WEST FRANKFORT — Given a second life, the West Frankfort Redbirds made 10-of-16 free throws in overtime Tuesday to beat the Eldorado Eagles, 82-74, in a nonconference boys basketball game.

Here’s the link to the story in the Southern Illinoisan.

LINCOLN, Ill. (Dec. 9, 2013) – The Rend Lake College Warriors and the Lincoln College Lynx played a close game Sunday afternoon, but the Warriors came out on top with an 85-82 win in Lincoln.Outscoring the Lynx in the first half 40-32, the Warriors were led by Cortez Macklin (Louisville, Ky.), Brandon Johnson (East St. Louis) and Jeril Taylor (Louisville, Ky.) in points. Macklin finished with the game-high of 20-points to Johnson and Taylor’s 18 points each.

Taylor was also a key player for the Warriors defense, bringing down 12 rebounds. He added three assists, three steals and a block during the game.

The win moves the Warriors to 8-3 on the season. They will face Danville Area this Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in Waugh Gymnasium. For all things athletic at The Lake, visit www.rlc.edu/warriors.

By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Saluki junior guard Mike Balogun has been fascinated with the game of basketball ever since he was a toddler growing up in Staten Island, N.Y. He had a Fisher-Price hoop in his room and idolized Michael Jordan.

Mike Balogun

“My mother said I couldn’t take my eyes off the television when a basketball game was on,” Balogun recalled. “I didn’t watch cartoons, I watched basketball. It was second-nature to me.”

No one had to push him to play the sport growing up, which is interesting, because he doesn’t come from a sports family — his dad is a computer engineer and his mother is a nurse — and none of his three siblings took to the game the way he did.

If you love basketball, there are few better places to be than the New York City area. Balogun said there are frequent tournaments and open gyms in which some of the world’s best players compete.

“I’ve matched up with Kyrie Irving (2012 NBA Rookie of the Year) and a bunch of guys who are on their way to the NBA,” he said. Among his friends and gym mates were Ben Uzoh and Quincy Douby — who both played in the league.

“You give yourself a measuring stick and you find out you’re not where you think you are,” Balogun said of his brushes with NBA-caliber players. “It’s a humbling experience.”

The 6-foot-2 Balogun specializes in shooting the basketball. If you watch him work out, you’ll see shot after 3-point shot touch nothing but nylon. He has uncanny accuracy and deep range, as he displayed last Saturday at Chicago State with a 5-for-8 performance from outside the arc.

“I like to shoot the basketball,” he said with a wide grin. “If I see one go in, just know there’s a few more going in, too. All I need is one. Once I get hot, I can start rolling.”

His track record as a shooter is impressive. At Curtis High School in Staten Island, he knocked down four 3-pointers and was named the MVP of the city championship game in 2011. After high school, he played two years at West Hills Community College (Calif.) in the San Joaquin Valley, where he was named All-Conference his sophomore year. His head coach, Mark Arce, was good friends with SIU’s Barry Hinson, who was in need of a sharpshooter, sending him to Carbondale.

As many juco transfers discover, playing at the Division I level requires an adjustment. The players are bigger and more athletic, meaning you have less time to unleash a shot. Through the first seven games Balogun was 1-of-11 from 3-point range, but his confidence was hardly shaken.

“Working out with guys who have played Division I college basketball or in the NBA, that gives me the confidence to know I can play at this level,” he said.

If his dream of playing in the NBA doesn’t work out, Balogun has a clear fall-back plan. The psychology major would like to be a high school guidance counselor and basketball coach. He said he was inspired by his own high school guidance counselor, Jeannine Sweeney, who was a respected mentor to students at Curtis High.

“She was a lady you could really go to whenever you needed to talk,” he explained. “Basketball and grades, when you try to juggle the two, it can get tough, and she was there to let you know things would be ok.”

Although Balogun grew up in a close-knit family — he Facetimes with them almost every day and they watch his Saluki games on-line — he said many of his friends weren’t so fortunate, and Sweeney was there for them.

“In my high school, a lot of kids didn’t have much guidance at home,” he said. “She’d see you in the hallway and ask you if you’re ok. Her smile gave you a warming feeling. That’s what I want to do — make a high school program for kids so they have someone to talk to, something to do other than just go home, a program that will help kids have someone to talk to when they feel alone.”

Benton dropped a SIRR Ohio Division match against Herrin in recent action.

Here are the results:

HERRIN – 43
BENTON – 33

106 – Benton Forfeited to Wise(H).
113 – Andrew Martin won by pin in 3:58 over O’Connor(H).
120 – Oliver Davis lost16-3 to Reagan(H)
126 – Payton Hallis won by forfeit.
132 – Nick Freeman lost by pin in 1:01 to Jesse Hampton(H)
138 – Peyton Smith won by pin in 1:54 over Delmore(H)
145 – Chase Worthey won by pin in 1:25 over Zoller(H)
152 – Daniel Krug won 6-2 over Ward(H).
160 – Matt Krug  lost by pin in :49 to Martin(H).
170 – Nick Goffinet lost 12-8 to Loyd(H)
182 – Ashton Crawford lost by pin in :13 to Abney(H)
195 – Benton Forfeited  to Cravens(H).
220 – Scott Rose lost by pin in 3:45 to McRoy(H)
HVY – Jordan Piercy won by pin in 1:37 over Vaughn(H).

