Marshall boys players honored on All-LIC teams

Marshall, Ill. — Three members of the first-place Marshall team earned spots on the first team of the Little Illini Conference boys all-conference basketball team.

Logan and Lucas Eitel, both juniors, and sophomore Taylor Duncan are the Lions on the first unit. Logan Boyd and Mitch Snyder of Casey and Ryan Roberts of Hutsonville-Palestine are other members of the first unit.

Bulldogs win regional title

Millie Lange
Effingham Daily News

— ROBINSON — Free throw shooting was big . . . so was the defense . . . and the offense wasn't bad either. Put everything together and you get a regional championship as Effingham St. Anthony downed top-seeded Marshall 59-51 to win the Class 2A Robinson Regional title.
"Our kids were ready to play," said Coach Matt Britton. "We played to win tonight and I'm proud of every one of the kids for their effort."
The Bulldogs hit an amazing 84.2 percent from the free throw line with 16 of 19. Of those 16, 12 came in the final and decisive quarter as the Bulldogs calmly stepped to the line and put away the shots from the gratis stripe.
St. Anthony didn't shoot at all bad from the field with 54 percent. And let's talk about the defense, especially in the fourth quarter. St. Anthony put the skids on the Lions as they could muster only three of 11 baskets in the final period.
"They're very hard to guard," said Britton. "But our kids came through with a tough defense tonight. We were able to get the stops when we needed to in the fourth quarter. I thought we really stepped up on defense."
The Bulldogs trailed by a point at the end of the opening quarter. Marshall ripped out to a 5-0 lead as the Eitel twins took turns with baskets. Logan Eitel hit a bucket to start the contest after a St. Anthony turnover. Lucas Eitel nailed a three-pointer. But the Bulldogs settled and John Steppe got the first basket.
The two teams traded turnovers and the Bulldogs took advantage as Anthony Hecht put in a basket. Taylor Worman nailed a three-pointer at the five-minute mark after another Marshall turnover and suddenly the Bulldogs had taken the lead.
Marshall came right back to knot the score and regain the lead. The lead flip-flopped twice before the Lions took the lead on a three-pointer by Alex Bullock. Logan Eitel hit and suddenly the Marshall lead stood at 13-9 with only seconds remaining.
St. Anthony's Jordan Schmidt grabbed the ball and let loose with a shot from near the Marshall basket that went clear downcourt and swished through the net for a crowd-pleasing bomb and the Bulldogs trailed just 13-12.
The Bulldogs finally gained their footing in the second quarter and went on a tear as Bryce Fearday connected for a basket and two free throws around a bucket by Hecht. A three-pointer by Steppe pushed the Bulldogs ahead by their biggest lead of the game, 25-15.
But here came the Lions. Calmly Marshall started its comeback as Alan Wolter hit a basket and Alex Bullock nailed a three-pointer. Wolter scored again and the Lions had pulled within five. Then an old-fashioned three-point play by Logan Eitel brought the lead down to two. Logan Eitel then nailed a three-pointer and Marshall held a 28-27 halftime lead.
With three ties in the game and 13 lead changes, it was a back-and-forth affair throughout the third quarter. Neither team could gain advantage and the Lions held that same one-point margin going into the final period, 40-39.
But a basket by Hecht put the lead back into the Bulldogs court. However, that didn't last long and Marshall went ahead 44-41. John Steppe produced an old-fashioned three-point play with 4:06 on the clock and the lead swung back to the Bulldogs for good.
Marshall was within a basket and could have tied the score three times, but failed on all three attempts. St. Anthony started putting in the free throws when Fearday nailed two as the Bulldogs went ahead 52-48. Every time Marshall fouled, the Bulldogs answered. St. Anthony finished with 12 of 15 in the final quarter, outscoring Marshall 20-11.
Fearday finished with 17 points to lead the Bulldogs while Steppe was right behind with 16. Also in double figures was Hecht with 13. Hecht led in rebounds with six.
"Bryce had, by far, his best game of the year," said Britton. "He had some huge rebounds, played great defense and went seven-for-seven at the line. John also had a good game. He had so much on his shoulders tonight, handling their pressure and he really gutted it out. He also had some huge free throws.
"I thought the kids' effort was phenomenal tonight. Now we just have to soak this in and enjoy it."
Marshall, which finished the season with a 25-3 record, was led by Lucas Eitel with 16 and Logan Eitel with 15. The Lions hit only 36.7 percent from the field but were 84.6 percent at the line.
Britton isn't a stranger to the Marshall players as he coached the seniors when they were in eighth-grade.
"I think a lot of every one of these kids," said Britton. "My compliments to Marshall. They've had an excellent season and they're probably the most talented team we've played all season. They gave a great effort."
St. Anthony advances to the Casey-Westfield Sectional where it will take on the winner of the Paris Regional. Tolono Unity and Bismarck-Henning will play for the Paris championship tonight at 7:30. Also entered in the Casey-Westfield field will be Olney, a 50-32 winner over Flora at the Newton Regional, and Monticello, a 44-43 winner over St. Joseph-Ogden at the St. Joseph-Ogden Regional.
Millie Lange can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 123 or millie.lange@effinghamdailynews.com.
Class 2A Robinson Regional
Championship
ST. ANTHONY (59)
Steppe 5-10 5-5 16, McHugh 0-1 1-2 1, Fearday 5-8 7-7 17, Koerner 1-1 0-0 2, Hecht 6-10 1-1 13, Worman 2-5 0-0 5, Winkler 0-1 1-2 1, Schmidt 1-1 1-2 4, Baker 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 20-37 FG (54.0) 16-19 FT (84.2)
MARSHALL (51)
Lo. Eitel 6-17 3-3 15, Lu. Eitel 5-13 4-4 16, Johnson 1-4 0-0 2, Bullock 2-5 1-2 7, Duncan 2-7 1-2 5, Wolter 2-3 2-2 6, Burnam 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18-49 FG (36.7) 11-13 FT (84.6)
St. Anthony-----12---15---12---20--------59
Marshall--------13---15---12---11--------51
3-point FG — St. Anthony 3-8 (Steppe 1-3, McHugh 0-1, Worman 1-2, Winkler 0-1, Schmidt 1-1), Marshall 4-19 (Lo. Eitel 0-2, Lu. Eitel 2-9, Johnson 0-2, Bullock 2-3, Duncan 0-3). Rebounds — St. Anthony 22 (Hecht 6, Steppe 5, Fearday 5), Marshall 21 (Johnson 8). Total fouls — St. Anthony 17, Marshall 15. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — St. Anthony 17, Marshall 12.

