12/29/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARLINVILLE - The Litchfield Purple Panthers were looking right at a second Carlinville Holiday Tournament championship in as many seasons on Friday night in its title game against Calhoun.

Coach Daniel Bonnell and his club led by as many as 10-points in the first half and were clinging to a 59-57 lead after a free throw by senior guard AJ Odle with :18.1 remaining in the fourth quarter.

However a big play was made by Calhoun freshman Lane Eilerman as he drove down the right baseline for a score while being fouled by Litchfield senior Carson Saathoff who was trying to draw a charging foul.

The subsequent free throw gave the Warriors a 60-59 advantage with just :09.3 left.

But the real issue for Litchfield in the fourth quarter was turnovers (seven) and the last two ended the dream of a repeat.

Following the made free throw by Eilerman the Purple Panthers got the ball up court before taking a time out to set up an inbounds play.

But a lob pass by senior Tate Dobrinich, intended for senior teammate Keenan Powell, hit the backboard where Calhoun sophomore Jack Zipprich ended up with the ball and was fouled.

Zipprich knocked down both free throws for a 62-59 lead with :04.6 remaining.

Needing a 3-pointer to tie the game in the final seconds Litchfield's top scorer in the game, 5-10 senior Victor McGill, got the ball on the left side of the floor on a long pass but stepped out of bounds on the sideline in front of the Purple Panthers' bench as the trail official whistled the violation.

Forced to foul, Litchfield sent junior Conner Longnecker to the line with :01.2 left.

The all-tournament selection canned the first of the two-shot opportunity to ice the 63-59 championship game victory for the Warriors.

“He (Longnecker) is a three-year starter now for us as a junior and he draws a lot of attention for his size and the way he plays around the basket,” said Coach Longnecker. “In certain games other players have to step up for us. We played tonight without senior guard Chase Caselton (ankle injury) and we had some kids step up, especially freshman Lane Eilerman. I couldn't be happier. The boys responded tonight after losing one of our best players. I couldn't be more proud of the boys.”

It was the first title in the event for Calhoun since winning back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019 while denying the Purple Panthers their fifth championship in the long-standing tournament.

McGill tossed in 24-points for Litchfield, now 10-6 on the season.

Powell, a 6-foot senior guard, added 15-points for his club and Odell finished with 12 for the Purple Panthers.

“We're not going to win games if we can't handle the pressure defenses and tonight Calhoun pressured us into a situation that we didn't like,” said Coach Bonnell. “We need to do a better job of making the smart play and making the smart pass. In the fourth quarter we forced some stuff that we shouldn't have.”

Calhoun is now 9-4 on the season with the four wins this week at the 57th annual tournament.

Coach Casey Longnecker had seven different players score points in the tournament finale with Eilerman leading the way with 15-points, with 11 of the points coming in the fourth quarter.

Conner Longnecker, the coaches' nephew, added 11.

Nine-points each came from junior guard Drew Wallendorf and Zipprich while senior Charlie Kallal added eight-points junior Jack Webster notched seven in the triumph.

Calhoun put together a good run in the first quarter behind points from Longnecker, Zipprich and Kallal.

A rebound put-back by Longnecker made it 9-4 Warriors early.

But an 8-0 run by Litchfield, with consecutive baskets by McGill closed the quarter at 12-9 Purple Panthers.

Powell scored twice in the next run on a mid-range shot and a fast break lay in off an assist from Odle as the lead reached it's pinnacle at 26-16 with just 1:53 left in the second quarter.

Calhoun responded with a pair of 3-pointers from Wallendorf but McGill finished the first half scoring on another drive in the paint for a 30-22 advantage at the break.

“They (Calhoun) had some guys step up and hit some big shots,” said Coach Bonnell. “When we did adjust Longnecker got loose in the paint and got second chance opportunities.”

The Warriors were still trailing early in the second half when they put together a five-point trip.

On a score by Kallal a foul was called on Saathoff away from the ball, giving the Warriors back possession.

A 3-pointer from Zipprich finished the five-point possession to cut into the margin.

(CONTINUED)

The Warriors were still trailing early in the second half when they put together a five-point trip.

On a score by Kallal a foul was called on Saathoff away from the ball, giving the Warriors back possession.

A 3-pointer from Zipprich finished the five-point possession to cut into the margin.

The Warriors nabbed their first lead since the opening quarter with another 3-pointer from Wallendorf, his third of the game, and inside scores from Webster and Eilerman.

A Longnecker score late in the quarter gave Calhoun a 43-42 lead.

Powell closed the third quarter with a made free throw to take the two teams to the final frame tied at 43-43.

Three more baskets by Zipprich on a drive, an Eilerman 3-point bomb and a back door cut to the basket by senior Cade Sievers gave the Warriors a 50-43 spread with 6:22 remaining.

