender – a 5-foot-11 senior guard – hitting five 3-pointers and a total of 28 points to lead Coach Matt Mandrell’s club.

Marcus Marable added 12 points followed by eight points from Matt Petermichel and seven points each from Jhermarien Terry and Darmez Nelson.

Egyptian (1-2 in the tournament) led 17-3 at the end of the first quarter and never let up.

Kyle Kempfer topped the Falcons (0-3) with 14 points.

TRICO 63, STEELEVILLE 61
The host Pioneers survived a scare from rival Steeleville in the closest game of the tournament so far.

Tyler Coleman led Trico (3-0) with 17 points while Chase Heins and Logan Thies added 15 and 14.

Steeleville (1-2) nearly pulled off the comeback but fell just short. The Warriors trailed 39-28 at the half but rallied to within two points at the end.

Colin Smith topped the Warriors and all scorers with 21 points while Coire Reel added 14.

Nick Potter and Josh Dierks added 10 points each.

Neither team shot the ball well from the foul line but it hurt Steeleville the most.

The Warriors missed seven free throws in the second half – any two of which would have tied the game.

RED BUD 63, SHAWNEE 53
The Musketeers also survived a bit of a scare in a ten point win over Shawnee.

Red Bud (3-0) got 22 points from Adam Kunkel and 19 points from Jake Hoffman as they keep their title hopes alive heading into two games on Saturday.

Kory Liefer scored 15 for Coach Dave Gillingham’s club – who also struggled in hitting free throws.

Red Bud was just 20-of-35 from the stripe but led 48-37 heading into the final quarter.

Shawnee (1-2) had three players in double-figures with 13 points from Ty McMahan; 12 points from Tyler Davis and 11 points from Tyler Spurlock.

12-03-09
OKAWVILLE POST-THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT
WOODLAWN 63, MARISSA-COULTERVILLE 40
With three Cardinals in double-figures in scoring – Woodlawn (2-1) recovered from their loss on Wednesday night with a solid win in the third place contest over the Meteors on Thursday.

Coach Shane Witzel’s squad was led in scoring by senior Casey Hammond with 18 points while Josh Wiggs and Kirk Dunbar chipped in 16 and 11 points respectively.

Woodlawn broke open a close game by outgunning M-C 23-10 in the third quarter (39-13 in the second half) with Hammond nailing a trio of 3-pointers in the frame.

Marissa-Coulterville (1-3 on the season) failed to put any player in double-digits on Thursday night.

The Meteors were topped by Joey Smith with eight points while Michael Lloyd – M-C’s top scorer in the first two games of the tournament – was held to just six.

CHESTER 76, VALMEYER 37
The Yellow Jackets picked up their first victory of the season for head coach Robert Bell with a win over the Pirates (0-3) by placing four players in double-figures.

Zach Lochhead and Matt Hamilton each netted 14 points in the win that was never in doubt.

Aaron Grah and Brett Bathol were next in the parade with 11 and 10.

Chester – with six different players scoring – led 27-11 at the end of one quarter and led 48-24 at the half.

Valmeyer’s Joe Heavner led the Pirates with 15.

12-02-09
OKAWVILLE POST-THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT
The championship game is set for Friday night at the Okawville Tourney as New Athens and the host Rockets will tangle at 7:00 pm.

NEW ATHENS 42, WOODLAWN 34
New Athens (2-0) shocked highly-regarded Woodlawn on Wednesday night in Pool B to advance to the title game.

Tyler Womack scored 16 points while Vince Kiefer added 13 as the Yellow Jackets beat the Cardinals in a low scoring contest.

Adam Ingles added 10 points for New Athens – who lost a pair of games to Woodlawn last season but won the first of a potential two meetings this season between the two teams. They could both meet at the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament in December.

Woodlawn (1-1) was paced by Casey Hammond with 11 points while Josh Wiggs added nine.

The 6-foot-7 junior Wiggs spent most of his contest on the bench in foul trouble and eventual was disqualified in the fourth quarter. That turned out to be a key blow to the Woodlawn chances.

New Athens wanted a slower tempo and got it in part from dropping into a 2-3-zone defense that foiled the Woodlawn offensive plan.

That strategy paid off as the Cards struggled from the field hitting just 22 percent from the floor for the game and trailed 18-12 at the half.

New Athens gave Woodlawn fourth quarter chances but the Cards didn’t take advantage.

The Yellow Jackets were just 13-of-23 from the foul line in the game and missed seven of those free throws in the final quarter.

However Woodlawn never produced a rally and fell into the third place game on Thursday night against Marissa-Coulterville.

OKAWVILLE 43, MARISSA-COULTERVILLE 37
Jacob Frederking scored 14 points – 11 after intermission – as the Rockets blazed into the title game with a win over the Meteors.

Coach Jon Kraus got balanced scoring and his team hit enough foul shots in the fourth quarter to hold off M-C.

Taylor Walton added nine points while Jeremy Weeke added six.

Michael Lloyd paced Marissa-Coulterville (1-2 on the season, 1-1 in the tournament) with 14 points. Dave Parkinson added nine in the loss.