Marshall's tournament run ends in regional

By Andy Amey
The Tribune-Star

Robinson, Ill.— When Effingham St. Anthony forward Anthony Hecht bolted from the weak side to deflect and intercept a Marshall entry pass to the post with about two and a half minutes left Friday night, it didn’t seem like all that big a play.
But the Bulldogs, leading 50-48 in the Illinois Class 2A Robinson Regional for high school basketball, protected the ball beautifully the rest of the way against furious defensive pressure by the Lions, and pulled away for a 59-51 win.
The loss snapped a 15-game winning streak for the Lions, the regional’s top-seeded team, and brought an abrupt end to a sensational Marshall season.
“By far one of the toughest [losses] I’ve ever had,” coach Tom Brannan of the Lions said tearfully afterward. “But you’ve got to give Saint Anthony credit, all the credit in the world. We got beat by a good team, and they made a lot of shots.”
The Lions, who had stormed from behind with an 11-0 run to close out the first half, led at every stop and were up 46-44 with 5:16 left when Logan Eitel worked his way to a short jumper.
But Bulldog reserve Danny Winkler hit a free throw 21 seconds later, and John Steppe came up with a steal and drove for a three-point play to put ESA ahead 48-46 with 4:06 left. Two more free throws by Steppe increased the lead to four, but Logan Eitel immediately cut it in half with another basket. Then the Lions got the ball back, only to have it stolen by Hecht.
Coach Matt Britton of St. Anthony called a timeout, and it was obvious what the strategy was. Despite Marshall’s dogged man-to-man pressure, the fundamentally sound Bulldogs protected the ball for more than a minute, once calling another timeout when their ball handler was trapped near midcourt.
Finally, with 55 seconds left, the Lions were forced to foul, and 6-foot-7 Bryce Fearday hit both shots for a four-point lead. A missed 3-pointer by the Lions was rebounded by Fearday, who hit two more free throws, and now it was suddenly a six-point game. Three more Bulldog free throws and a breakaway dunk by Fearday in the final seconds put the game away.
“Several times we had [the Bulldogs] in a long possession with great defensive pressure,” Brannan recalled later, “but they’d back-door us, or the ball would get away and roll to them instead of us.
“It was a tremendous effort, but for some reason the ball just didn’t roll our way tonight.”
Marshall had taken a 13-9 lead late in the first quarter following a 3-pointer by Alex Bullock and a nifty back-door layup by Lucas Eitel from Travis Johnson. But another Bulldog reserve, Jordan Schmidt, swished a 65-foot throw at the first-quarter buzzer.
That lucky shot not only cut Marshall’s lead to a point, but it ignited the Effingham fans and the Bulldogs themselves, who continued by scoring the first 10 points of the second quarter for a 22-13 lead. The margin reached 10 points twice, the second time at 27-17 with about two minutes left in the half.’
Then the Eitel twins went to work. First Logan tipped an offensive rebound to his brother, who fed Bullock for a 3-pointer that cut the lead to 27-20. Then Lucas drove the lane and dropped off a back-hand pass to Alan Wolter for a layup.
Lucas grabbed a defensive rebound and fired an outlet pass to Logan, who drove for a three-point play with 27 seconds left in the second quarter. And then Lucas came up with a loose ball on defense and nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, putting Marshall back on top 28-27 with 8.9 seconds left in the half.
That was the sixth lead change of the game, and there were four more in the third quarter. Wolter gave Marshall a 40-39 lead at the third stop with a pair of free throws. Another Johnson-to-Lucas Eitel back-door play made it 44-41 Marshall early in the fourth quarter, but then the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run interrupted only by Logan Eitel’s tie-breaking basket.
“We’d get a little bit of a lead, but they’d answer,” Brannan said afterward. “And they hit their free throws at the end.
“We’d scouted [the Bulldogs] several times and this was by far the best game they’ve played,” the Marshall coach continued. “They were tremendous, and that says a lot when kids step up and play like that.”
Fearday finished with a game-high 17 points while Steppe had 16 plus five assists and Hecht 13 plus four steals and a team-leading seven rebounds (he’s 5-foot-11) for Effingham St. Anthony. Lucas Eitel scored 16 point and Logan Eitel 15 for Marshall.
“I told the boys they’d look back, after all this [grief] passes, and they’ll look at their record and see that they had a great season,” Brannan concluded.

At Robinson, Ill.
Effingham St. Anthony 59
fg 3pt ft r s pf tp
Hecht 6-10 0-0 1-1 7 4 2 13
Steppe 5-9 1-3 5-5 4 2 1 16
Fearday 5-8 0-0 7-7 6 1 2 17
McHugh 0-1 0-0 1-2 4 0 3 1
Koerner 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 2
Worman 2-5 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 5
Winkler 0-1 0-1 1-2 0 0 3 1
Schmidt 1-1 1-1 1-2 1 0 2 4
Baker 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 20-36 3-7 16-19 *27 8 14 59
Marshall 51
fg 3pt ft r s pf tp
Lo.Eitel 6-19 0-4 3-3 6 1 3 15
Johnson 1-3 0-2 0-0 8 1 1 2
Duncan 2-8 0-4 1-2 4 0 4 5
Lu.Eitel 5-12 2-7 4-4 2 3 2 16
Bullock 2-5 2-4 1-2 0 3 4 7
Wolter 2-3 0-1 2-2 3 1 2 6
Burnam 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 18-50 4-22 11-13 *26 9 16 51
Ef. St. Anthony 12 15 12 20 — 59
Marshall 13 15 12 11 — 51
FG Pct. -- ESA .556, Marshall .360. 3-pt FG Pct. -- ESA .429, Marshall .182. FT Pct. -- ESA .842, Marshall .846. (*) Includes team rebounds -- ESA 3, Marshall 3. Turnovers -- ESA 18, Marshall 12. Assists -- ESA 14 (Steppe 5), Marshall 10 (Lo.Eitel 3, Lu.Eitel 3). Blocks -- ESA 3 (Fearday 2), Marshall 2 (Lo.Eitel, Bullock).
Next game -- Effingham St. Anthony (21-9) plays Wednesday at the Class 2A Casey Sectional against the winner of the Paris Regional. Marshall finished 25-3.

