Published: November 28, 2009 12:19 am      

Wednesday's St. A action sets up good matchups

Wednesday evening's competition set up some pretty exciting matchups today at the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament. Breese Central, Charleston and St. Anthony all came out winners to advance with 2-0 marks, while Effingham also will enter the evening at 2-0. That should make for some evenly matched action.

In the opening game Wednesday evening, Breese Central downed Flora 50-39 after trailing by a 20-9 mark after the first quarter. Charleston then handled a pesky Mattoon squad 69-55 and St. Anthony finished out the evening by trouncing Taylorville 79-28.

Breese Central 50, Flora 39

Flora came ripping out and couldn't seem to miss a shot in the opening quarter, taking a 20-9 lead. The Wolves pushed ahead 17-4 as Paul Knapp, a 6-foot sophomore, missed his opening shot then hit four straight baskets, including three trifectas for 11 points. Also added into the mix was Nick Painter, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, who went three of three for seven points.

The Wolves finished the quarter connecting on eight of 12 from the field, while Breese Central couldn't seem to find the range and went four of 11.

Although the Wolves slowed down in the second quarter and the Cougars started to heat up, they still finished out with a 26-22 halftime lead. The two squads exchanged five turnovers to end the period.

Breese Central came out in the third period and didn't really warm up offensively, but the defense kicked into action, forcing Flora into six turnovers. The Cougars managed only four of 11 baskets, but hit four free throws and went into a 34-31 lead going into the final quarter.

From that point, Brandon Book took charge, knocking down three baskets and two free throws for eight points as the Cougars had a 16-8 run to pull out the 50-39 victory.

Book finished with 15 to lead the Cougars, while teammate David Wiegmann added 13. Garrett Gaffner led the squad in rebounds with seven and finished with seven points.

Flora was led by Knapp with 18 and Painter with 13. Bryton Krutsinger pulled down seven boards as the Wolves had a slight 23-20 edge.

Charleston 69, Mattoon 55

This game pitted neighboring towns, Charleston and Mattoon, against each other. The two squads battled early as first the Trojans, then the Green Wave had the lead, but Charleston finally got on a roll and ripped off 11 straight points and finished out with a 19-7 first quarter lead.

Mattoon battled back in the second period with a 19-11 run to pull within 30-26 at the half. Derrick Zavarella, a 6-foot-3 senior, went on a tear hitting two baskets and three free throws as the Green Wave connected on 50 percent of their shots in the quarter. The Trojans went cold with only three of 10.

At the start of the third quarter, Mattoon's Zavarella hit a basket and Michael Heller knocked down a three-pointer and suddenly the Green Wave took a 31-30 lead. But it was short-lived as Charleston went ahead to stay the rest of the way on a basket by Dylan Doughty.

Charleston led 41-36 going into the final quarter, then stepped to the free throw line time after time to put the game away. The Trojans hit 14 of 17 free throws and had a 28-19 final quarter run.

Four of the five starters finished in double figures for the Trojans. Brad Wheeler led with 19, while Joey Miller added 15, Taylor Nead 14 and Jason Lord 10. Nead pulled down 13 rebounds as the Trojans swept the boards 35-15.

Mattoon was led by Zavarella with 21 and M. Heller with 13. Heller had five rebounds.

St. Anthony 79, Taylorville 28

The Bulldogs put on a clinic on how the game should be played in the opening quarter and never looked back in this one.

Ryan Schmitt started the scoring and the Tornadoes must have thought they were never going to stop. James Jansen had a steal and a layup, Kit Koerner hit the next shot and Myles Backer blocked a shot then was fouled and connected on two free throws. From there it was Taylor Worman who got into the act with a three-pointer before he stole the ball and knocked down another trifecta.

Taylorville called a time out with the Bulldogs ahead 14-0. That didn't stop the barrage. J. Jansen stole the ball and hit another layup and Marty Jansen put in a free throw. J. Jansen stole the ball and M. Jansen connected on a layup. Then it was M. Jansen's turn for the steal and he hit another layup. J. Jansen stole the ball again and went in and the lead had blossomed to 23-0.

With 1:59 left in the opening quarter, Taylorville's Kraig Heil finally hit a basket, a three-pointer, but that was the lone points as St. Anthony led 26-3 at the end of the clinic.

In all fairness to Taylorville, the squad was playing without two starters who were injured against Effingham Tuesday evening and were putting three freshmen on the floor most of the time. But St. Anthony still put on quite a display. By halftime, the Bulldogs led 52-11.

Worman was nothing but dead on, especially in the second quarter when he was perfect in five chances with three more trifectas and two regular baskets for 13 points. He started his run in the second period with two three-pointers and eventually ended the game with 21 points.

J. Jansen had 11 points by half and came out again in the third quarter with seven more points to finish with 18 for the contest. Also in double figures was Koerner with 13 as he ended the final period with three of four from the field.

Seven more players scored in the game as the Bulldogs hit 59.2 percent from the field and were 60 percent at the line. They also were taking care of the ball with only six turnovers and defensively forced the Tornadoes into 29.

"Sometimes when the score isn't close in a game, the kids tend to relax," said St. Anthony Coach Matt Britton. "But I think the kids did a good job tonight of staying focused and working on things we do well. We played unselfish with quite a few assists. I thought we were screening and cutting a lot better. We made extra passes tonight and didn't miss much.

"We talk to the kids about shot preparation, having your feet and hands ready and the kids did a good job anticipating and being ready to score."

The Bulldogs had a little different starting lineup Wednesday than they did Tuesday.

