Rangers go 4-1 at Goreville, finish in second place

December 3, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

Prior to the start of the 6th Annual Goreville Invitational Tournament Benton Coach Ron Winemiller said the opening night game between his Rangers and Anna-Jonesboro “could be the championship game.” After a full week of action at the GIT the Benton coach looks like a prophet.

The Rangers dropped the Monday night contest with the Wildcats 68-66 in overtime on a last second shot by Jake Parr. And from that point on the Rangers and Wildcats both ran the table leaving A-J with a 5-0 mark and the championship and the Rangers in second place at 4-1.

“Overall it was a good week of basketball,” said Winemiller. “We learned a little bit about who we are as a team.”

With a 4-1 mark in 2017 the Rangers are now 18-2 at Goreville during the past four years.

The Rangers were sluggish in a 51-38 victory over Hamilton County on Friday night but were hitting on all cylinders in two lopsided victories on Saturday. Benton hammered Johnston City 59-20 in a 10 a.m. contest on Saturday. Johnston City trailed 13-10 at the end of one and then managed only 10 points total over the remaining three quarters.

The Rangers put 12 players in the scoring column with Hamilton Page leading the way with 11. Also in double figures was Mason Morris with 10, followed by Gehrig Wynn and Carson Lewis with eight each, Parker Williams with seven, Cade Thomas with four and Mason Wills, Braxton Lutz, Noah Kays, Brad Hammond and Brett Bonenberger with two each. Eldon Owens added a free throw for one point.

In the finale on Saturday Benton faced the host Goreville Blackcats with second place on the line. Benton led 18-11 after one quarter and then went on a 21-3 run in the second quarter to open up a 41-23 halftime lead.

“We did a good job of stringing some stops together and having some good offensive possessions,” Winemiller said. “I felt our rebounding was the key. We were able to finish the possession by getting some rebounds and then we got out in transition and made some easy baskets.

Benton was led in scoring with 20 points by senior Gehrig Wynn and 15 by Hamilton Page. Cade Thomas added nine points, followed by Parker Williams and Mason Morris with eight points each. Sophomore Carson Lewis added five points, Brett Bonenberger added 3 points and Noah Kays and Joey Craig had two points each.

The GIT All-Tournament team consisted of Ross Pinnon and Sheldon McGrath from Anna-Jonesboro, Cade Thomas, Parker Williams and Gehrig Wynn from Benton, Tanner Dunn and Braden Webb from Goreville, Matt Rubenacker from Hamilton County and Chase Selby from Johnston City.

The Rangers return to regular season play in the home opener and the kick off to the SIRR Ohio Division when they host the Herrin Tigers on Friday, December 8.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Benton News, Featured, Sports

Red Devils close out DQ Tip Off with solid win over Massac County

December 3, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

Sometimes in sports it’s not as important how you start as it is how you finish.

After struggling throughout the week, the Sesser-Valier Red Devils finished the Du Quoin Tip Off Classic on a strong note by grabbing their first win of the season – a 72-44 victory over Massac County.

“We played pretty well,” said S-V Coach Shane Garner. “Our defense was pretty solid and forced some turnovers that we were able to capitalize on. Our shot selection was better which led to better offensive production.”

The Red Devils outscored the Patriots in every quarter but put the game away in the third frame. Leading only 31-26 at the intermission, S-V outscored Massac County 25-11 in the third quarter to take a commanding 56-47 lead into the final quarter.

Garner said the turnovers – a problem for his team in three losses this week at Du Quoin – improved on Saturday night.

“We still had some unforced turnovers in the first half but I thought we did a much better job in the second half,” Garner said. “It was good to get the first win under our belt.”

S-V’s Tyler Winchester grabbed game scoring honors as he tallied 25 points and hit five 3-pointers. Also in double figures for the Red Devils was Eli Gunter with 13 points and Lukas Gunter with 12. Rounding out the S-V scoring, Josh Gunter and Addison Page added seven points each, Preston Launius had six points and Peyton Rock added two points.