Steppe's shot at buzzer leads St. A to win

Millie Lange
Effingham Daily News

— Talk about your storybook endings. You know the one where the hero struggles throughout the book, but finally comes through in the end and everyone lives happily ever after.
That's about what happened Wednesday evening as Effingham St. Anthony pulled one out of the fire and came out with the happy ending against Robinson 55-54 in the semifinals of the Class 2A Robinson Boys' Basketball Regional.
The hero in this instance was John Steppe, a 6-foot-3 junior, who nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs the one-point win and the right to advance to the title game Friday against Marshall, a 74-56 winner over Casey-Westfield in the other semifinal Wednesday.
"John stepped up and made the shot when it counted," said St. Anthony Coach Matt Britton. "We work on this in practice all the time putting six seconds on the clock and then attempting to get the shot at the buzzer. This time it actually worked out our way. We've had a couple of other games like this not fall our way, but it worked tonight."
And that's what counts when the losing team heads for home and tucks the uniforms away for another year while the winners advance on.
Although Steppe was the final hero of the game, garnering the three-pointer that tied the game at 50-50 with 2:13 showing, before hitting the game-winner, he had plenty of help along the storybook trail.
Jordan Schmidt came in off the bench to score eight points, six in the second quarter when the Bulldogs needed a boost.
"Jordan really gave us some big minutes, especially in the second quarter," said Britton. "Danny Winkler also came in and gave us some quality time. Taylor Worman knocked down some three-pointers. We just had different players step up. I also thought Bryce Fearday had a good game."
It was a neck-and-neck affair from the beginning as the score was knotted three times in the opening quarter before Robinson gained some footing to take a 12-9 lead. Stephen Jones nailed a basket and three free throws while Logan Brimberry, the lone senior on the team, knocked down a three-pointer to end the quarter.
The Maroons pushed their lead to six points at the beginning of the second period when Derek Hannahs hit a three-pointer and S. Jones put in a basket. But a Bulldog timeout calmed things down and St. Anthony went to work.
Defensively the Bulldogs forced Robinson into five straight turnovers and St. Anthony eventually tied at 17-17, then took its first lead of the game when Blake Koerner hit a basket at the 3:19 mark. The fight was on the rest of the quarter with the lead bouncing back and forth. St. Anthony came up with the final score to take a 25-23 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.
The Bulldogs controlled the start of the third quarter going ahead by six at the 4:26 mark as Worman hit a basket. But the Maroons clawed back and tied the score on a rebound basket by 6-foot-9 sophomore Meyers Leonard with 2:52 showing.
Robinson held the lead the rest of the quarter, but a Worman three-pointer with 10 seconds on the clock pulled the Bulldogs back within 40-38.
Bryce Fearday, who had hit only one basket in the opening three quarters, came back to nail three of four from the field and put in a free throw in the final period. Fearday tied the score on a rebound basket to start the quarter.
Robinson went ahead 46-41 on free throws by Ben Jones with 5:53 showing. Fearday put in another basket and Steppe nailed two free throws to pull St. Anthony within a point at the 5:22 mark. Fearday again scored to pull St. Anthony within one after Robinson had scored. The Maroons pushed ahead 50-47 with 2:36 showing.
Then came the big three-pointer by Steppe at the 2:13 mark to tie the score at 50-50. Robinson went ahead 51-50 on a free throw with 1:10 showing. St. Anthony missed a three-point attempt and Robinson's Leonard rebounded and was fouled at 1:04. He hit both free throws to give the Maroons a 53-50 lead.
St. Anthony got the ball, but things looked bad when Kyle McHugh fell down with the dribble. Coach Britton alertly called a time out to save the Bulldogs from a travel call at the 31.5 mark. Back on the court, St. Anthony went through a wild spell attempting three shots at the net before Worman finally connected pulling St. Anthony within 53-52.
Steppe fouled B. Jones who hit one free throw for a 54-52 lead at the six second mark. The Bulldogs then took over hurrying downcourt and Steppe sent his memorable shot homeward for the win.
"I thought Bryce did a wonderful job on their big kid," said Britton. "Leonard has got nice moves. Bryce also did well from the field tonight hitting those 15-18 footers. We'll need him to continue to shoot well the next game.
"My compliments to Robinson, they have a nice team although they're still very young. They just kept attacking us."
The Bulldogs had taken care of Robinson last year beating the Maroons 59-45 to win the Marshall Regional title. St. Anthony went on to the sectional beating Olney before falling to Teutopolis in the title contest.
The Bulldogs were led by Steppe and Worman with 10 points each. Fearday had nine points and five rebounds. St. Anthony hit 40.7 percent from the field and 63.6 percent at the line.
Robinson was led by S. Jones with 15, Leonard and B. Jones with 13 each and Brimberry with 10. The Maroons hit 50 percent from the field and 73.6 percent at the line. Robinson, the No. 7 seed, ends the season with a 9-15 record.
St. Anthony, seeded third, advances with a 20-9 record to face No. 2 seed Marshall with a 24-2 mark at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The winner advances to the Casey-Westfield Sectional Wednesday against the Paris Regional winner.
Marshall 74, Casey-Westfield 56
In the opening game of the evening, Marshall trailed Casey-Westfield in the first half. The two teams played to a 14-14 first quarter tie before the Warriors edged out to a 28-27 halftime lead.
Marshall came roaring back with a 24-12 third quarter run as Logan Eitel connected for three baskets and two free throws for eight points in the quarter, while Lucas Eitel hit two three-pointers.
The Lions continued their run in the fourth quarter, outscoring Casey-Westfield 23-16. Logan Eitel again was the big gun scoring nine points and tallied 27 total. Lucas Eitel added five and finished with 14 for the game. Taylor Duncan also was in double figures with 13.
Casey-Westfield ends the season with a 14-12 record.
Millie Lange can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 123 or millie.lange@effinghamdailynews.com.
Class 2A Robinson Regional
Semifinal Game
ST. ANTHONY (55)
Koerner 1-3 0-2 2, Steppe 3-11 2-2 10, Fearday 4-10 1-2 9, McHugh 2-8 2-2 6, Hecht 2-4 0-0 4, Worman 4-8 0-0 10, Winkler 3-5 0-0 6, Baker 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 3-4 2-3 8. TOTALS 22-54 FG (40.7) 7-11 FT (63.6)
ROBINSON (54)
S. Jones 5-9 5-6 15, Brimberry 3-5 1-2 10, Leonard 4-7 5-7 13, Hannahs 1-7 0-0 3, B. Jones 5-8 3-4 13, Watson 0-0 0-0 0, Shaw 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18-36 FG (50.0) 14-19 FT (73.6)
St. Anthony-------9---16---13---17--------55
Robinson-------12---11---17---14--------54
3-point FG — St. Anthony 4-14 (Steppe 2-6, Fearday 0-1, McHugh 0-1, Worman 2-5, Schmidt 0-1), Robinson 4-11 (S. Jones 0-1, Brimberry 3-5, Hannahs 1-5). Rebounds — St. Anthony 21 (Fearday 5), Robinson 24 (Brimberry 9, Leonard 5). Total fouls — St. Anthony 17, Robinson 11. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — St. Anthony 13, Robinson 17. Officials — Jones, Meinhart, White.
--------
Semifinal Game
CASEY-WESTFIELD (56)
Freeman 0-0 — 0, L. Boyd 3-6 — 12, Yates 1-0 — 2, Shawver 3-0 — 7, Biggs 4-4 — 12, Rhoads 1-3 — 5, Snyder 3-0 — 9, Kusterman 1-1 — 3, Cramer 0-0 — 0, Scott 2-2 — 6, Wagner 0-0 — 0, T. Boyd 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 18 FG, 16 FT.
MARSHALL (74)
Eitel 11-5 — 27, Delp 0-0 — 0, Johnson 3-0 — 6, Eitel 5-0 — 14, O'Rourke 1-0 — 3, Bullock 2-0 — 5, Duncan 3-6 — 13, Burnam 0-0 — 0, Morey 0-0 — 0, Wolter 3-0 — 6. TOTALS 28 FG, 11 FT.
Casey-Westfield----14---14---12---16--------56
Marshall---------------14---13---24---23--------74
3-point FG — Casey-Westfield 4 (Shawver 1, Snyder 3), Marshall 7 (Eitel 4, O'Rourke 1, Duncan 1, Bullock 1).
Three-Point Qualifiers
Kyle McHugh (St. Anthony), Blake Koerner (St. Anthony), Cavan Walsh (St. Anthony), Logan Brimberry (Robinson), Logan Boyd (Casey-Westfield), Steven O'Rourke (Marshall), Kyle Burnam (Marshall), Alan Wolter (Marshall)

