01/09/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARTERVILLE - Tuesday night the Carterville Lions beginning wasn't nearly as good as the end result.

Hamilton County rolled into town and played the hosts tough for the full 32-minutes and only trailed the Lions by two at halftime and four at the end of three quarters.

Carterville, however did just enough things right on Tuesday night.

Sophomore Colton Hawkins scored 16-points, seven in the fourth quarter, as the Lions pulled away late for a 54-41 win over the Foxes in a non-conference battle.

Junior guard Drew Barrington added 13-points for the club while senior Brandon Skelcher added 10 in a balanced scoring night for Coach Shane Hawkins' club.

The Foxes were led by senior guard Abe Neal with 14-points as he was the only double-digit scorer for Hamilton County in the loss.

With the victory, Carterville is now 8-8 overall on the season as the home triumph broke a four-game losing streak.

“We're still searching. We're trying to find out who we are. How can we get baskets easier and sometimes it's a struggle,” said Coach Hawkins. “Fifty-four (points) tonight was monumental for us. Tonight we did a really good job of sharing the basketball and for the most part we made the right plays.”

The defeat for the Foxes snapped a four-game win streak.

Head coach Doug Miller was under the weather and didn't make the trip to Carterville so JV coach Clint Hopfinger was in charge.

while missing a bunch of shots in the first quarter, got five second chances on offensive rebounds.

Carterville looked like they would romp to an easy win, jumping out to a 10-2 lead with Skelcher scoring eight of his points in the early going, which included a pair of 3-pointers.

But Hamilton County, while missing a bunch of shots in the first quarter, got five second chances on offensive rebounds.

Senior Eli Hanson scored four of his eight-points in the opening quarter and a steal and fast break score from senior guard Trenton Pike closed the margin to 10-9.

Hawkins nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the circle for a 13-9 advantage at the end of the first.

Despite missing 10 of their field goal attempts, the Foxes were only down four.

Hamilton County managed to even the score in the second quarter and took their first lead of the game just before halftime.

(CONTINUED)
Pike and junior guard Kord Lueke each scored from long range and a pair of drives to the basket for points by sophomore Ethan Kessler and junior Andrew Webb made it 22-21 Foxes with :38 left before the break.

Hawkins then hit a 3-pointer from the left wing, after making a nice fake to get his defender in the air.

The bomb from the left wing made it 24-22 at intermission.

“Our two biggest issues have been defensive rebounds and turnovers. We gave up six offensive rebounds and committed six turnovers,” said Coach Hawkins. “I've said this all year. Our first shot defense is pretty good but where we get killed is second, third and fourth shot. I thought we did a better job in the second half matching their physicality.”

Six-three senior Braden Wakey scored all four of his points in the third quarter for Carterville with a pair of field goals inside the lane.

An 8-2 quarter closing spurt with points from Hawkins, Barrington and sophomore guard Kaden Wilson broke the game's final tie.

Barrington scored twice on a drive down the middle of the lane and then added a rebound put-back off of his own missed shot for a 38-32 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Hamilton County committed five of their nine turnovers in the third quarter stretch.

Hawkins took over with seven-straight points to open the final frame.

A drive for a score, a 3-pointer from the right wing and a steal and fast break conversion forced a Foxes' time out at 45-37 with 5:16 remaining.

Barrington scored the Lions' final nine-points scoring on a nice back door cut on an assist from senior Lawrence Greer and off a steal and fast break score while being fouled.

After converting the conventional three-point play, Barrington closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws before the coaches emptied the benches with under a minute left.

Carterville ended up 20-of-46 from the floor, 7-of-18 from the arc compared to 18-of-49, 4-of-15 from Hamilton County.

The Foxes, on the strength of early offensive boards, held a 24-20 rebounding edge.

Coach Hawkins' team, after seven first half turnovers, only had 10 miscues for the contest.

Hamilton County will host Flora on Friday (weather permitting) while Carterville is scheduled to tackle Murphysboro on the road in a key SIRR Ohio Division matchup.

“We've been in the fifteen, sixteen, seventeen turnover range which is just careless where the risk is bigger than the reward,” said Hawkins. “We talk about value the basketball just to give ourself a chance.”

Hamilton County (41) - Combs 0 0 0-0 0, Lueke 0 1 0-0 3, Pike 3 0 0-0 6, Webb 2 0 0-0 4, Carson 0 0 0-0 0, MIller 1 0 0-0 2, Dial 0 0 0-0 0, Zellers 0 0 0-0 0, Kessler 1 0 0-0 2, Neal 2 3 1-1 14, Cross 0 0 0-0 0, Hanson 4 0 0-0 8, Kelly 1 0 0-0 2. 2FG-14, 3FG-4, FT-1-1, PF-15.
Carterville (54) - Burge 0 0 0-0 0, Kimbrough 0 0 0-0 0, Adams 0 0 0-0 0, Waller 0 1 0-0 3, Skelcher 2 2 0-0 10, Wilson 0 1 1-4 4, Gulley 0 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0 0-0 0, Snow 0 0 0-0 0, Hawkins 2 3 3-4 16, Greer 0 0 0-0 0, Hinton 0 0 0-0 0, Wakey 3 0 0 -0 6, Guthrie 1 0 0-0 2. 2FG-13, 3FG-7, FT-7-11, PF-12.
Fouled Out – Hanson - Hamilton County.
Technical Fouls – None