The Meteors got within 36-35 with less than four minutes to play but couldn’t get the lead.

Marissa-Coulterville will play Woodlawn in the third place contest on Thursday night at 7:30 pm while Chester and Valmeyer will play for fifth place at 6:00 pm.

TRICO PIONEER INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
The host Pioneers, Red Bud and Shawnee posted wins on Wednesday night at Trico.

SHAWNEE 50, ELVERADO 33
The Redskins held the Falcons scoreless in the fourth quarter to put their first win of the season in the books.

Tyler Glidewell – a 6-foot senior guard – scored 17 points to lead Shawnee (1-1) to the win while teammates Tyler Davis (14) and Kyle Griggs (10) also hit for double-digits.

Shawnee won this contest despite missing 20 free throws (13-of-33) by outscoring the Falcons 15-0 in the fourth quarter.

Elverado (0-2) was led by Kyle Kempfer with 15 points while Dalton Porter and Herb Sandlin added eight points each.

TRICO 64, EGYPTIAN 54
In the most competitive of the contests in the PIT so far – the host Pioneers outscored the Pharaohs 15-10 in the final quarter to pull away for the win to improve to 2-0 on the tournament and season.

Coach Shane Hawkins had four Trico players in double-figures with Jesse Smith scoring 16 to lead the way.

Dylan Witthoft added 13 points for Trico followed by 12 points from Tyler Coleman and 11 points from Chase Heins.

Matt Petermichel led Egyptian (1-4 on the season and 0-2 in the PIT) with 23 points - including nine in the opening quarter as the Pharaohs took command early and led 31-27 at the half.

Marcus Marable tossed in 12 points while Rayshaun Woodson added 11 points for Egyptian.

Trico hit 8-of-11 fourth quarter free throws as the Pioneers kept their title hopes alive by outgunning Egyptian 37-23 in the second half.

RED BUD 52, STEELEVILLE 45
The Musketeers (2-0) held off those pesky Warriors by hitting 10-of-12 fourth quarter free throws in the Wednesday night finale.

Adam Kunkel – Red Bud’s 5-foot-10 junior guard – led all scorers with 22 points and he hit four of those fourth quarter charities in the win.

Jake Hoffman added 16 points for the Musketeers – who are the defending tournament champions and hope to open its season 5-0 like last season.

Colin Smith paced Steeleville (1-1) with 16 points while Coire Reel added 13.

12-01-09
OKAWVILLE POST-THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT
On the second night of the event both New Athens and Marissa-Coulterville picked up wins to make four teams 1-0 in the tournament after the second night.

MARISSA-COULTERVILLE 75, VALMEYER 44
The Meteors sunk the Pirates – blasting them out of the water with a 46-12 romp in the first two quarters for the easy win in their opening game of the tourney.

Michael Lloyd led M-C (1-1) with 21 points – which topped all scorers.

Joey Martin and Joey Smith chipped in 11 and 10 points apiece while Casey Pitchford and Dave Parkinson added eight each.

Joe Heavner topped Valmeyer (0-2) with 16 points with Aaron Crossin adding nine points on three 3-pointers.

Kyle Kipping tossed in eight points for the Pirates.

NEW ATHENS 51, CHESTER 36
In a battle of Yellow Jackets – the ones from New Athens came out on top as head coach Marc Derwort saw his club open its season with a win behind 18 points from Vince Kiefer.

The 6-foot-4 junior forward hit for nine field goals – including five two-pointers as New Athens pulled away from Chester with a 21-8 run in the third quarter.

Adam Ingles – a 6-foot-1 sophomore – added 12 points while Tyler Womack popped in nine points for the NA totals.

Zach Lochhead led Coach Robert Bell’s Yellow Jackets in the scorebook with 11 points while Brett Bathol tossed in eight.

11-30-09
DU QUOIN TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Two of the top-rated ABV area Class 1A teams opened their respective seasons with wins on Monday night at the Du Quoin Tip-Off Classic.

Waltonville and Cairo – ABV Preseason ranked 3rd and 5th respectively – beat a pair of Class 2A teams to open the tournament.

CAIRO 68, BENTON 53
Cairo got a balanced scoring attack going in its 68-53 win over Benton in the first game with four players hitting for double-figures in the triumph.

Rodney Woodson – a 5-foot-11 senior guard – torched the Rangers with 20 points including 12 in the fourth quarter. Watson scored all 20 of his points in the final two quarters.

Cairo’s Lee Wright stepped up with 14 points while Arthur Williams and Demetrious Hill added 12 and 11 respectively. Hill canned both of the 3-pointers made by Cairo in the contest.

The Pilots (1-0) blew open the game with a 47-point second half explosion.

Benton (0-1) were led by Kyler Smith with 15 points while teammate Tyler Leffler added 10.

Sophomores Cody Smith and Mason Childers added eight points each.

WALTONVILLE 79, CARTERVILLE 70 OT
The Spartans rallied from a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to force and extra session and then pulled away from the Lions to open the season and the tournament with a win.

Waltonville returned four starters from last season and all four contributed double-figures in points in the triumph.

