03-16-04
EAST ST. LOUIS VS. CARBONDALE
CLASS AA EDWARDSVILLE SUPERSECTIONAL
EDWARDSVILLE - Justin Dentmon is the Carbondale Terriers' team leader.
On Tuesday night he proved it once again.

The 6-foot-2 senior guard stepped to the free throw line with :00.3 left in his teams' game against East St. Louis at the Edwardsville Class AA Supersectional Tuesday night.

On the line was a trip to the Class AA state finals in Peoria.

With the score tied at 56-all Dentmon, after being fouled on a fast break lay up attempt, held his teams' destiny in his hands.

He didn't disappoint his teammates or his fans.

Dentmon buried both free throws to extend Carbondale's successful season while ending the hopes of the Flyers.

After tipping away a subsequent inbounds pass, the Terriers celebrated their 58-56 win in front of a crowd of just over 3,700 fans at the Vadalabene Center at SIU-Edwardsville.

Carbondale (27-5) heads to the Class AA 'Elite Eight' for the first time since the Troy Hudson led Terriers finished second to Peoria Manual in the 1994 state tournament in Champaign.

"When he (Justin) steps to the line I have confidence in him," said Terriers' coach Jim Miller. "There is no other person that I want to see with the ball late in the game for us. He has been a leader for us for three years and he continues to get the job done."

East St. Louis had the game situation set up perfectly when Tommy Liddell put up a shot in the final seconds of the game with a chance to win.

But his drive in the lane produced a shot that bounced off of the rim with just a few seconds left.

After the rebound was tipped, Dentmon picked up the ball and sprinted toward the basket where East St. Louis' Mark Howliet fouled him on his lay up attempt.

"It was a good shot to take and I thought it was going in," said East St. Louis coach Dennis Brooks about Liddell's shot. "You couldn't ask for a better chance."

Early on, the Flyers looked the part of the team ready to advance to Peoria.

Liddell scored ten first quarter points and his jumper from 15-feet out with 3:26 left gave the Flyers their biggest lead of the game at 16-8.

However the Terriers finished the quarter strong with a Dentmon 3-pointer and a Lawrence Blackledge reverse lay in that cut the East St. Louis lead at the first horn to 20-16.

The Flyers continued to put offensive pressure on Carbondale, taking a 27-22 lead with a Darian Luster turn around jumper from the right block with 3:59 before intermission.

But Carbondale's Michael DeWalt stepped out and canned a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Teammate Tommy Holder hit a late free throw to make it 27-26 East St. Louis at the half.

The Terriers went on a 11-3 run to open the third quarter to take a 37-30 lead.

Dentmon highlighted the run with a 3-point play with an underhand lay in while being fouled by East St. Louis' Demario Smith.

He later got loose on a fast break for a dunk and a 41-36 advantage.

Liddell tried to keep pace with Dentmon, scoring five points on a 3-point play and another basket.

Carbondale reserve Steven Haynes scored on a 15-footer just before the buzzer to extend the lead to 43-38 heading to the fourth quarter.

A Tommy Holler basket and 3-pointer from the left win by Dentmon extend the Terriers' lead to 48-40 early in the final quarter.

But East St. Louis saved its best run of the night for the final minutes.

Trailing 56-49 with just 2:24 to go, East St. Louis went on a 7-0 sprint to tie the score.

Howliet produced the biggest blow to the Terriers as he hit a long 3-point bomb from the right wing with 1:43 left to cut the Carbondale lead to 56-54.

Then two straight turnovers by Coach Miller's team gave the Flyers a chance to win the game.

Dentmon was stripped of the ball by a Flyer defender and subsequently was tied up for a jump ball, giving possession back to East St. Louis with 1:16 remaining.

Just moments later, Liddell evened the game at 56-all with a 10-footer in a paint.

Carbondale, while working for a good shot, saw Holler get called for a charging foul heading to the basket with :23.3 left.

This set up the final hectic seconds that sent the Terriers to the state finals.

Lost in the excitement and the stat sheet was the defensive play of Blackledge, who blocked four Flyer shots and changed several others.

"He has been doing that for us all season long," said Miller about the 6-foot-7 senior center. "He is so long armed and he blocks shots and gets their attention. He is able to change what a lot of teams try to do and puts doubt in their mind's when they want to come into the lane."

Dentmon led the Terriers with 21 points while teammates Spearman and Holler added 12 points each.

Holler's defensive effort, especially late in the game on Liddell, was just par for the course according to Miller.

"Tommy (Holler) usually guards the other teams' best player," Miller said. "He has guarded the best players on our schedule and competes very well. His athleticism along with the rest of our team wears teams down late in games."

East St. Louis finished its season with Liddell's 27 points.

The 6-foot-5 senior is headed to St. Louis University next season.

The Flyers held a 28-23 rebounding edge while committing 14 turnovers to just 12 by Carbondale.

The Terriers went 23-of-51 from the field while hitting 9-of-11 from the foul line.

East St. Louis was 22-of-52 from the floor with Liddell hitting a scorching 11-of-17.

Dentmon was 7-of-16 overall and 2-of-6 from behind the arc.

He also hit all five of his free throw attempts, including the final two that extended the Terriers' season.

"Our kids make good decisions on the court and I was confident in their abilities in the last seconds of the game," finalized Miller.

East St. Louis (56) - Howliet 0 3 1-2 10, Bell 3 0 1-2 7, Liddell 10 1 4-5 27, Luster 4 0 2-4 10, Smith 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-18, 3FG-4, FT-8-13, PF-13.
Carbondale (58) - Dentmon 5 2 5-5 21, Blackledge 3 0 0-0 6, Holder 4 0 4-6 12, De Walt 0 1 0-0 3, Spearman 6 0 0-0 12, Fayne 1 0 0-0 2, Haynes 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-20, 3FG-3, FT-9-11, PF-13.