In a Saturday afternoon game the Red Devils were defeated by Carmi-White County by a score of 56-41. S-V has little time to rest after four games in the opening week of the season as they will host always tough Okawville in the home opener on Tuesday, December 5.

 

 

Filed Under: Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Sports

Rangers improve to 2-1 with 51-38 victory over Hamilton County

December 2, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

The Benton Rangers improved to 2-1 on the season with a 51-38 victory over a scrappy Hamilton County team in Friday night action from the Goreville Invitational Tournament.

Both teams played dead-even in the opening stanza with the score knotted at 10-10. The Rangers outscored the Foxes 14-6 in the second to gain a little breathing room with a 24-16 halftime lead.

Benton put together a good third quarter, outscoring the Foxes 11-5 to open up a 35-21 lead entering the final frame. The game was decided in the two middle quarters with the Rangers outscoring the Foxes in the second and third quarter by a total of 25-11. Hamilton County outscored Benton in the fourth quarter 17-16.

Benton Coach Ron Winemiller said he felt like neither team every got in a ‘good flow’ offensively. Winemiller said the play of senior Cade Thomas, who had the highest point total of his varsity career with 15, was a bright spot in the contest.

“I thought Cade had a really good game,” said the Benton coach. “He looked to score tonight and made the best of his opportunities.”

The Rangers, who have gone 14-1 at the GIT in the previous three years, have a pair of tough games on Saturday, facing an up-tempo Johnston City team in a 10 a.m. matchup and then coming back Saturday night to meet the host Goreville Blackcats in the tournament finale at 8:30 p.m.

Winemiller said both games on Saturday with be “tough matchups.”

Johnston City is fast and they have some shooters and Goreville is always tough on their home floor,” said Winemiller. “Both those games could come down to who takes care of the basketball in the final four minutes.”

Along with Thomas’ 15 points Parker Williams added 11, Gehrig Wynn chipped in eight points and Carson Lewis added seven points. Rounding out the Rangers’ scoring Hamilton Page and Brett Bonenberger each had four points and Braxton Lutz added two points.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, Sports

Red Devils drop 56-48 decision to Du Quoin

December 2, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

The Sesser-Valier Red Devils dropped a hard-fought 56-48 decision to the host Indians in Friday night hoops from the Du Quoin Tip-Off Classic.

Coach Shane Garner said turnovers were instrumental in the loss on Friday night.

“Turnovers were an issue on Monday against Cairo and they were again tonight,” said Garner. “I though we clicked early and executed very well. In the end they were able to put together some runs and we weren’t.”

Du Quoin led 19-16 at the end of one quarter and extended the lead to 34-27 at halftime.

Garner said rebounding was also a key to the loss.

“They really dominated us on the glass,” said Garner. “We would force them into missing a shot and then we couldn’t capitalize and get a rebound and gave them second chance opportunities.”

The Red Devils were led in scoring by Tyler Winchester with 19, the lone S-V player in double figures. Also scoring for the Red Devils was Preston Launius and Peyton Rock with nine points each, followed by Lukas Gunter with 8, Addison Page with 2 and Josh Gunter with one point.

The loss dropped S-V to 0-2 on the young season and 0-2 heading into a tough day of action on Saturday in the round robin tournament. The Red Devils face Carmi-White County at 12 noon and then will come back at 6 p.m. to meet Massac County.

 

 

Filed Under: Sesser News, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Sports

Saluki Men’s Basketball overwhelms SIUE, 86-59

November 30, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Tom Weber,  siusalukis.com

CARBONDALE, IL — Southern Illinois used a suffocating defense to overwhelm sister school SIUE, 86-59, in a battle of in-state rivals on Wednesday night at SIU Arena.

The Salukis (3-2) improved to 9-1 all-time against the Cougars (1-5), and the 27-point landslide was the largest margin of victory in the history of the series. All five starters scored in double figures for SIU, led by Sean Lloyd’s 19 points, which matched a career high.

The outcome was never in doubt as SIU staggered the visitors with a 23-3 run to start the game. SIUE missed its first 11 shots and trailed, 30-8, after Salukis guard Eric McGill sank a 3-pointer with 5:36 left before halftime. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak and improved SIU’s record to 2-0 at home.