Skyler Witges – a 6-foot-3 senior guard – poured home 24 points to pace Waltonville in the overtime win.

Joseph Lewis added 16 points while Brock Wheatley and Gavin Bassett accounted for 14 and 12 points.

Coach Mike Denault’s Spartans cashed in at the foul line on the night – drilling home 22-of-29 from the stripe in the meantime connecting on 8-of-11 in OT.

Carterville (0-1) jumped out to a 23-15 lead at the first horn with six different players inking the scorebook.

Drew Bonner hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter for the Lions and finished with 15 points.

Ryan Bonifield topped the Carterville scoring with 24 while Zack Watson added 12.

HARRISBURG INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
ANNA-JONESBORO 54, HAMILTON COUNTY 53
The Wildcats shaded the Foxes in the season opener and tournament beginner at Harrisburg Monday night.

A-J (1-0) with new head coach Robbie Wright at the helm – opened its season with an important non-conference win.

J.R. Woodward tossed in 20 points for the Wildcats while Jordan Adams added 16.

The ‘Cats jumped out to a 12-2 first quarter lead but Hamilton County rallied to cut the deficit to just 19-17 at intermission.

Duke Greisemer – a 6-foot-3 forward – scored ten points in the third quarter for Hamilton County and teammate Adam Irvin busted loose for three 3-pointers in the frame as the Foxes scored 27 points in the quarter to lead by a point at 44-43 heading into the fourth quarter.

Brady Wright – a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard/forward – ignited a rally for Anna-Jonesboro with seven of his nine points in the final quarter.

Greisemer led the Foxes (0-1) with 14 points while Irvin added 12 total on four 3-pointers. Robert Rubbenacker added 11 points for Ham Co.
CARMI-WHITE COUNTY 58, HARRISBURG 48
The host Bulldogs were very gracious hosts on Monday night as CWC used a pair of grand offensive performances by Clay Metheny and Lawson Warren to begin the season on a upbeat.

Metheny – a returning starter from 2008-09 – netted a game-best 23 points in the win while teammate Warren hit for 19 points.

Carmi connected on 14-of-17 free throws in the win. After a sluggish first half – CWC scored 41 points to claim the victory.

Harrisburg’ Cain Sheldon (0-1) was the only Bulldog player in double-figures with 18.

Freshman Capel Henshaw and Tyler Smithpeters scored eight points each for Harrisburg (0-1).

Six-foot-seven senior Lucas Elverd was held to just six points while spending most of his evening on the bench in foul trouble.

TRICO PIONEER INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
All three of the expected winners from the first night of action at the TPI emerged victorious in the six-team round-robin event.

TRICO 60, SHAWNEE 35
The host got off to a flying start without one of its best players dressed.

Jesse Smith led all scorers with 14 points as 11 players scored for Trico in the triumph.

Two other Pioneers – Chase Heins and Dylan Witthoft – finished with eight and seven points respectively.

Shawnee (0-1) was led by Tyler Davis with 14.

RED BUD 86, ELVERADO 31
Head coach David Gillingham saw his defending tournament champions roll past the Falcons (0-1) in the tournaments’ first action.

Kory Liefer topped the pops with 22 points while Adam Kunkel and Jake Hoffman added 16 points each.

Dalton Porter led Elverado with 10 points.

The Musketeers led by just a 17-10 score at the first horn but used a scoring avalanche to cover up the Falcons in the middle two quarters 60-10 to lead 77-27 at the end of three quarters.

STEELEVILLE 60, EGYPTIAN 45
The Warriors (1-1) opened its tournament with a win over the Pharaohs in the second contest of the evening.

Egyptian (1-3) was coming off of a tournament last week at Christopher but it was Steeleville that looked ready to play on Monday.

Six-foot-three junior Coire Reel led Coach Gerald Mumbower’s club with 18 points while Colin Smith added 17.

Torrey Gerberding added 10 points for the 1-0 Steeleville club.

Matt Petermichel led the Pharaohs with 17 points while Marcus Marable tossed in nine.

OKAWVILLE POST-THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT
Defending tournament titlist Woodlawn and this year’s host Okawville romped to easy wins on the opening night.

WOODLAWN 63, CHESTER 36
The Cardinals opened the 2009-10 season with a 27 point win over the Yellow Jackets.

Casey Hammond and Josh Wiggs each hit for 16 points in the season opener for both teams.

Kirk Dunbar added 11 points while John Cavender and Bryan Johnson added six points apiece as the Cardinals led 29-10 at intermission.

For Chester (0-1) Zach Lochhead paced all scorers with 23 points – hitting four 3-pointers on the night.

OKAWVILLE 87, VALMEYER 32
The Rockets lit up Valmeyer early with a 32-13 first quarter on the way to the easy win to begin the campaign and tournament.

Coach Jon Kraus had nine players score for his team – including five players in double-figures.

Taylor Walton scored 15 points for Okawville while teammate Jeremy Weeke added 12.

Okawville’s Tyler Brammeier and Justion Lohman added 11 points each while Jacob Frederking notched 10.

Valmeyer’s Joe Heavner scored ten for the Pirates.