Logan Eitel’s double-double does trick as Marshall advances to regional championship

By Craig Pearson
The Tribune-Star

Robinson, Ill.— Logan Eitel had 27 points and 14 rebounds Tuesday, and Marshall pulled away from Clark County rival Casey for a 74-56 victory during semifinal action of the Class AA Robinson Regional, advancing to Friday’s championship game.
“He’s been doing that a lot lately,” Marshall coach Tom Brannan said of the dominant performance by one half of his versatile 6-4 identical twins.
The Lions (25-2) had a much tougher time than they did with the Warriors in a 97-61 victory last week at home. Casey took a 28-27 lead into halftime after freshman Clinton Scott stole from Logan Eitel and converted for a layup after one of the Marshall junior’s 10 first-half rebounds.
“We just gout out and started running in the second half,” said Logan Eitel. “We were passing too much in the first half. We needed to attack the basket more.”
Logan’s twin brother Lucas Eitel hit three second-half 3-pointers, helping the Lions hit 4 for 11 from beyond the 3-point arc in the second 16 minutes. Brannan’s team settled for 3-pointers against Casey’s zone defense in the first half and made just 3 for 14.
“They went to that 1-3-1 zone after playing man almost all season,” Brannan said. “We just weren’t being aggressive enough. We weren’t penetrating. We were just trying to sit back and shoot 3s and we weren’t hitting.”
Marshall made 11-for-32 from the field in the first half, and Casey was the aggressor, attacking the basket for several open layups. Casey fell behind by 24 points at halftime in the two teams’ meeting last week.
Marshall has pulled away for blowout victories in most of its recent wins.
“Well, we had a close one tonight. I thought we responded to Casey’s challenge,” Brannan said.
Casey kept the tempo in its favor in the first half, but Marshall forced the issue more in the third quarter.
Logan Eitel tracked down his own missed 3-pointer for a bucket and the foul shot to put the Lions ahead 42-36 with 2:30 to go in the third. Logan Eitel’s second old-fashioned 3-point play coupled with Lucas Eitel’s 3-pointer to start the second half helped Marshall extend its lead to double digits for the first time all game.
Logan Eitel hit a pair of free throws after blocking a Logan Boyd 3-point attempt, recovering the ball and out-racing the Casey point guard down the court. Eitel’s foul shots put the Lions ahead 54-40 in the first minute of the third quarter.
Taylor Duncan collected a pass from Alan Wolter for a layup, the play originating with a steal by Travis Johnson, who added nine rebounds for the Lions.
Marshall picked up the pace more to its liking in the second half, but its defense helped it do so.
“I thought we got a lot more aggressive in the second half. A lot of times we were getting deflections in the first half but it was rolling to the wrong guy,” Brannan said.
• St. Anthony advances — Effingham St. Anthony’s John Steppe made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Bulldogs (20-9) to a 55-54 victory over Robinson (9-15) in the second game of the Robinson Regional semifinal. St. Anthony will play Marshall in the championship game on Friday.

Rambin' Reck: Basketball fans in Marshall have plenty to be happy about

By Tom Reck
Tribune-Star Correspondent

TERRE HAUTE— Basketball fans in Marshall celebrated a state championship last week and would like to do more celebrating this week as the Illinois Class 2A boys basketball tournament begins.
The eighth-grade boys won the Class 3A state championship last week and finished the season with a 23-2 record. The Cubs are coached by Tony Graham and earlier won the Little Illini Conference championship.
Marshall defeated Tolono Unity 31-20, Teutopolis 45-31, Williamsville 39-27 and Herscher-Limestone 34-32 in overtime to reach the championship contest in which the Clark County team bested Washington 34-32. Logan Kennedy was the leading scorer with 14 points.
Graham coached seventh-grade and eighth-grade teams the past two years and helped coach football this year in addition to handling the championship team. The seventh graders also had a good year, finishing 15-5 and winning the LIC tourney.
According to J.D. Spangler, one other Marshall junior high team had won a state title before last week. He said a Marshall team took baseball honors in the 1960s.
Congrats to the champs.
The high school team begins tournament play Wednesday in the Robinson Regional, facing either Casey or Lawrenceville in the semifinals. The winner of the regional will advance to the Casey Sectional.
The Lions have won 14 in a row since losing to Terre Haute South in the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic and finished the regular season 24-2. Olney was the only other team to beat the Lions in the Capital Classsic in November.
Coach Tom Brannan’s team took LIC regular-season and tournament titles for the second year in a row.
In Indiana, most conference championships have been decided with one week left before tourney time.
North Daviess claimed the SWIAC championship and Carmel claimed at least a share of the MIC title by beating Terre Haute North. Lawrence North can gain a share by beating North this week.
Shakamak has concluded TRC play with a 4-1 mark and will share the championship with either Linton or Clay City. Both teams are 3-1 going into their makeup game tonight and the loser will tie North Central for third with a 3-2 log.
• • •
• Tom-Cattin’ It — Congratulations and condolences go to a couple men active in Terre Haute softball circles.
Congratulations to Lenny Isles, who was married last week.
Condolences to the family and friends of Kenny Myers, who died after battliing cancer.
• Former South Putnam football player Tony Lewis should have been approved as football coach at Evansville Reitz on Monday.
He had been coaching in Ohio and was an assistant at Reitz before that time.
• Dick Vitale is back, as fans who watched the IU-Michigan State game and others know.
He needs to put a lid on his comments that IU should name something for Robert Montgomery Knight. It’s not likely to happen.
• Jake Kelly is a former player at Marshall and has been starting for Iowa as a freshman. He led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 12 points and had two blocks in the team’s loss to Michigan last week.
• Everick Sullivan won his 100th game as coach last week when Vincennes University defeated Lincoln Trail 89-78 for a 20-4 record.
• Jason Holsinger missed Evansville’s game against Creighton with a broken hand but the Aces still beat the Bluejays. He should return to the lineup for the final games.
• A.J. Ratliff quit the IU team for personal reasons. He missed the first semester because of academics and really had not been the same player he was before that in his return.
• In case you missed it, Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 93-52.
• Purdue beat Iowa last week in women’s basketball to move back into a virtual tie for first in the Big Ten. The Boilers met Ohio State in a key game Monday night.
• Indianapolis Northwest senior Alex Young says he will go to IUPUI. He was averaging 19.1 points and 13.4 points at the time.
• IU coach Kelvin Sampson has won 20 or more games for 11 straight seasons. The only other active coach to do that is Coach K at Duke.

Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by email at treck@ma.rr.com or by mail at 4276 South 5th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47802.

Basketball roundup: Marshall Lions win 13th straight game

— Marshall won its 13th straight game by defeating host Neoga 60-38 in boys high school basketball Friday.
The 23-2 Lions had leads of 13-9 and 25-18 at the first two stops and outscored the Eagles 17-4 in the third period for a 42-22 lead. Logan Eitel had 11 of those points including the first 10 and finished with 20 points and three steals.
Lucas Eitel had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards while Taylor Duncan had 13 points and six rebounds.

Marshall 13 12 17 18 — 60
Neoga 9 9 4 16 — 38
JV — Neoga 60, Marshall 54 (Dustin Morey 22)
Next — Marshall (23-2) closes out its regular season at Edwards County at 1 p.m. CST today. Neoga is 15-11.

Boys basketball roundup: Marshall tops Cumberland 102-65

staff report
The Tribune-Star

Marshall, Ill.— Marshall won its 12th straight game in Illinois boys high school basketball Thursday, defeating Cumberland 102-65.
Improving to 22-2 and 8-0 in the Little Illini Conference, the Lions clinched no less than a share of the league title in remaining perfect in the 2008 portion of the schedule. They'll close the regular season with road games at Neoga tonight and Saturday afternoon at Edwards County.
Marshall seniors Travis Johnson, Alex Bullock, Alan Wolter, Steven O'Rourke and Kyle Burnam were honored in the final home game and started the game. Burnam will play baseball and Johnson football at Indiana State.
The Lions closed the first period with a 14-5 run to lead 22-26. Taylor Duncan had nine of his 13 points in the run.
Marshall scored the first 11 points of the second period — Wolter having eight of his 15 points in the streak — and had a 45-34 lead at the half and fronted 74-49 after three periods. Burnam's basket put the Lions over the century mark in the final seconds.
Logan Eitel led the Lions with 23 points, 19 rebounds and five blocked shots in about three quarters of action. Johnson had 13 points, Bullock 11 and Lucas Eitel 10 to go along with the double-digit totals of Wolter and Duncan.
ISU football recruit Kye Butler led the Pirates with 21 points and 11 boards.

CUMBERLAND (65) — Gabel 3 0-0 7, Sudkamp 1 0-0 2, Jansen 4 5-11 13, Butler 9 2-3 21, Whitaker 2 0-0 6, Sowers 6 2-4 16, Parker 0 0-0 0, Matteson 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 FG, 9-18 FT, 65 TP.
MARSHALL (102) — Lo.Eitel 9 4-4 23, Delp 1 0-0 2, Johnson 4 5-5 13, Lu.Eitel 4 1-2 10, O’Rourke 3 1-1 9, Bullock 4 2-2 11, Duncan 6 1-1 13, Burnam 1 0-0 3, Morey 1 1-2 3, Wolter 7 0-0 15. Totals 40 FG, 15-17 FT, 102 TP.
Cumberland 16 18 15 16 — 65
Marshall 22 23 29 28 — 102
3-point goals — Whitaker 2, Sowers 2, Gabel, Butler, O’Rourke 2, Lo.Eitel, Lu.Eitel, Bullock, Burnam, Wolter. Total fouls — C 15, M 14. Fouled out — Sudkamp.
Next — Marshall (22-2, 8-0 LIC) is at Neoga tonight. Cumberland is 8-15 and 4-5 LIC.

Marshall leaves Casey in dust for 97-61 victory at home

By Tom Reck
Tribune-Star Correspondent

MARSHALL, Ill.— Marshall continued its perfect run in the 2008 portion of the boys basketball schedule Saturday afternoon, defeating Casey 97-61 for its 11th straight victory.
Marshall improved to 21-2 for the season and moved another step closer to another Little Illini Conference championship with a 7-0 league mark.
The Lions won for the second time in less than 20 hours and averaged 91 points in their victories over Hutsonville-Palestine and Casey. They’ll close the regular season with three games this week including the final home game Tuesday with Cumberland.
Casey got a split in weekend action, beating Red Hill 68-67 on Friday and are 11-11 for the season with a 6-2 LIC log.
The Clark County rivals were all set to play this game Tuesday when storms caused a power outage in McNary Gym.
Both teams were warm at the start of the matinee contest and the game was tied twice before Casey took three leads, the last at 15-14 on a 3-pointer by Mitch Snyder.
The Lions closed the first period with an 11-0 run and had a 30-18 lead at the stop. They were up 54-30 at the halftime break and fronted 78-40 after three periods as starters watched the final period from the bench.
Marshall fired in 22 of 34 shots in the first half and made 40 of 66 for the day with five 3-pointers for 60 percent. Casey connected on 22 of 57 with five 3-pointers for 38 percent.
Logan Eitel had 26 points and nine rebounds for the Lions, making 11 of 15 shots. Alan Wolter scored 13 points and Taylor Duncan and Travis Johnson each had 10 with Duncan missing one shot.
Dustin Morey had nine points in relief and led the JV team in scoring with 19 points while Lucas Eitel tallied seven points and recorded a team-high six assists.
Mitch Snyder and Logan Boyd each had 18 points for the Warriors and Taylor Biggs added nine to the attack.
Marshall coach Tom Brannan said Casey made some tough shots to start the game. “We had hands in their faces,” he said.
He thought conditioning was a key to his team’s success.
“We got some baskets quickly after Casey scores. That can be demoraliziing when you’re gaining. We don’t condition to punish our kids. We do it to punish the opponents,” he said.
The Lions and Flora now are the only teams with one defeat or none in the LIC. If Marshall wins, it will be seven titles in Brannan’s tenure at the school and more than 15 for the school. Official records are not complete.