Litchfield then rallied to take the lead and had the championship within its reach.

McGill scored on a drive before Powell scored eight of the teams' next 10-points to tie the game at 55-55 with two minutes left.

After a pair of Longnecker free throws, a 3-pointer by Odell followed by his 1-of-2 free throws set the stage for the Warriors comeback to earn the championship.

A couple of key components for Calhoun allowed them to leave Carlinville with the tournament title.

The team hit 5-of-7 3-pointers in the second half as the squad found the open man against the Litchfield zone defense.

They held a 26-22 rebounding edge which helped overshadow a turnover filled game as the two clubs combined for 31 total turnovers with the Warriors having 19 of them.

“We didn't do a good enough job hitting the boards and we wanted to do that but we didn't execute our game plan,” said Coach Bonnell. “The game plan was to body him (Longnecker) up when he went into the paint. Tip your hat to Calhoun. They hit the glass better than we did.”

Pressure defenses by both teams will make offenses struggle as they did on this night.

Litchfield connected on 26-of-54 overall (48.1 percent) but only 2-of-12 from long range.

Comparatively Calhoun was a bit better from the floor, nailing down 23-of-47 (48.9 percent) and they drilled home 7-of-17 from the arc, including the hot streak in the second half.

The Warriors will get right back to work next week on the road at Gillespie on January 2 and will host Payson-Seymour before being entered in the Winchester Invitational Tournament.

Litchfield will games at Mt. Olive, Vandalia at home and then at East Alton-Wood River before hosting their own invitational January 13-20.

“We preach defense and rebounding and at times our defense was lax but the rebounding made up for it,” said Coach Longnecker. “We're still pretty young and to get down early in a championship game without our senior point guard we could have folded up shop. But the kids responded in the second half.”

Calhoun (63) – Walledorf 0 3 0-0 9, Kallal 4 0 0-0 8, Snyders 0 0 0-0 0, Zipprich 2 1 2-2 9, Sievers 2 0 0-0 4, Eilerman 4 2 1-1 15, Webster 1 1 2-2 7, Longnecker 3 0 5-8 11.
2FG-16, 3FG-7, FT-10-13, PF-12.
Litchfield (59) – Powell 6 0 3-4 15, Logan 0 0 0-0 0, E. Saathoff 1 0 0-0 2, Schaake 1 0 0-0 2, Odle 2 2 2-4 12, Dobrinich 1 0 0-0 2, C. Saathoff 1 0 0-0 2, McGill 12 0 0-0 24.
2FG-24, 3FG-2, FT-5-8, PF-13.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

CARLINVILLE 46, STAUNTON 42
In the third place game at the 57th annual event, Staunton had one statistical category that cost the Bulldogs the most in the loss.

Head coach Ty Laux saw his team commit 17-turnovers, nine of which came in the second half of its 46-42 loss to host Carlinville on Friday night.

The defeat dropped the Bulldogs to 8-8 on the season.

Carlinville improved to 7-7 in 2023-24 with the victory.

Cavaliers head coach David Suits' squad shot the ball just well enough and took care of the rock with just seven turnovers overall, with just two of the miscues coming in the second half.

Carlinville was topped by three players in double-digits in scoring.

Six-foot-two senior Dom Alepra scored 13-points for Carlinville and 6-foot-1 senior teammate Matt Dunn finished with 12.

Staunton was led by freshman Isiah Laux with 12-points and senior Braden Buffington with eight.

The Cavaliers got off to a great start on a pair of shots made by Alepra and while sophomore Triston Thompson nailed down a shot from the right wing as they led 8-3 early.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Staunton junior Zander Machota tied the game late in the frame however a 3-pointer by Thompson gave Carlinville a 14-11 lead at the end of the quarter.

Trailing 22-17 late in the first half, Staunton went to intermission on an 11-2 run to take a 28-24 halftime advantage.

Ethan Sharp, a 6-2 junior who ended up with seven-points in the game, scored all seven in the second quarter and his 3-pointer from the right side of the floor triggered the quarter closing run.

Laux added a 3-pointer and Buffington scored in the lane off of an assist from sophomore Aaron Bodner.

A conventional three-point play by Laux while being fouled by Alepra gave the Bulldogs a four-point spread after two quarters of play.

Missed opportunities in the third quarter gave Carlinville the lead back in a low-scoring stanza.

Staunton had five of its turnovers in the third quarter, including three-consecutive to open the second half.

Scores by sophomore Tate Duckels, Thompson and Alepra secured a 32-31 advantage for Carlinville heading to the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers ended up winning the contest by making fewer mistakes in the final quarter and out-scoring the Bulldogs 8-4 from the foul line.

After a basket by Staunton freshman Lucas Dillon gave the Bulldogs back the lead, Carlinville took its largest lead with a 7-0 run.

