12-28-14
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The Trico Pioneers accomplished a lot over the weekend at the Carbondale Holiday Tournament.

Coach Mike Denault's team got all the way to the final day of the event, eventually losing to Rockford East, 65-63, in the fifth place game.

Despite 18-points apiece from 6-foot-7 senior Chase Rednour and 6-foot-1 senior Ryan Myers, Trico saw their mark slip to 8-3 overall after the E-Rabs rallied in the second half to edge ahead for a win.

Rockford East was topped by 5-foot-9 senior guard Jordan Reynolds with 21-points for the 6-6 club that picked up a win over St. Louis (MO.) Madison Prep, 67-63, in the morning and took home the fifth place hardware.

Reynolds was a sparkling 10-12 from the floor in the win.

Trico got a win Sunday morning over Paducah (KY.) St. Mary, 55-37, to set up a showdown Sunday evening.

The Pioneers statistically were very even with East but they didn't get the key stops in the second half to keep the E-Rabs from the win.

Trico finished 25-of-57 overall from the field and committed just nine turnovers against a lot of pressure by the E-Rabs.

They even managed to out board the opposition (30-28) .

With just a quick look at the stat sheet, it would appear that Trico would have came away with the win.

Rockford East didn't hit a 3-point shot (0-3) and coughed the ball up 20-times but still managed to get the job done.

“We need to get out and guard people to be successful and a team with that much size is tough to guard. I thought we did a good job on them but they capitalized on some of our defensive mistakes,” said Coach Denault. “We have a long ways to go and I don't think this team has reached its potential. We relied a little too much on individual talent today and we have to do a better job with the team concept. Our guys play so hard and we got a lot of loose balls today and that is how we stayed in the game.”

The game was entertaining to say the least, with eight lead changes and five ties.

The Pioneers led for most of the first three quarters but Rockford managed to stay within striking distance.

Rednour scored seven of his points early in the first quarter with a 3-point bomb from the top of the arc and a pair of scores in the lane.

But Reynolds also had a good run to begin the game, hitting four shots in the frame.

His drive to the basket for a bucket and then his assist to teammate Bryant Nolan gave the E-Rabs a 14-13 lead.

Six-foot-three junior forward Trent Koch, who also added nine to the Pioneers' total, scored a pair of baskets in the quarter, finishing with a fast-break lay up to give Trico a 21-14 lead.

Trico got its biggest advantage of the night midway through the second quarter as they looked the part of the victor.

An 11-4 push, highlighted by a 3-pointer by guard Jake Chapman gave the Pioneers a 32-21 advantage with 4:35 left in the half.

Rockford did a better job of using their quickness to close the gap by intermission.

The E-Rabs went on a 10-2 run to close the contest.

Six-foot-eight senior center and wide-body Patrick Green scored on a pair of shots in the lane, first on an assist from Reynolds and then on a rebound.

After Myers hit a lay in for the Pioneers, Rockford East scored six straight to cut the Trico lead to 36-33 at the break.

Reynolds scored twice on a shot from the right wing and on a steal and fast break lay.

When Green hit a shot on the move in the lane on an assist from sophomore Daevion Dixon, the deficit was just three at the half.

It took until the final moments of the third quarter for the E-Rabs to get back the lead.

A 10-2 run, with four consecutive free throws to close it out, got East to a 50-48 addy.

Rockford had a golden opportunity to put the game away with just over two minutes left.

Leading 60-57 after scores by Brandon Chester and Alex Moore and a turnover by Trico, the E-Rabs proceeded to miss three straight free throws.

This left room for the Pioneers to get back into the contest.

Trico got a bucket by Rednour on a drive to the basket and then a pair of free throws by senior guard Zach Anderson to even the game at 61-all with 1:50 left.

Each team made 1-of-2 free throw chances taking the game into the final seconds even a game at 62-all.

It was fitting that the top player for Rockford East would get the ball in the final minute.

Reynolds scored on a back door lay in to give his club a 64-62 lead with :31 left.

Trico had a chance to even the score once again but Myers missed the first of two foul shots with :07.7 to go.

His second shot found the mark and Coach Denault instructed his club to foul.

Nolan hit the first charity toss but his second one misfired with Trico getting the rebound with no timeouts remaining.

Myers headed up the court down the left sideline but lost control of the ball giving it back to Rockford East with :01.6 remaining.

The E-Rabs got the ball into Green who held the ball as time expired on the fifth place game.

Green finished with 14-points and nine-rebounds for the East squad while Nolan finished with nine.

Eight points from Alex Moore and six-points from Nick Enna helped the E-Rabs improve to 6-6 on the season this will be the biggest team, enrollment size (1,888), the Pioneers will face this season.

Behind Myers and Rednour, Chapman added 10-points while Koch added nine and Anderson chipped in six.

“I thought that we played the way we needed to win, we just have to be a bit more patient when we get the ball in our hands,” said Coach Denault. “There were a lot of things to look at but I think that our guys had a great day today and I couldn't be happier. If we had played this well against Manassas and then New Madrid as we did today we might be playing tonight for a championship.”

CHICAGO MARSHALL 62, MURPHYSBORO 43
The Commandos got balanced scoring and took care of Murphysboro to win the consolation championship.Tyresse Williford, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, topped the Commandos with 19-points while teammates Jakari Smith added 15-points and Lonell Williams 10-points in the victory.

Murphysboro, after an opening day loss, finished 2-2 in the tournament and are now 8-3 overall after the loss.

Five-foot-eleven junior guard Braden Miller and 6-foot-1 junior Staci LaBranche scored eight points apiece for Coach Daryl Murphy' squad.

The Red Devils were just 16-of-37 overall in the game and committed 18-turnovers in the loss.

TRICO 55, PADUCAH (KY.) ST. MARY 37
The Pioneers set the alarm clocks early on Sunday and put away the Vikings in the opener of the session at Carbondale High School.

Trico sprinted out to a 21-8 first quarter lead and used a 17-6 third quarter to get the win to advance back to SIU Arena.

Ryan Myers topped the scoring with 20-points while Trent Koch added 13.

Chase Rednour added seven points but pulled down 12-rebounds in the win for the 8-2 Pioneers.

The Vikings were led by junior guard Ben Hopper with seven points as Trico held St. Mary to just 15-of-40 shooting and forced them into 21-turnovers.