CASEY (61) — Snyder 7-18 2-4 18, L. Boyd 6-12 2-3 18, Biggs 2-4 5-6 9, Rhoads 0-1 0-0 0, Scott 2-3 0-0 4, Shawver 1-7 0-0 3, Cramer 0-3 0-0 0, Kusterman 1-2 0-1 2, Yates 1-4 0-- 3, Scales 0-2 0-0 0, Barnhart 2-3 0-0 4, Wagner 0-0 0-0 0, Freeman 0-0 0-0 0, Unzicker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 FG, 9-14 FT, 61 TP
MARSHALL (97) — Lo Eitel 11-15 4-4 26, Lu Eitel 3-4 1-1 7, Duncan 4-5 0-- 10, Johnson 4-9 2-2 10, Bullock 4-7 0-0 9, Wolter 6-10 1-2 13, Burman 3-7 0-2 8, Delp 0-2 3-4 3, Morey 4-5 1-3 9, O’Rourke 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 40-66 FG, 12-18 FT, 97 TP
Casey 18 12 10 21 — 61
Marshall 30 24 24 19 — 97
3-point goals — C 8-25 (Snyder 2-6, Scales 0-2, L. Boyd 4-8, Biggs 0-1, Rhoads 0-1, Shawver 1-5, Yates 1-1, Barnhart 0-1), M 5-14 (Lu Eitel 0-1, Duncan 2-2, Johnson 0-4, Bullock 1-1, Wolter 0-2, Burman 2-3, Delp 0-1).
Rebounds — C 29 (Snyder 8, Kusterman 4), M 38 (Lo Eitel 9, Morey 5, Burnam 4). Turnovers — C 20, M 13.
JV — Marshall 58 (Dustin Morey 19), Casey 53 (Kruz Kusterman 13).
Next — Both teams play Tuesday. Marshall (21-2, 7-0 LIC) plays host to Cumberland in Senior Night action. Casey (11-11, 6-2 LIC) plays Edwards County at Casey.

Metro roundup: Marshall boys put up big numbers

Tribune-Star staff report • Hutsonville, Ill.

Marshall exploded offensively to score 57 points combined in the second and third quarters to easily defeat host Hutsonville-Palestine 85-47 in a Little Illini Conference boys high school basketball game on Friday.

The winning Lions placed five players in double figures scoring. Lucas Eitel had 16 points, Logan Eitel 15, Travis Johnson 12, Taylor Duncan 12 and Alex Bullock 11.

Ryan Roberts scored a game-high 23 points to pace the losing Tigers.

Both teams netted 10 3-pointers.



MARSHALL (85) — Lo.Eitel 6 2-5 15, Delp 1 1-2 4, Johnson 3 3-4 12, Lu.Eitel 7 0-0 16, O’Rourke 0 0-0 0, Bullock 4 0-0 11, Duncan 5 2-3 12, Burnam 1 1-2 3, Morey 4 0-1 8, Wolter 2 0-0 4. Totals 33 FG, 9-17 FT, 85 TP.

HUTSONVILLE-PALESTINE (47) — Blankenbeker 2 1-2 7, Webster 0 0-0 0, Shanes 0 0-0 0, Hurst 0 0-0 0, Martin 0 0-0 0, Callaway 2 0-0 6, Otte 3 0-1 9, Mehler 0 0-0 0, Roberts 7 6-10 23, Holscher 0 0-0 0, Pearse 1 0-0 2, Hawkins 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 FG, 7-11 FT, 47 TP.

Marshall 19 29 28 14 — 85

Hutsonville-Palestine 10 19 13 5 — 47

3-point goals — Lo.Eitel, Delp, Johnson 3, Lu.Eitel 2, Bullock 3, Blankenbeker 2, Callaway 2, Otte 3, Roberts 3. Total fouls — M 13, H-P 19. Fouled out — Roberts.

Next — Marshall (20-2) plays host to Casey today. Hutsonville-Palestine (10-12) entertains Clay City (Ill.) on Tuesday.

Marshall seeded second in IHSA Casey Sectional

staff report
The Tribune-Star

— Pairings have been set for the Class 1A and Class 2A Illinois high school boys basketball tournament.
Play begins at the regional level Feb. 18. Marshall is a No. 2 seed in the Casey Sectional field with Olney No. 1.

Class 2A Robinson Regional   (Regional seeds indicated)
Feb. 18
7:30 — Casey (8) vs. Lawrenceville (10)
Feb. 20
6:00 — Marshall (2) vs. winner game 1
8:00 — Effingham St. Anthony (3) vs. Robinson (7)
Feb. 22
7:30 — championship
Paris Regional
Feb. 20
7:30 — Bismarck-Henning (1) vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm (9)
Feb. 21
7:30 — Tolono Unity (4) vs. Paris (7)
Feb. 22
7:30 — championship
Casey Sectional
Feb. 26
7:30 — Newton Regional winner vs. St. Joe-Ogden Regional winner
Feb. 27
7:30 — Paris Regional winner vs. Robinson Regional winner
Feb. 29
7:30 — championship
Macomb Super-Sectional
March 4 — Casey Sectional winner vs. Petersburg (PORTA) Sectional winner

Hughes News and Views: Brannan's rise to 300 wins a quick one

By David Hughes
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE— When Tom Brannan started 1-10 in his first season as boys basketball coach at Marshall High School, folks in this eastern Illinois community might have wondered if he’d ever reach three career victories, let alone 300.
“There were probably some doubters,” he admitted.
But Brannan, who previously served as an assistant coach at Breese Mater Dei High School, persevered and Marshall rallied to post a respectable 10-15 record in 1992-93.
In the 15 seasons since then, Brannan’s Lions have never finished below .500. Seven times, they’ve racked up 20 wins or more.
This season is likely to become the eighth for Marshall, which will put a 17-2 record on the line against Flora (13-9) in tonight’s championship game of the Little Illini Conference tournament at Red Hill. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. CST.
Marshall already defeated Flora 72-56 Dec. 8, but Brannan warned that the Wolves are a different team than they were then.
“They’re just kinda getting healthy,” he explained. “They’ve had some guys battling injuries and illnesses, but they’re back now.”
One of those recovered players is 6-foot-6 senior guard Ian Ridge, who did not play Dec. 8 because of an illness.
“It’s going to be a real good game,” Brannan predicted. “Their size is a concern for us. They start 6-6, 6-6 and 6-4 up front. We will have to do a better job of boxing out and keeping them off the glass. We didn’t do a great job of that against Cumberland [in a 76-59 triumph Tuesday in the LIC tournament semifinals].”
Despite Brannan being mildly unhappy with Tuesday’s performance, it still resulted in his 300th career victory. That may not be as many as Cloverdale’s Pat Rady (678 in 44 years) or Terre Haute North’s Jim Jones (677 in 45 years) in Indiana, but Brannan is only 41.
If Brannan coaches another 20 or 25 years, who knows how many wins he’ll compile?
Brannan was quick to credit his assistant coaches for the program’s success in the last 16 seasons. Current aides are full-timer Chris Kessler and volunteer Pat Duncan, plus Brannan wanted to thank former assistant Dan Wilson for all of his help over the years.
“We’ve also had some good players come through here,” reflected Brannan, who lives in Marshall with his supportive wife, Sarah, and their 9-year-old son, Kobe. “You can’t be a successful coach without having successful players.”
When the Lions won their only regional title under Brannan in 1993-94, they were led on the court by Brian Ross, Mack Thompson and Shane Cheesman.
The 2007-08 Lions, who should be top contenders for another regional championship, are led by junior brothers Lucas and Logan Eitel, both 6-4, and 6-2 sophomore Taylor Duncan. Lucas is averaging 15.7 points per game, while Logan is next at 15.3 ppg (plus 8.7 rebounds per outing) and young Duncan is at 13.2 ppg.
Marshall certainly made its mark in the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic last month at Terre Haute North, finishing runner-up to tournament champion Terre Haute South.
The Lions usually don’t hesitate to fire up shots. They score approximately 70 points per contest.
“We get up and down the floor,” Brannan pointed out. “We attack the basket … but we also take a lot of pride in our defense.”
Brannan, who also teaches history and geography at Marshall, is not sure how much longer he’ll coach. He acknowledged that he may want to go into school administration someday.
“But I don’t want to give up coaching,” Brannan insisted, “at least not yet.”
He said one reason for his hesitancy to leave coaching is the mature behavior of his players.
“They hand the ball to the referees,” Brannan mentioned. “They don’t taunt other teams. I’m very proud of this team. They have a respect for the game.”