Benton is now 3-1 (0-1) on the season in dual meets.

By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Western Kentucky snapped an eight-game non-conference road losing streak with a 69-60 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday.

Brandon Harris scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Hilltoppers (5-3), whose last road victory over a non-conference foe was, ironically, exactly two years ago at SIU.

Coming into the game, Harris was averaging four points and shooting 17 percent from 3-point, but he scorched the net by making 8-of-14 tries from outside the arc.

“When you’re not very good, people’s confidence level and comfort level goes up when they play against you,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson, whose team lost its third-straight game. “They really don’t fear you.”

Harris was the centerpiece of a 17-3 WKU second-half run that turned a five-point deficit into a 55-46 Hilltoppers’ lead with 7:52 remaining. He hit four-consecutive treys during that span.

“We did a great job of making that extra pass and turned down a good shot for a great shot,” said Western head coach Ray Harper.

The Salukis (2-7) made a comeback behind some hot shooting of their own. Anthony Beane, who finished with a team-high 20 points, made back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-2 SIU run that shaved Western’s lead to three, 57-54, with 6:08 to go.

Harris then made his eighth 3-point shot of the afternoon and Southern never threatened the lead in the final minutes of play.

“We were beat,” Hinson acknowledged. “We just lost our confidence, our body language — all our heads were down.”

SIU primarily played zone defense, forcing its opponent to settle for 30 3-point shots out of 51 field goal attempts. Other than Harris, Western was 2-of-16 from downtown. Hinson said you can continue to expect his team to play a lot of 2-3 zone this season.

“We have to protect our better players — we were in foul trouble all day long,” he explained. “We’re not athletic enough to go out and guard other athletic teams.”

Western Kentucky’s leading scorer heading into the game, T.J. Price, was held to five points on 2-of-10 shooting, but he contributed five assists and no turnovers. Conversley, the Salukis as a team had seven assists and 14 turnovers. Other than Beane, the only Saluki player in double figures was Desmar Jackson with 15 points.

“Somebody else has got to help us,” Hinson said. “We’re riding those horses really hard right now, but we’ve got to have somebody who can score inside.”

Freshman Tyler Smithpeters and junior Mike Balogun each came off the bench and made their only 3-point attempts of the game, but Hinson said he didn’t feel confident enough in their defense to leave them on the floor for extended minutes.

“We’re giving up defense for offense (with Tyler and Mike),” he said. “Tyler comes in and makes a big three, then gives up a layup on the other end. Michael comes in and defense is just not part of his repertoire.”

Southern has a 10-day layoff during finals week before it plays at Murray State on Dec. 17.

“Coach (Bill) Self used to say fear paralyzes you, and right now, we don’t have a lot of guys with confidence,” Hinson said.”Only a win is going to take care of this for us. I still like this team and feel we have a chance to be pretty good.”

Benton High School wrestling Rangers kicked off their season with a bang with three three wins in as many opportunities with the first two matches being against Southern Illinois River-to-River Mississippi Division foes in Sparta and Anna-Jonesboro. They completed the sweep against an undermanned Red Bud squad.  The Rangers started the night off with 52-30 win over the Bulldogs and then beat the Wildcats 51-27. They ended the night with a 60-7 win over the Musketeers.

BENTON 52        SPARTA 30
106 – Benton forfeited to Loucks(S)
113 – Oliver Davis won by pin in :57 over L. Markley(S)
120 – Andrew Martin won by pin in 2:47 over Rinne(S)
126 – Payton Hallis won by forfeit.
132 – Nick Freeman won by forfeit.
138 – Peyton Smith won by pin in 1:41 over Miller(S)
145 – Daniel Krug won  by pin in 2:50 over T. Markley(S)
152 – Matthew Krug won 11-1 over Eribo(S)
160 – Andrew Gates won by pin in 3:07 over Naas(S)
170 – Nick Goffinet won by pin in 3:42 over Schneider(S)
182 – Ashton Crawford lost by pin in :24 to Bradshaw(S)
195 – Mitchell Dinn lost by pin in 2:54 to price(S)
220 – Scott Rose lost by pin in 1:46 to Hagene(S)
285 – Jordan Piercy lost by pin in 2:48 to Hawkins(S)

Benton 51            Anna-Jonesboro 27
106 – Benton forfeited to Frick(AJ)
113 – Oliver Davis won by pin in :43 over Newman(AJ)
120 – Andrew Martin won by pin in 2:34 over Stone(AJ)
126 – Payton Hallis lost by pin in :31 to Jerdds(AJ)
132 – Nick Freeman won 10-6 over Kissell(AJ)
138 – Lance Cockrum won by forfeit.
145 – Peyton Smith won by pin 1:04 over Mixin(AJ)
152 – Daniel Krug won by pin in 3:04 over Tracy(AJ)
160 – Matthew Krug lost 5-3 to Merriman(AJ)
170 – Nick Goffinet won by pin in 4:27 over Albert(AJ)
182 – Mitchell Dinn lost by pin in :55 to Turner(AJ)
195 – Scott Rose won by pin in 1:59 over Turner(AJ)
220 – Benton forfeited to Sadler(AJ)
285 – Devon Siveking won by pin in 1:54 to Jiminez(AJ)