“When you get your butt beat two times in a row, if you don’t come out with a little bit of fire, you have a problem,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson.

Kavion Pippen (siusalukis.com)

The Salukis held SIUE to 19.4 percent shooting in the first half (6-for-31), which ranks as the third-best defensive field goal percentage in a half in school history, and 29.3 percent for the game. The Cougars did end the first half on a 14-3 run to cut the deficit to 35-22 at halftime, but after trading baskets to start the second half, never came closer than 13.

 

SIU’s front-court tandem of Kavion Pippen (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Jonathan Wiley (12 points, 10 rebounds) helped Southern compile an overwhelming 44-22 advantage in points in the paint.

“Both big guys get double-doubles tonight — that’s pretty impressive — especially when Jonathan is so efficient on seven shots,” Hinson said.

The success of the bigs inside opened up the perimeter for shooters, as Southern connected on 8-of-15 tries from outside the arc. Five different players made treys and SIU shot 53 percent from both the field and from three.

“They were the aggressors and we were on our heels,” said SIUE coach Jon Harris. “We were reacting to them.”

The margin of victory could have been larger if not for big runs by SIUE at the end of both halves. The Salukis led by as many as 41 points with less than five minutes to go in the second half, before the Cougars closed the game on a 13-0 run.

“I’ll tell you another thing that motivated us — what happened to our women the other night (losing to SIUE) — we take all of that in and know how big a game this is,” Hinson said. “We have to represent our region.”

Armon Fletcher (siusalukis.com)

Saluki guards Aaron Cook (13 points, four assists) and Armon Fletcher (11 points, five assists) also had solid performances. Fletcher was 4-for-5 from the field and showed signs of breaking out of a recent shooting slump.

“Armon needs to defend, rebound and make uncontested open shots,” Hinson said. “Tonight was a big game — I challenged Armon personally. Me and him met one-on-one.”

The Salukis will play five of their next six games at home, beginning with Saturday’s game versus San Jose State at 3 p.m.

Filed Under: College Sports, Sports

S-V-W Lady Devils improve to 7-0 with road win at Woodlawn

November 29, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

WOODLAWN – The Sesser-Valier-Waltonville Lady Devils improved to 7-0 Wednesday night with a close 34-31 victory at Woodlawn.

Both teams got off to a slow start offensively with S-V-W trailing 6-3 at the end of the opening quarter.

“Our offense was stagnant all night,” said S-V-W Coach Rick Metcalf. “Our defense was really good all night that’s what got us by and got us the win.”

The Lady Devils put together a good second quarter outscoring Woodlawn by double digits 14-4 to take a 17-10 halftime advantage. The second frame actually was the difference in the game as Woodlawn outscored S-V-W 21-17 in the second half but still fell short.

“We hit some clutch free throws down the stretch that really contributed to the win,” Metcalf said. “I thought Sami McCowen and Paige Tucker both had outstanding games for us tonight.”

Tucker and McCowen led the Lady Devils in scoring with 14 and 8 points respectively. Sophomore Carlie Page added seven points, Jada Hale and Jaycee Garner scored two each and Jaice McCowen added one point.

Metcalf said he is pleasantly surprised to be heading into December with an unblemished mark.

“We have played really well as a team, “said the longtime coach. “We have had six different leading scorers in seven games and that is great balance.”

The Lady Devils are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they will host Chester in a Black Diamond Conference West matchup. The JV game will begin at 1 p.m.

 

Filed Under: Featured, Sesser News, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Sports

Women’s Basketball opens road swing at Morehead State on Thursday

November 29, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Will Becque siusalukis.com

The Southern Illinois women’s basketball team opens a two-game road swing at Morehead State on Thursday, Nov. 30. The Salukis (3-2) have won two-straight over the Eagles, but Morehead State is fresh off a season in which it won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title and advanced to the WNIT for the first time in program history. Tip-off in Morehead, Ky. is set for 7:15 p.m. (CT)

Series History
Thursday’s matchup will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Morehead State and SIU, with Southern holding a 2-1 series lead. The Salukis have won two-straight in the series including their most recent meeting with the Eagles, a 102-69 win in Carbondale on Dec. 12, 2015 in a game in which SIU broke the school record for points in a game and seven Salukis scored in double figures. Southern also won the last time it played at Morehead St., a 75-66 win over the Eagles on Dec. 30, 2014.