A drive to the goal by Alepra, an inside basket by Duckels and a transition score from Dunn followed by a 1-of-2 free throws by Duckels made it 39-33 Carlinville with 4:12 left.

The only two field goals scored in the final minutes of the match up came from Staunton.

A driving score by Buffington and a 3-pointer from Laux.

Buffington converted after an offensive rebound by Machota on a missed free throw and then Laux nailed down a 20-footer from the top of the arc on a nice assist from freshman guard Lucas Dillon.

The Laux 3-pointer closed the margin to 42-41 with 1:08 left.

However the defense of the Cavaliers and 3-of-6 free throws in the last :51.8 gave the hosts the third place honors.

Thompson hit 4-of-4 free throws in the fourth quarter and his final two sealed the win with :03.9 remaining.

Carlinville hit 16-of-42 from the floor and had zero turnovers in the final quarter.

The Cavaliers were out-rebounded by Staunton 25-18.

The Bulldogs finished 14-of-34 from the field and 7-of-17 from the 3-point line.

Dillon ended up with seven-points for Staunton and Machota ended up with six.

Five-nine senior Cole Sullivan scored the other three-points for Carlinville with an early 3-point shot while Bodner hit 2-of-4 foul shots for Staunton to round out the scoring totals.

Carlinville will begin the new year with a road game at Hillsboro on January 5th before playing at the Winchester Invitational Tournament.

Coach Suits has his team playing well having won 6-of-7 after going 3-1 this week.

The seven wins matches the season total from 2022-23 (7-21) for the Cavaliers.

Staunton will host Pana next Friday and then Civic Memorial on January 9th before being part of the 103rd Macoupin County Tournament.

The Bulldogs will be in search of their 15th MCT title.

Staunton (42) – Dillon 2 0 3-4 7, Bodner 0 0 2-4 2, Sharp 2 1 0-2 7, Machota 0 2 0-0 6, Laux 1 3 1-1 12, Buffington 2 1 1-2 8, Moore 0 0 0-0 0, Atkins 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-7, 3FG-7, FT-7-13, PF-16.
Carlinville (46) – Dunn 4 0 4-5 12, Thompson 2 1 4-4 11, Sullivan 0 1 0-0 3, Alepra 5 1 0-0 13, Duckels 2 0 3-8 7, Smtih 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-13, 3FG-3, FT-11-17, PF-13.
Fouled Out – Dillon, Sharp - Staunton;
Technical Fouls – None.

Hillsboro (71) – Greenwood 3 0 2-4 8, White 0 1 4-4 7, Tuetken 0 0 0-0 0, Matoush 12 0 6-6 30, Stewart 7 1 4-6 21, Lowe 2 0 1-2 5, Lentz 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-24, 3FG-2, FT-17-22, PF-20.
East Alton-Wood River (67) – Smith 4 1 1-1 12, Marshall 0 0 0-4 0, Spiller 3 2 2-2 14, Green 6 2 7-11 25, Smith 1 0 0-0 2, Carter 6 0 2-2 14. 2FG-20, 3FG-5, FT-12-20.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

BUNKER HILL 71, GILLESPIE 67
Coach Joe Parmentier and his Minutemen were in need of a win in the worst way.

After winning its first two games of the season Bunker Hill had a 12-game losing streak going, including the first three games of the Carlinville Holiday Tournament.

However the squad put together an outstanding first half as they led 38-25 at the break and then held off the Miners to capture the seventh place game.

The Minutemen are now 3-12 on the year with the victory as they got 30-points from 6-3 sophomore Cole Yates and 19-markers from 5-10 junior Will Manar.

Freshman Peter Jarden added 12-points to the cause for Bunker Hill.

Gillespie is also 3-12 with the defeat, despite 24-points from senior forward Bryce Buhs and 20-points from senior guard Tristen Wingo.

Six-three junior Jack Kaylor added 17-points for the Miners, who will face the Minutemen again on January 8 at home.

Bunker Hill (71) – B. Yates 1 0 0-0 2, Jarden 6 0 0-0 12, Manar 4 2 5-6 19, C. Yates 6 2 12-20 30, Throne 1 0 0-0 2, Wilcox 1 0 4-6 6. 2FG-19, 3FG-4, FT-21-32, PF-20.
Gillespie (69) – Wargo 1 5 3-6 20, Pau 0 0 0-0 0, Schweppe 1 0 0-0 2, Schuckenbrock 1 0 0-0 2, Buhs 6 3 3-5 24, Berry 0 0 2-6 2, Oberkfell 0 0 0-0 0, Enslow 0 0 0-0 0, Kaylor 6 0 5-6 17, Hohnsbehn 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-16, 3FG-8, FT-13-23, PF-28.
Fouled Out – Manar, Throne - Bunker Hill; Pau - Gillespie.
Technical Fouls – None.