01/19/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
BENTON - In a bracketed tournament, there is only one way to take home the championship; you must win every game.

No tie-breakers, no coin flips, no Czechoslovakian judges' decisions.

Just win your games and you get to display the hardware.

The Benton Rangers took a huge leap towards the title of the 51st annual Benton Invitational Tournament on Monday, ousting Sesser-Valier 78-46 to open the event with flair.

It was a contest that lacked much in the way of drama as the hosts outscored the Red Devils 26-10 in the second quarter to turn an eight-point first quarter advantage to a 50-26 lead at intermission.

Rich Herrin Gym was a drama free zone Monday as the Rangers pushed their overall mark to 16-4 and inked a spot in the semifinals on Friday.

Coach Marcus Clarry and his S-V team fell to 6-11 on the season.

A 16-2 run late in the second quarter by Benton doomed the Devils and sent them to Thursday night's consolation bracket semifinals.

Coach Ron Winemiller's Rangers forced nine first half turnovers and 13 for the game and turned many of the S-V mistakes into fast break points in the victory.

Ten different Rangers scored points, a team-best total coming from senior guard TJ Hamilton.

Hamilton drilled home half of Benton's eight made 3-pointers and finished with 18-points to lead all of the scorers in Monday night's romp.

Sophomore Drake Porter added 14 for Benton with nine-points coming from junior Jaxton Wiggs who, according to Coach Winemiller, had missed some games with illness and returned on Monday.

“That's exactly what we talked about (before the game). There are no crazy tie-breakers. If you lose you can't win the tournament,” said Coach Winemiller. “This is the only bracketed tournament that we play in besides the state series so to be able to get off to a good start and move to the right (of the bracket) was important tonight.”

Sesser-Valier had just two players, sophomore Paxton Shurtz and senior Kyan Short, in double-figures in scoring with 13 and 11.

They each hit a three 3-pointers in the game with Short connecting on his first one less than two minutes into the game to give Sesser-Valier its only lead at 5-3 with 6:36 left in the first quarter.

But nine consecutive points by the hosts gave the Rangers a 12-5 lead.

Hamilton' first 3-pointer was part of the run which included two consecutive S-V turnovers that turned into points by Benton.

Benton senior Nolan Schafer scored 13-points Monday and he was part of the early scoring rush with seven first quarter points.

His three-point play on a drive in the lane was followed by Hamilton baskets on an assist from Schafer in transition and then another 3-pointer, this time from the top of the arc, for a 20-8 advantage.

Shurtz scored on consecutive trips with a 3-pointer and a score on a fast break but Porter closed the first quarter with a drive down the baseline for a 24-16 lead.

(CONTINUED)

Benton scored 13-straight points in less than two minutes of playing time in the second quarter.

Porter and Hamilton each added points in the outburst.

Hamilton added yet another 3-pointer and Porter converted a steal and fast break lay in before a baseline drive turned into an “And-One” for a 22-point advantage.

Senior guard Clay Gage scored six-points for Benton, with all of his points coming in the second quarter.

His 3-pointer closed the Rangers scoring in the first half.

Although they committed five of their turnovers in the third quarter, Benton didn't allow the Red Devils to get off of the mat.

Porter added an additional three-point play and Hamilton canned 3-pointer number four before junior reserve Jacob VanHorn beat the third quarter buzzer with a 20-footer from up top for a 63-36 lead heading to the fourth.

The reserves for Coach Winemiller finished out the fourth quarter, which included a late 7-0 run to get the score high enough to hit the mercy rule plateau.

Senior Lane Croslin scored six-points in the fourth quarter for Benton and junior Keaton McCullum added a 3-pointer in the final minute of the victory that sent the Rangers into the championship semifinals on Friday.

Benton totaled 31-of-54 overall shooting the ball (57.4 percent) and were 8-of-15 from long-range.

They dominated the glass (26-13 rebounding edge) and committed just nine-turnovers, five of which came in a third quarter lull.

Sesser-Valier finished up just 19-of-42 from the floor (45.2 percent) and 7-of-17 from the 3-point line.

The Rangers will face Flora on Friday night in the semifinals as the Wolves sent Herrin to the consolation bracket in Monday's second game.

“I feel like when we let people be comfortable defensively on offense, when we allow them to dictate the pace of play, it really affects how we play offensively,” said Coach Winemiller. “I thought we did a good job, we got some easy shots. Having Wiggs back tonight was a real boost to our energy.”

FLORA 55, HERRIN 47
The Wolves advanced to the championship semifinals with a win over the Tigers in the Monday night finale.

Coach Jason Hanson got 21-points from senior guard Parker Helm and 13-points from senior forward Isham Lusk in the victory in Flora's first ever appearance at the BIT.

A 16-7 third quarter flipped the switch for the Wolves with senior Gage Dugan scoring all six of his points in the frame as Flora went from down 22-18 at the half to up 34-29 at the end of three.

Helm hit a two of his five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and the Wolves hit 6-of-9 free throws in the final minutes to secure the win as they improved to 8-12 overall.

The Tigers (12-7) fell into the consolation bracket despite junior Jaxon Faulkenberry scoring 19-points.

JJ Gwaltney added 12 for Coach Sayler Shurtz as the Tigers will now face Sesser-Valier on Thursday night.