Lady Redbirds snap skid

December 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

The West Frankfort Lady Redbirds snapped a two game losing streak with a Saturday afternoon win over visiting Murphysboro, 56-42.

The game saw the Lady Devils jump out to a lead after one quarter of 11-10.  In the second quarter, Matt Hampleman’s team outscored the Lady Red Devils 19-9 for a 29-20 intermission lead.

In the third quarter. the home team continued their pace adding four more points to their lead. And, in the fourth quarter, the Lady Birds finished strong with a 19-10 run.
Scoring for West Frankfort included another mammoth performance for Kiarha Wilce who poured in 31 points to lead the Redbirds. Williams had 8, Calvert added 4, Stewart 3, Cunningham 3, and Sailiez with 2.
With the win, the Lady Birds are now 12-13 for the year, returning to action next week
Filed Under: High School Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Tigers hand Redbirds big loss

December 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

General George Custer got a warmer reception at Little Bighorn than the Redbirds received Friday night at Herrin. Entering the game, both teams had won only once. Pre-game talk among the fans was a close game was expected. Then, reality set in. Final score: Herrin 73-West Frankfort 35.

A relentless trapping zone defense forced the Redbirds into three consecutive turnovers to begin the game. Still, early, the Redbirds held it close as Herrin struggled offensively. In fact, Nick Korolenko’s jumper tied the game at a bucket apiece three minutes into the contest.

However, Herrin corrected their offensive mistakes – and the ‘Birds never did. At the end of the first quarter Herrin held a commanding 17-2 lead. Still, there was hope. A week ago, Irvin Lukens’ club held a huge lead over Benton. But, the Rangers came back to win that game in overtime. The Redbirds would not be as lucky. Mistakes continued to haunt the “Birds into the second quarter and by half Herrin’s lead had ballooned to 38-8 .

In the second quarter, the ‘Birds offense did show some signs of a slight pulse. That continued in the third quarter.  Quarter Three was the most productive quarter of basketball for West Frankfort  Friday night. The Redbirds put 17 points on the Memorial Gym scoreboard in that frame. This was in part aided by two three-point shots from sophomore Braxton Koehl and a pair of buckets by sophomore Christian Dunning.

But, by then, the Redbirds also had quit defending the lane,and were giving up easy buckets off drives and entry passes. Herrin’s Jeril Pirtle used that quarter to knife his way through the porous defense for 9 third quarter points. teammate Justin Lukens had 8 in the quarter as Herrin substituted freely. Both teams finished the long ago decided game with bench personnel.

Herrin was led by the 26 points from Justin Lukens, son of the Herrin varsity basketball coach, Irv Lukens. Justin Lukens had quarters of 9,9 and 7 points, sitting out much of the fourth quarter. Pirtle ended up with 15 points for the game. No other Tiger scored more than 6 points.

Christian Dunning was the lone Redbird in double figures with 14 points. Korolenko had 7 points. Koehl had the two three-point shots mentioned earlier for a total of 6, senior Trenton Easley had 3 points, Drew Maller and Zack Fort had 2 points apiece and Gage Williams had a free throw for a single point.

The major statistic in the game was turnovers. Herrin committed 8 for the game. West Frankfort had 23 turnovers, as they were helpless against Herrin zone defenses and extended court pressure. The inability to even get shots attempted negated any hope of a comeback  for Dan Dewerff’s team.

The win improves Herrin to 2-5, 1-1 in conference play for the season. And, the Redbirds fell to 1-5, 0-2 in the Ohio Division of the River-to-River Conference. If there is any good news for the ‘Birds it is that they have time to regroup. Saturday night is an idle night for the Redbirds- a chance to forget one of those inevitable nights in the gym when nothing seems to go right – which happens to most every team.
Herrin easily won the junior-varsity contest, keeping the JVs winless with a 54-26 victory.
Next up for the Redbirds is a visit from Carmi-White County. That game will be Tuesday night, with the JV game set to begin at 6 p.m.
Filed Under: High School Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Benton wrestlers picks up impressive wins in dual meet

December 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Benton Rangers wrestling team improved to 7-2 overall with a solid showing in the Benton Dual Meet held at Rich Herrin Gymnasium. Benton picked up victories over Sparta, Pinckneyville and Fairfield in the eight-team meet.