"It's early, not that we're experimenting," said Britton."It's about competition. Whether you're starting or coming off the bench, you have to play well. I thought the kids who started played well and the kids who came off the bench did well."

The Bulldogs will take on Effingham tonight in the final game at 7:30. The two squads are 2-0, while Charleston and Breese meet at 3 p.m., also both 2-0.

"I think realistically, people expected us, Effingham and Breese to be 2-0," commented Britton. "Charleston is a dangerous team. They could beat any one of the three of us. I think our game will be a good one. You will have two teams that hopefully, will win a lot of ball games. Whether we win or lose, it will make us a better team. The kids are excited and I'm sure the Effingham kids are as excited. It will be very competitive."

Millie Lange can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 124 or millie.lange@effinghamdailynews.com.

7th Annual St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament

Game Six

BREESE CENTRAL (50)

Grapperhaus 3-5 0-0 7, Wiegmann 5-11 2-5 13, Gaffner 2-10 3-6 7, Scheer 2-4 4-8 8, Book 6-11 3-3 15, Norrenberns 0-1 0-0 0, Finan 0-0 0-0 0, Timmerman 0-0 0-0 0, Rakers 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18-42 FG (42.8) 12-22 FT (45.0).

FLORA (39)

Greenwood 0-1 0-0 0, Knapp 7-14 0-0 18, Krutsinger 3-8 0-0 8, Painter 6-9 0-0 13, Lewis 0-3 0-0 0, Bush-King 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Durre 0-0 0-0 0, Earleywine 0-1 0-0 0, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Eade 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 16-39 FG (41.0) 0-0 FT.

Breese Central---9---13---12---16------50

Flora----------20----6----5----8------39

3-point FG — Breese Central 2-9 (Grapperhaus 1-2, Wiegmann 1-4, Book 0-2, Norrenberns 0-1), Flora 7-17 (Knapp 4-11, Krutsinger 2-3, Painter 1-1, Lewis 0-1, Earleywine 0-1). Rebounds — Breese Central 20 (Gaffner 7), Flora 23 (Krutsinger 7). Total Fouls — Breese Central 6, Flora 16. Fouled Out — None. Turnovers — Breese Central 10, Flora 21. Officials — Lidy, Mullinax, Wagner.

Game Seven

CHARLESTON (69)

Lord 5-8 0-0 10, Miller 4-14 6-6 15, Nead 5-8 4-4 14, Wheeler 5-10 8-12 19, Doughty 1-1 0-0 2, Addison 1-4 0-0 2, Clark 2-5 3-3 7, Shick 0-1 0-0 0, Wesley 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 23-51 FG (45.0) 21-25 FT (84.0).

MATTOON (55)

Zavarella 7-15 7-14 21, M. Heller 3-10 6-6 13, Arthur 1-8 0-1 2, Wolfe 0-4 0-0 0, Miller 3-5 1-2 8, K. Heller 1-3 2-4 4, Milligan 1-1 0-0 2, Carlen 1-3 0-0 3, McDonald 0-0 0-0 0, Daily 1-2 0-0 2, Butch 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18-51 FG (35.2) 16-27 FT (37.0).

Charleston---19---11---11---28------69

Mattoon------7---19---10---19------55

3-point FG — Charleston 2-13 (Lord 0-2, Miller 1-5, Wheeler 1-4, Addison 0-1, Clark 0-1), Mattoon 3-14 (M. Heller 1-3, Wolfe 0-4, Miller 1-3, K. Heller 0-1, Carlen 0-2, Daily 0-1). Rebounds — Charleston 35 (Nead 13), Mattoon 15 (M. Heller 5). Total Fouls — Charleston 20, Matton 24. Fouled Out — Charleston 1 (Doughty), Mattoon 1 (Wolfe). Turnovers — Charleston 17, Mattoon 14. Officials — M. Jones, R. Jones, Bixby.

Game Eight

TAYLORVILLE (28)

Yard 2-8 0-0 5, Handegan 1-2 0-1 2, Peters 1-3 0-0 2, Heil 3-10 0-0 9, Bollinger 1-2 3-4 5, Logue 0-0 0-0 0, Brandis 0-3 0-0 0, Trulock 0-2 0-0 0, Norville 0-2 1-2 1, Jackson 2-4 0-0 4, Dees 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 10-36 FG (27.7) 4-7 FT (57.1).

ST. ANTHONY (79)

J. Jansen 7-12 2-2 18, Worman 8-14 0-0 21, Koerner 6-7 0-0 13, Baker 3-8 2-2 8, Schmitt 2-2 0-0 4, M. Jansen 3-4 1-2 7, Sudkamp 0-1 1-2 1, Willenborg 1-2 0-2 3, Rohlfing 1-3 0-0 2, Lustig 0-0 0-0 0, Ragland 0-0 0-0 0, Dial 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS 32-54 FG (59.2) 6-10 FT (60.0).

Taylorville-----3----8----7---10------28

St. Anthony---26---26---16---11------79

3-point FG — Taylorville 4-17 (Yard 1-5, Handegan 0-1, Heil 3-7, Brandis 0-2, Trulock 0-1, Jackson 0-1), St. Anthony 9-19 (J. Jansen 2-5, Worman 5-10, Koerner 1-2, Willenborg 1-2). Rebounds — Taylorville 20 (Yard 6), St. Anthony 20 (Schmitt 5). Total Fouls — Taylorville 9, St. Anthony 15. Fouled Out — None. Turnovers — Taylorville 29, St. Anthony 6. Officials — Hart, Rhodes, Brannon.