02-28-11
BY JACK BULLOCK
EAST ALTON-WOOD RIVER - The Breese Central Cougars are back in the sectional having won their seventh regional title in the last eight years.

It doesn’t matter which direction they have headed, two-classes or four-classes, north, south, east or west, this program knows how to prepare for postseason runs.

Coach Stan Eagleson once again has his club in state championship contention after dispatching a pair of longtime rivals to capture the Nashville Class 2A Regional title last week.

Central took down Carlyle 44-31 in the opening round and then handled the host Hornets 42-32.

Both Nashville and Carlyle wanted to slow the pace of the game down but neither were able to score enough points to defeat the Cougars.

Central has a 28-2 mark this season with some quality wins on the resume.

Wins over Nashville (a 25-5 club) three times tops the list, Central topped the Hornets twice on their home floor in 2011.

Early in the season Central edged a good Flora team who won the Little Illini Conference championship and finished 21-7 on the season.

Speaking of 20-win teams – add Columbia and Lebanon to this seasons' gun-belt.

Coach Eagleson's crew has just a pair of losses on the slate to 3A teams Breese Mater Dei and Effingham.

The Effingham loss was the first game of the season at the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament while the defeat at the hand of the cross-town rival Knights was in the title game of the Mater Dei Holiday Tournament, 48-44.

Central won the rematch, 38-36 in the championship game of the Nashville Invitational Tournament and then took the rubber game with MD at home, 50-43 back on February 11.

The Cougars are right where they wanted to be at the beginning of the season.

After having reached the state finals last season this group of veterans would like nothing better than to make another trip to Peoria.

The top scorer on the Central team is Brandon Book – a 6-foot-6 junior forward who has been a varsity starter since his freshman season wearing Purple and White.
Book averages 16.7 p.p.g.

He also averages 6.8 rebounds per outing.

Nick Grapperhaus is a 5-foot-10 senior guard (8.6 p.p.g.) that helps anchor a solid backcourt unit.
Five-foot-eleven freshman Jacob Timmermann has been a pleasant surprise for Central this season – averaging 7.6 points a night in the backcourt.

This duo has handled a lot of pressure from some good defensive teams this season.

Up front is where you find the team leader and every good team has one.

Keaton Scheer is a 6-foot-5 senior who is the top defender on the floor for Central.

He usually guards the other teams top scorer and it doesn't matter what position that player plays.

Scheer on the offensive end averages 6.3 p.p.g and grabs 5.6 rebounds on average.

Six-foot-one senior Brandon Rakers is also an important player for Coach Eagleson (4.4 p.p.g.) as are key reserves 6-foot-1 senior Alex Timmerman and 5-foot-8 sophomore Justin Becker.

Central has a pair of wins over Columbia (55-33 on the road, 70-60 at home) heading into this week and closed out the regular season with a win over Greenville (60-33).

Their only common opponents with Marquette Catholic are Columbia and Nashville – both of whom beat the Explorers.
To say that Central is the heavy favorite here is an understatement.

Speaking of the Greenville Comets – they were the big upset winner of the group having topped ABV 4th ranked Pana on Friday night 51-44 to capture their own regional title.

Coach Todd Cantrill has his club heading in the right direction and the Comets will show up this week looking to pull another unexpected win.

A quick look at the Comets stat sheet shows no one averaging double-figures in scoring.

However in many cases that is a good thing as they look like a balanced club.

Greenville features 5-foot-10 senior guard Dylan Bone as the top scorer at 9.3 points a night.

Another guard – 5-foot-9 senior Brad Perry – is second on the club in scoring with 8.7 points a game.

Five-foot-eight junior Dannon Young (eight points a game) and 6-foot senior Michael Williams (7.2 p.p.g.) are part of a smallish team that can spread the ball around and have multiple weapons.

The Comets will need another supreme effort this week at EA-WR.

The Columbia Eagles head into this fray with a 20-11 record.

The Eagles and head coach Mark Sandstrom have been in some battles this season and a tribute to this club is that they are still in the hunt for a Peoria trip.

Columbia has three players sporting double-figure scoring averages heading into the sectional.

Bryce Bastien is a 5-foot-8 senior guard who is posting a robust 14.8 points a game for the Eagles this season.

Six-foot-five senior Taylor O'Connor nets 12.5 points per contest while topping the Eagles on the glass with 7.7 rebounds.

The third player getting more than ten a game in the scorebook is Wilson Babb – a 6-foot-2 senior who can play guard or forward.

Babb averages 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds a match.

Robby Likens – a 6-foot senior – averages 4.2 points a game and is second on the club in rebounding with 7.1 a night.
Five-foot-ten senior Kyle Hundsdorfer (4.6 p.p.g.) and 6-foot-3 junior Tommy Lewis (3.5 p.p.g.) have contributed to this 20-win season.

Columbia won its own regional title on Friday night with a 59-43 win over Metro-East Lutheran.

They played Breese Central tough the last time out on the road and the Eagles would love another crack at their Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division brother on Friday night.

The youngest team in this sectional and perhaps the wild-card squad in the group are the Marquette Catholic Explorers.

The Explorers – a member of the South Central Conference West Division – have a 24-7 mark heading into the sectional.

Head coach Steve Medford took over this program this season and found immediate success with a mix of varsity vets and young kids who are improving.

Marquette has three quality wins with victories over Columbia (splitting two games with the Eagles) and a 16-13 Roxana team and an eye-opening 47-34 win over Class 1A state-ranked Nokomis at the Litchfield Tournament.

Six-foot-four senior forward Derrik Starrett is averaging 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds a game heading into the second week of the postseason.

He is the team leader and playmaker for the Explorers.

Junior guard Sam Scheiter is chipping home 11.4 points a night for Marquette Catholic and is second on the squad with five rebounds an evening.

Five-foot-six sophomore guard D'tae McMurray (7.6 p.p.g.) and Mike Williams-Bey – a 5-foot-8 sophomore (7.1 p.p.g.) can also score for Coach Medford.

ABV OUTLOOK – Breese Central over Columbia in the Friday night championship game.