Scouting the Eagles
The Eagles advanced to the WNIT for the first time in program history a year ago and return All-OVC Second Team selection Miranda Crockett, who averaged 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season. Morehead State is 4-3 on the year and comes into Thursday’s contest having won two-straight, with wins over Chicago State (79-40) and Kentucky Christian (115-39) during the streak. Two of Morehead State’s four wins this season have come against NAIA opponents and five Eagles are currently averaging double figures. MSU is led by Tierra McGowan, who is averaging 15.1 points and 14.0 rebounds per game.

SIU vs. the OVC
The Salukis are 2-1 this season against Ohio Valley Conference opponents, and in 180 lifetime meetings against OVC schools sport a .722 winning percentage (130-50).

1,000 career points
Kylie Giebelhausen scored 13 points against SIUE to eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau on Nov. 27. She became the 25th Saluki to reach the career milestone, and the East Peoria, Ill. native joins Valparaiso’s Dani Franklin and Missouri State’s Liza Fruendt as the only active players in the Missouri Valley Conference in the 1,000-point club.

Back-to-Back Newcomer of the Week honors
Abby Brockmeyer was named the MVC’s Newcomer of the Week for the second-straight week after she scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in SIU’s overtime win over SEMO on Nov. 22. The Raymond, Ill. native is just the third player in program history to earn back-to-back Newcomer of the Week honors, joining Stephany Neptune (2009-10) and Cartaesha Macklin (2011-12) as the only Salukis to have done so since the MVC began handing out the award during the 2003-04 season.

 

Filed Under: College Sports, Sports

Rangerettes rally from 15 down to defeat Herrin in Ohio Division matchup

November 29, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

BENTON — It was clearly a tale of two halves for the Benton Rangerettes on Tuesday night.

In the home-opener and the kick off to the SIRR Ohio Division the Rangerettes trailed by 13 points at halftime and by as many as 15 early in the third quarter before putting together a furious second half rally to defeat Herrin 54-46.

“For as bad as we played in the first half I thought we really played well in the second half,” said Coach Andy Sloan. “We picked up the defensive intensity in the second half and created some much-needed offense from our defense. It was a great comeback.”

And the longtime and successful Benton girl’s coach was not exaggerating when he pointed out that his team got the offense rolling in the final two quarters. The Rangerettes managed only 13 first half points and trailed 27-13 at halftime. Whatever the halftime talk consisted of must have hit home as the Rangerettes exploded for 41 second half points. Benton outscored Herrin 21-12 in the third frame to cut the Herrin lead to 39-34 heading to the fourth quarter. The Rangerettes turned up the heat some more in the fourth quarter outscoring the Lady Tigers 20-7 to pick up an important Ohio Division victory. Overall, the Rangerettes trailed by 15 in the first minute of the second half and won by eight – a 23-point swing in only 15 minutes of basketball.

While Sloan had praise for the second half effort he pointed out that his team has developed a pattern of starting slow, something he hopes to correct.

“We have to find a way to get off to a better start in games,” Sloan said. “But I have to say that this team does not have any quit in them at all.”

Only one week into the season, Sloan said his young team is getting better.  “We’re a work in progress,” Sloan said. “But, we’re going to figure it out.”

Senior Eb Casey led the Rangerettes in scoring with 17 – 14 coming in the second half. Casey hit five 3-pointers in the contest. Also in double figures was Madyson Wallace with 11 points – 10 in the decisive second half. Freshman Addisyn Miller also hit double figures with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Rounding out the scoring Zoe Carlton added eight points, Ember Milby chipped in six points and Katy Johnson had two points. Madison Russell led Herrin with 16 points followed by Kristen Wade with 11.