Benton results are listed below:

2012 BENTON DUALS

BENTON – 60

SPARTA – 15

106 – Jarred Burnett won by pin in :47 over Triston Loucks(S).

113 – Nathan Flatt won by forfeit.

120 – Chase Worthey won by forfeit.

126 – Chris Worthey won by forfeit.

132 – Peyton Smith won by pin in 1:10 over Anthony Carter(S).

138 – Daniel Krug won bypin over Greg Scheibol(S) in 3:29.

145 – Alex Yates won 13-7 over Charles Rogers(S)

152 – Jarron Bennett won by pin in 2:24 over Deon Baker(S).

160 – Luke Blackman won by forfeit.

170 – Benton forfeitedto Jay Baue(S).

182 – Zach Mocoby won 7-2 over Dylan Hatley(S).

195 – Benton forfeited to Cedric Briscoe(S).

220 – Devon Siveking won by pin in 3:35 over Tyler Adams(S).

HVY – Tyler Williams lost 14-8 to Jerrod Penny(S)

——————————

BENTON – 52

PINCKNEYVILLE – 17

106 – Jarred Burnett won by forfeit.

113 – Nathan Flatt won by forfeit.

120 – Chase Worthey won by forfeit.

126 – Chris Worthey won 12-3 over Chris Hagan(P)

132 – Peyton Smith won by pin in :49 over Hunter Olive(P).

138 – Daniel Krug won byforfeit.

145 – Nick Goffinet won by forfeit.

152 – Jarron Bennett lost 20-4 to Chris Ward(H).

160 – Luke Blackman lost by pin in 2:16 to Jerod Winkleman(P).

170 – Benton forfeitedto Quinin Baker.

182 – Zach Mocoby won by pin in 1:21 over Michael Jones(P).

195 – Double forfeit.

220 – Double forfeit.

HVY – Jordan Piercy won by forfeit.

BENTON – 59

FAIRFIELD – 24

106 – Jarred Burnett lost by pin in 1:31 to Austin Goodman(F).

113 – Nathan Flatt won by forfeit.

120 – Chase Worthey won by pin in :30 over Aaron Clark(F).

126 – Chris Worthey won by pin in :51 over Don Bielecki(F)

132 – Peyton Smith won by pin in :23 over Derek McInnis(F)

138 – Daniel Krug won bypin in :44 over Colton Crawford(F).

145 – Alex Yates lost by pin in 4:50 to Braden Robertson(F).

152 –Luke Blackman won 16-1 over Mathew Sampio(F).

160 –Jarron Bennett won by pin in :13 over Brock Lewis(F).

170 – Benton forfeitedto Nick Mathews(F).

182 – Zach Mocoby won by pin in :25 over Hunter Clevenger(F).

195 – Benton forfeited to Andrew Garrison(F).

220 – Benton forfeited to Charles Wheeler(F).

HVY – Tyler Williams won by pin in 4:31 over Aaron Cates(F).

Other Team Scores:

Harrisburg 60 – Carterville 24
Harrisburg 42 – Fairfield 42 (Harrisburg wins by criteria)
Sparta 42 – Harrisburg 33
West Frankfort 66 – Anna Jonesboro 0
West Frankfort 48 – Pinckneyville 12
West Frankfort 42 – Fairfield 42 (West Frankfort wins by criteria)
Sparta beat Anna-Jonesboro(No score to report)
Carterville beat Pinckneyville(No score to report)

Benton is 7-2 and 1-0 in the Ohio division of the River to River conference. Next, at Cumberland Invitational Tournament in Toledo on Saturday, December 15.


Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, High School Sports, Uncategorized

Bearcats defeat Cobden

December 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Tom Wheeler

The Christopher Bearcats only led 30-26 at half time but with some deadly outside shooting they outscored the Cobden Appleknockers 21-8 in the third frame to pick up a 68-45 victory.

The win improves Christopher to 6-1 overall.

Senior guard Tyler Atchison had three of four his long range bombs during this spell while running mate Jake Towers added two more.

 

Going into the last quarter leading 51-34 the Cats controlled the ball and knocked down their free throws, in fact they were 9 for 9 on the game. There was only 13 fouls called on Cobden in the game and 10 on the host Cats in a very well-played game by both teams.