Marshall boys, Martinsville girls to play for LIC titles

— Championships of the Little Illini Conference basketball tournament will be decided tonight at Red Hill High School.
Martinsville’s girls and Marshall’s boys both meet Flora teams and go for repeat titles with tipoff being at 6:30 p.m. for the girls game. WMMC-FM 104.9 will carry the boys game.
Marshall is 17-2 and seeks its 14th LIC tourney title. The Lions beat the Wolves earlier but Flora has won its last seven games.
Martinsville is 23-0 and ranked third in thed Class A poll. The Bluestreaks won their first title last year.

In LIC Tournament action Thursday:
Boys
• Casey 68, Cumberland 63 — At Bridgeport, Ill., The Warriors led most of the way to take third place.
Casey had a 16-point lead in the third period but the Pirates outscored the Warriors 20-5 to get within one point at 57-56 in the last quarter. Casey got its last 11 points at the free-throw line to win with Aaron Rhoads hitting six of them.
Mitch Snyder led the 8-9 Warriors with 20 points, hitting five 3-pointers in scoring 17 in the first quarter.
Rhoads had 15 points and Kirk Shawner scored 11 with a key 3-pointer in the last period. Freshman Clinton Scott scored all seven of his points in a 7-0 run to give Casey a 48-35 lead.
Dalton Sowers led Cumberland with 25 points, having 14 in the first half, and Kyle Butler scored 18.

CASEY (68) — L.Boyd 1 0-1 3, Shawver 3 3-4 11, Biggs 1 4-4 6, Rhoads 3 9-10 15, Snyder 7 1-2 20, Kusterman 2 0-1 4, Cramer 0 0-0 0, Scott 2 3-3 7, T.Boyd 1 0-1 2. Totals 20 FG, 20-26 FT, 68 TP.
CUMBERLAND (63) — Gabel 1 0-0 2, Suokamp 0 0-0 0, Jansen 4 3-4 11, Butler 7 4-7 18, DRaper 5 0-0 11, Sowers 8 2-3 21. Totals 25 FG, 9-14 FT, 63 TP.
Casey 24 15 15 14 — 68
Cumberland 19 13 13 18 — 63
3-point goals — L.Boyd, Shawver 2, Snyder 5, DRaper, Sowers 3. Total fouls — Casey 12, Cum 21. Fouled out — none.

• Red Hill 65, Oblong 45 — At Bridgeport, Ill., Chris Wampler scored 25 points to lead Red Hill to a victory in the Little Illini Tournament consolation championship game.

OBLONG (45) — Smith 0 0-0 0, L.Morecraft 3 0-0 6, Winters 4 1-1 9, D.Morecraft 4 1-2 9, Legg 1 1-2 3, Osborne 2 0-0 5, Wilson 6 1-3 13. Totals 20 FG, 4-8 FT, 45 TP.
RED HILL (65) — Hawkins 3 0-0 7, Latch 1 0-0 2, Padgett 4 0-0 8, BRian 4 0-0 8, Anthony 0 0-0 0, Wampler 9 3-4 25, Young 0 0-0 0, Albertson 2 0-0 5, Wirth 3 4-4 10. Totals 26 FG, 7-8 FT, 65 TP.
Oblong 8 13 6 18 — 45
Red Hill 14 15 19 17 — 65
3-point goals — Osborne, Hawkins, Wampler 4, Albertson. Total fouls — O 9, RH 11. Fouled out — none.
Girls
• Marshall 42, Casey 38 — At Lawrenceville, Ill., Keisha Sweitzer scored 14 points and Jessica Lewis 10 points to lead Marshall to a victory in the Little Illini Conference Tournament consolation championship game.
Megan Murphy scored 14 points for Casey.

CASEY (38) — Murphy 5 2-2 14, Athey 0 0-0 0, Connelly 4 0-2 8, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Repp 4 1-4 9, Tiffin 2 0-0 5, Gard 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 FG, 3-8 FT, 38 TP.
MARSHALL (42) — Brown 0 0-0 0, Lewis 4 2-2 10, Kuhn 0 0-0 0, English 2 4-4 8, Hollenbeck 2 0-0 4, Sweitzer 5 2-5 14, Strohm 3 0-2 6. Totals 16 FG, 8-13 FT, 42 TP.
Casey 4 11 13 10 — 38
Marshall 6 10 14 12 — 42
3-point goals — Sweitzer 2, Murphy 2, Tiffin. Total fouls — C 13, M 11. Fouled out — none.
Next — Marshall (13-12) travels to Palestine on Monday.