The victory improved Benton to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in Ohio Division play. The Rangerettes are back in action on Monday, December 4 when they host Hamilton County in a non-conference matchup.

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, Featured, Sports

High School Basketball Scoreboard 11/28/17

November 28, 2017 By Leave a Comment

High school basketball scoreboard 11/28/17

Boys

Goreville Invitational 

Benton 61  Hardin County 21

Anna-Jonesboro 70  Johnston City 39

Goreville 63  Hamilton County 57

Carlyle Kaskaskian Classic 

Pinckneyville 64  Greenville 43

Okawville 43  Hillsboro 31

Murphysboro-Trico Ernie Bozarth Memorial Classic 

Chester 68  St. Louis North County Tech 38

Harrisburg 64  Trico 41

Steeleville 59  Sparta  48

Murphysboro 69  St. Louis Roosevelt 41

Greater Egyptian Conference 

Pope County 55  Thompsonville 40 

Crab Orchard 69  NCOE  46

Midland Trail 

Wayne City  43  Centralia CORL 37

Non Conference 

Carrier Mills 69  Dongola 43

Elverado 62  Marissa Coulterville 58 (OT)

Edwards County 84  Grayville  41

New Athens 80  O’ Fallon FBA  35

Odin  58  Patoka  33

Deterich 57  Cisne 41

Girls

Southern Illinois River-to-River Ohio

Benton 54  Herrin  46 

Harrisburg 57  West Frankfort 34 

SIRR Mississippi 

Carterville 61  DuQuoin 36

South Seven 

Carbondale 49  Centralia 45

Non Conference 

Eldorado 67  Gallatin County 60

Marion 62  Meridian 54

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: High School Sports, Sports

Rangers rebound from loss with lopsided win over Hardin County

November 28, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

Ask any basketball coach and they will tell you the best thing for their team after a tough loss is to get back on the court as quickly as possible. In the case of the Benton Rangers on Tuesday ‘as quickly as possible’ translates to approximately 17 hours.

The Rangers wasted little time shaking off the loss and rolled to a 61-21 victory over an outmanned Hardin County team in the first game on night two of the 6th Annual Goreville Invitational Tournament.

The Rangers were defeated Monday night in overtime when Zach Parr of Anna-Jonesboro hit a difficult last-second shot to give his team a 67-65 win and a disappointing season-opening loss for the Rangers. The Benton team rolled out of Goreville at 11 p.m. Monday night and returned for the early game and a 5:30 p.m. start on Tuesday.

Benton shook the loss aside early and jumped out to a quick 13-7 first quarter lead, extended its advantage to 26-11 at halftime and then blew the game wide open with a 30-4 onslaught in the third quarter to take a 56-16 lead into the final frame that was played with a continuous clock.

Benton Coach Ron Winemiller said he was happy to get the first win of the season and was also pleased with the way his team responded after the tough Monday night loss. Winemiller said he is looking forward to getting back in the gym the next two evenings.

“Right now we’re just trying to see who we are as a team,” said the Benton coach. “So, I will be happy to get to practice the next two evenings to work on getting better as a team. It will be a tough weekend with three games in a 24-hour span.”

Everybody saw action for the Rangers in the lopsided win and nine players hit the scoring column, led by Gehrig Wynn with 15. Also in double figures was Parker Williams with 12 and Mason Morris with 11. Rounding out the scoring Hamilton Page and Carson Lewis added six each, Cade Thomas scored four, Joey Craig, Mason Wills and Brett Bonenberger each scored two points.

“It was a great chance to see everybody in a game situation,” said Winemiller.

The win moves the Rangers to 1-1 overall and 1-1in the round-robin format at the GIT. All six teams are off on Wednesday and Thursday and play will resume on Friday with three games and then six games on Saturday. The Rangers face Hamilton County in a 7 p.m. game on Friday and play Johnston City at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning before squaring off in the tournament finale at 8:30 p.m. against the host Goreville Blackcats.

Filed Under: Benton News, Featured, More Featured Articles, Sports
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