Junior three man Eric Young led the scoring for the Cats with 24 points, his high game this season and was joined in double figures by Atchison with 16 and Towers with 14. Other scorers were R.J. Kuh 8, Kevin Mercks 4 and Hunter Wheeler 2.

Cobden was led in scoring by senior point guard J. C. Chapman, an all-tournament selection at this year’s Thanksgiving tournament, with 11 points. 6’2” junior Tyler Lewey was also in double figures with 10 while junior Austin Flamm was close with 9 points. Other Appleknocker scorers were Josh Aspen with 6, Garrett Marks with 4, Nathan Sweitzer with 3 and Jordan Waldrop with a bucket. Cobden also shot free throws well hitting 7 of 8 attempts. With the Cats 9 for 9, and Cobden’s 7 for 8 and a total of 16 of 17 made me wonder, when was the last time you saw a high school basketball game with only one free throw missed.

Coach Jeremy Varnier’s JV team won their fourth game in as many outings 52 -34 to raise their record to 4-0. Christopher will return to action Friday night as they travel north to take on the Sesser-Valier Red Devils in a key Black Diamond Conference match up.

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, Christopher News, Franklin Co. News, High School Sports

Rangerettes lose at Nashville, drop to 7-3 overall

December 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

The Nashville Hornettes raced out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back Thursday night defeating the Benton Rangerettes in convincing fashion 42-18.

With the loss the Rangerettes fall to 7-3 overall while Nashville improves to 10-0.

The Rangerettes were never in the ball game trailing 16-2 at the end of one quarter and 22-7 at the intermission as the stingy Nashville defense took Benton totally out of any offensive rhythm. Benton did not its first field goal until the 3:00 minute mark of the second quarter when Katie Sandusky hit a 3-pointer. It was the only field goal the Rangerettes had in the first half.

Benton coach Andy Sloan saw two distinct reasons for the disappointing and lopsided defeat.

“First, I think you have to give credit to Nashville for the way they played defense which took us completely out of our offense,” Sloan said. “But, we did not play very well and we didn’t we didn’t play hard. We didn’t set a good screen all night long and didn’t do a very good job on defense. We knew what Nashville was going to do on defense but we didn’t handle it very well.”

The Rangerettes managed only two field goals for the first three quarters – a pair of 3-pointers by Sandusky. Benton added three more field goals by Morgan Corn, Mikala Carney and Ashtyn Ward in the fourth quarter when the game had long been decided.

Sandusky led the Rangerettes in scoring with six points followed by Corn with five and Mikala Carney with three, Sami Minor and Ward with two each.

Erica Brown led the balanced Nashville scoring attack with 15 points, followed by Shay Harre with 12 and Shawn Rennegarbe with 10. Also scoring for the Hornettes was Hannah Yung with three, Emily Gill with two and Alli Kellerman with two.

The Rangerettes will not have long to regroup from the loss as they face one of the toughest weeks of the season beginning Monday when undefeated Sesser-Valier visits the East Gym. Then on Tuesday Benton travels to Massac County before finishing up on the road at Massac County on Thursday.

 

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, Franklin Co. News, High School Sports, Uncategorized

Morthland falls to Benedictine-Springfield, 79-57.

December 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Morthland College men’s basketball team fell to host school Benedictine University-Springfield tonight, 79-57.

The Patriots trailed at halftime 29-45 and could not claw their way back into the game, while being out-rebounded 37-24.

Morthland was led by Eldorado product Will Carmickle who scored 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, to record his fourth double-double of the year, while freshman guard Roby Boatright chipped in 13 points on the night.

The Patriots will be back in action on Saturday when they host Saint Catherine College, tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Max Morris Gymnasium.

Filed Under: College Sports, Franklin Co. News, Uncategorized

JV Benton Rangers get their first win of the season

December 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By TAMMY HEAD

The JV Benton Rangers got their first win in overtime Tuesday night against Carmi-White County.

The first quarter of action proved the two teams were evenly matched ending with an 11-11 score. The score continued to go back and forth for the rest of the first half with the Rangers up 17-15 at half-time.

Rangers seemed to gain a little energy in the second half and gained the biggest lead of the game in the 4th going up 33-28 with 5 minutes left to play in regulation. Keegan Dawson hit a big bucket underneath to push the Rangers’ lead to 7 but Carmi immediately answered with a fast break and layup.

With 2 minutes left to play, Carmi was back within 2 points. Then at the 1:18 mark, Carmi tied the game at 36-36. Spike Buntin hit two free throws with 58 seconds remaining to make the score 38-36. A Ranger foul sent Carmi to the line to hit one of their two attempts and bringing them back within one.

With 24 seconds left, Carmi fouled Tyler Owens sending him to the line for the Rangers. After missing the first free throw, Owens hit the second making the score 39-37.

Carmi inbounded the ball with 15 seconds and Clay Vaught hit a 10-foot jump shot to tie the game with only 9 seconds left.

Benton had time, but a turnover gave Carmi the chance at the last second shot. A missed shot sent the Rangers into Overtime.

The Rangers took control of overtime and steadily pulled ahead of the Tigers. The final score was Rangers 48, Tigers 42.

Spike Buntin led the Rangers is scoring with 20 points, followed by Dakota Head with 9, Keegan Dawson with 6, Tyler Owens with 5, Trey McDaniel with 4 and Jesse Vanhorebeck and Brendan Ritchason both with 2. Also seeing action for the Rangers was Andrew Simpson, Gus Gibbs, and Martin Ward.

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, High School Sports Tagged With: , , , , , ,

BMS sweeps Hamilton County on the road

December 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

The Benton Middle School Junior Rangers seventh and eighth grade teams completed the 2012 portion of their schedule Wednesday night with a pair of victories over Hamilton County.

The BMS eighth grade team improved to 11-3 overall with a solid 48-29 victory over the Foxes. The Junior Rangers were never headed in the contest jumping out to an 18-5 first quarter lead and then extended the margin to 30-11 at the intermission.

BMS coach John Cook said one of the keys to the victory was the match up problems that Benton’s Derek Oxford creates with his inside-outside scoring prowess.

“Last night’s game was a great example of the match up problems that Derek creates,” Cook said. “Hamilton County goes 6-feet-4 and 6-feeet1 inside with their bigs, but they were reluctant to send either of them out to the perimeter to guard Derek. He recognized the mismatch with the smaller guy guarding him and took his game inside for a majority of the night.”

That strategy paid off smartly for Benton as Oxford led the team in scoring with 24 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists.

But Cook pointed out that one of the strengths for his team is the unselfishness and the role play of the entire team.

“Austin Wills didn’t have his best night shooting the ball but he and Tyson Houghland combined for 16 points and 15 board,” said Cook. “And that shows that they can contribute and help this team in many other ways.”

Cook called the victory over Hamilton County “a true team effort.”

“We received big minutes from Blane Pankey and Jordan Richey as they battled much bigger guys on the post all night,” said Cook. “And Oliver Davis and Gehrig Wynn did a great job of protecting the ball and distributing, while doing a great job of guarding their shooters on the perimeter.”

Following Oxford’s game leading 24 points the Rangers also got 10 points and eight rebounds from Wills and six points and seven rebounds from Houghland. Also helping in the win was Pankey with six and Wynn with 2. Also seeing action for Benton was Davis, Hamilton Page, Richey, Lance Cockrum, Scott Mosely, Brett Bonenberger, Parker Williams, Troy Tillman and Jourdan Garbo.

Cook said the road victory against Hamilton County was a nice way to head the the Christmas break.

“With each game we play we become less and less of a one or two-dimensional team,” Cook said. “I think other teams are starting to take notice.”

In the seventh grade contest BMS jumped out to a quick 16-9 first quarter lead and then put the game away in the second stanza outscoring the host Foxes 21-3 to take a commanding 37-12 lead at halftime. Every Benton player saw action in the second half as the seventh grade squad cruised to the 57-20 victory.

Balanced scoring was the theme for Coach Andy Davis’ team as four players scored in double figures with Hamilton Page leading the way with 12 points, followed closely by Parker Williams with 11, and Gehrig Wynn and Brett Bonenberger with 10 each. Barely missing double figures was Blane Pankey with eight points. Rounding out the scoring for Benton was Drew Owens with four points and Avery Potter with two. Also seeing action for Benton was Mason Wills, Eldon Owens, Parker McGuire, Triston Summers, Ethan Kreiger, Jordan Bowlin, Joey Craig, Robbie Moore, Braxton Lutz, Branden Luster, Peyton Mosely and Logan Darr.

Both BMS squads are idle through the holidays and will return to action on Jan. 3 when they host the Christopher Junior Bearcats.

Filed Under: Benton Junior High Sports, Benton News, Franklin Co. News, Junior High Sports, Uncategorized

Morthland men and women split final exhibitions

December 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

STAFF REPORT

The Morthland College men and women basketball teams closed out their exhibition schedules this evening with the Morthland men winning on the road against the McKendree JV team, 99-86, while the Lady Patriots fell at home to Southeastern Illinois College, 95-60.

Will Carmickle lead the way for the Morthland men with 37 points and 19 rebounds, while Josh Overturf added 13 points and 9 rebounds.

The Lady Patriots could not contain SIC guard Anna Best who exploded for 38 points in the midst of breaking the school record for three-pointer in a game with nine.

The Morthland women had four players in double digits led by Shayly Wilce (22), Jade Vaughn (15), and newcomer Kristen Vincent chipped in 12 points in her second game as a Patriot. Junior Ashley Slack recorded 11 points and 17 rebounds to record her first double double of the year.

“We played with a lot of effort and executed the best we have all year tonight,” said head coach Ray Lewis. “Everyone played hard and played pretty good team basketball.”

The Morthland men and women will travel to Springfield, Ill. to take on Benedictine College Thursday. The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. and the men will hit the court at 7:30 p.m.

Filed Under: College Sports Tagged With: , ,

BMS Junior Rangers improve to 10-3 with win over Du Quoin

December 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

The Benton Middle School Junior Rangers eighth grade team avenged a season-opening loss to Du Quoin Tuesday night with a convincing 50-34 non-conference road victory.

The win moves Benton to 10-3 on the season.

Austin Wills and Derek Oxford, who have been an outstanding one-two punch for Benton throughout the season, combined for 38 points to carry the Junior Rangers to the victory.  Wills scored 24 to go along with two rebounds and a steal while Oxford, the team’s leading scorer, tallied 14 points to go with five rebounds and three assists and a steal.

Benton coach John Cook gave high marks to his team on the offensive end.

“Offensively, we were very patient and took great care of the basketball,” said Cook. “Other teams pay so much attention to Oxford and he understands that.  Last night it was Austin’s turn to have a big night and he took advantage of it.  Everybody on the team understands their role and they are so unselfish.”

Benton jumped out to a 13-5 first quarter lead and then increased the margin to 27-18 at the intermission.  Benton outscored Du Quoin 13-7 to open up a 40-25 lead after three quarters and then coasted to the victory.

Also scoring for Benton was Blane Pankey with six points and six rebounds, Tyson Houghland, Gehrig Wynn, Jordan Richey, Oliver Davis all scored two points.  Also seeing action in the eighth grade contest was Scott Mosely, Brett Bonenberger, Lance Cockrum, Troy Tillman and Jourdan Garbo.

Cook said some contributions to the victory do not show up in the scorebook.

“I can’t say enough about the play of Tyson Houghland and Blane Pankey,” said Cook. “They do all the little things that sometimes go unnoticed, such as defense and rebounding. Oxford did a great job guarding the Thomas kid from Du Quoin, so it was truly a great team defensive effort.”

In the seventh grade contest BMS could never get on track dropping a 34-17 decision to Du Quoin.  BMS fell behind 8-4 after one period and then was outscored 14-5 in the second quarter as Du Quoin opened up a 22-9 halftime lead.  Benton outscored Du Quoin 6-4 in the third to cut the deficit to 26-15 heading to the final quarter but were outscored 8-2 in the fourth, en route to only their second loss of the season.  The BMS seventh grade squad now stands at 7-2.

Parker Williams led the seventh grade squad in scoring with 6 points to go along with three rebounds.  Also scoring for Benton was Blane Pankey with five, Hamilton Page with 2 and five rebounds, Drew Owens and Eldon Owens with two each.  Also seeing action for Benton was Brett Bonenberger, Triston Summers, Joey Craig, Gehrig Wynn, Mason Wills, Braxton Lutz, Ethan Kreiger and Robbie Moore.

Benton returns to action tonight at Hamilton County and wraps up the 2012 portion of their schedule.  The Junior Rangers will return to play on January 3, 2013 when they host Christopher.

Filed Under: Benton Junior High Sports, Benton News, Franklin Co. News, Junior High Sports
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