LIC Boys Tournament
All Times CST
At Bridgeport, Ill.
Thursday’s games
Consolation championship — Red Hill 65, Oblong 45
Third-place game — Casey 68, Cumberland 63
Friday’s game
8 p.m. — Flora vs. Marshall (championship game)
LIC Girls Tournament
At Lawrencville
Thursday’s games
Consolation championship — Marshall 42, Casey 38
Third-place game — Red Hill 56, Lawrenceville 46
Today’s game
At Bridgeport, Ill.
6:30 — Martinsville vs. Flora (championship game)

Prep Roundup: Marshall, Flora set to battle for LIC Tournament title

Tribune-Star staff report

Bridgeport, Ill.— Marshall and Flora posted victories in the Little Illini Conference boys basketball tournament Tuesday and will meet for the championship Friday night.
Marshall defeated Cumberland 76-59 as coach Tom Brannan won his 300th game.
Flora bested Casey 77-50 to set up their championship game that will tip off around 8 p.m. CST Friday following the girls title tilt that also will match Flora against Martinsville.
The Lions moved to 17-2, closing the first quarter with a 15-0 run for a 17-5 lead after the Pirates had led 5-2. Marshall had a 37-14 lead at the intermission, taking advantage of 14 Cumberland turnovers.

CUMBERLAND (59) — Gabel 6 2-4 19, Jansen 9 0-0 19, Butler 3 2-3 8, Draper 3 0-0 7, Sowers 0 1-2 1, Sudkamp 1 0-1 2, Whitaker 1 1-1 3. Totals 23 FG, 6-11 FT, 59 TP.
MARSHALL (76) — Lo.Eitel 5 3-6 13, Johnson 3 2-2 10, Duncan 5 4-6 16, Lu.Eitel 8 2-2 24, Bullock 2 0-0 4, Wolter 3 0-0 6, O’Rourke 1 0-0 3, Morey 0 0-0 0, Delp 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 FG, 11-16 FT, 76 TP.
Cumberland 5 19 22 13 — 59
Marshall 17 20 23 16 — 76
3-point goals — Gabel 5, Jansen, Draper, Lu.Eitel 6, Johnson 2, Duncan 2, O’Rourke. Total fouls — Cumberland 13, Marshall 14. Fouled out — none.

• Flora 77, Casey 50 — The Wolves defeated the Warriors for the second time this season, winning their seventh straight game to gain the finals.
They had a 19-16 lead after one period and took control of the action in the second stanza, outscoring Casey 21-2 for a 40-18 lead. They were up 57-36 going into the fourth period.
Ian Ridge led the Wolves with 28 points, getting 10 in the first frame. He did not see action for Flora when it played Marshall earlier in the season.
Mitch Snyder and Logan Boyd led Casey, now 7-9. The Warriors will play Cumberland for third place Thursday night.

CASEY (50) — Rhoads 1 2-2 4, Snyder 4 0-0 11, Kusterman 1 1-2 3, L.Boyd 2 6-6 11, Biggs 2 0-0 4, Shawver 1 0-0 2, Cramer 1 0-0 2, Scott 0 1-2 1, T.Boyd 2 1-2 5, Yates 1 0-1 2, Unzicker 0 0-0 0, Scales 0 0-0 0, Barnhart 0 0-0 0, Wagner 1 2-2 5. Totals 16 FG, 13-17 FT, 50 TP.
FLORA (77) — Bible 6 0-0 13, Wallace 4 2-2 12, Ridge 13 2-2 28, Flood 2 0-0 4, Erbacher 5 3-3 13, Rinehart 3 0-0 7, Rudy 0 0-0 0, Orel 0 0-0 0, Edwards 0 0-0 0, Hertenstein 0 0-0 0. Totals 33 FG, 7-7 FT, 77 TP.
Casey 16 2 18 14 — 50
Flora 19 21 17 20 — 77
3-point goals — Snyder 3, L.Boyd, Wagner, Wallace 2, Bible, Rinehart. Total fouls — Casey 11, Flora 13. Fouled out — none.

By JG/T-C Staff
sports@jg-tc.com

BRIDGEPORT -- Casey-Westfield was bounced from the LIC Tournament Tuesday night by Flora 77-50.

The Warriors hung with the wolves early, trailing 19-16 after one quarter, but Flora used a 21-2 second quarter to blow the game open.

Casey was led in scoring by Logan Boyd and Mitch Snyder with 11 points each.

Casey falls to 8-8 on the season and is to continue LIC Tournament play Thursday at 7:30 p.m. vs. the loser of Cumberland and Marshall for third place.

Casey-Westfield 16 2 18 14—50

Flora 19 21 17 20—77

CASEY-WESTFIELD: L. Boyd 2-6-11; Yates 1-0-2; Unzicker 0-0-0; Scales 0-0-0; Shawver 1-0-2; Biggs 2-0-4; Rhoads 1-2-4; Barnhart 0-0-0; Snyder 4-0-11; Kusterman 1-1-3; Cramer 1-0-2; Scott 0-1-1; Wagner 1-2-5; T. Boyd 2-1-5; Totals 16-13-50.

FLORA: Bible 6-0-13; Rudy 0-0-0; Wallace 4-2-12; Orel 0-0-0; Edwards 0-0-0; Rinehart 3-0-7; Hertenstein 0-0-0; Ridge 13-2-28; Flood 2-0-4; Erbacher 5-3-13; Totals 33-7-77.

Three point goals: Casey 5 (Snyder 3, Wagner, L. Boyd), Flora 4 (Wallace 2, Bible, Rinehart)

Pirates fall to Marshall

BRIDGEPORT – Silas Gabel and Jeremy Jansen each had 19 points for the Pirates Tuesday night, but it was not enough as they fell to the number one seeded Marshall Lions 76-59.

Marshall opened up a 37-14 half time lead. The pirates got their offense going in the second half, but could not make a serious run.

The loss drops the Pirates to 6-14 on the season, and sets up a rematch vs. Casey on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. for third place in the LIC Tournament.

Cumberland 5 9 22 23—59

Marshall 17 20 23 16—76

CUMBERLAND: Gabel 6-2-19; Sudkamp 1-0-2; Jansen 9-0-19; Butler 3-2-8; Draper 3-0-7; Whitaker 2-1-3; Sowers 0-1-1; Totals 24-6-59.

MARSHALL: Lo. Eitel 5-3-13; Delp 0-0-0; Lu. Eitel 8-2-24; Johnson 3-2-10; O’Rourke 1-0-3; Bullock 2-0-4; Duncan 5-4-16; Burnam 0-0-0; Morey 0-0-0; Wolter 3-0-6; Totals 27-11-76.

Three point goals: Cumberland 7 (Gabel 5, Jansen , Draper), Marshall 11 (Lu. Eitel 6, Johnson 2, Duncan 2, O’Rourke)

Red-hot Marshall rolls past West Vigo

By David Hughes
The Tribune-Star

Marshall, Ill.— All night, West Vigo couldn’t hit enough shots to stay close to red-hot Marshall.
And when the Vikings missed, the Lions’ Logan Eitel could usually be counted on to grab the rebound.
The 6-foot-4 Eitel ended up with 20 boards and 16 points and Taylor Duncan fired in 19 points, thanks in large part to 8-for-10 marksmanship from the field, to help Marshall (15-2) down West Vigo 69-52 in boys high school basketball Friday.
Marshall coach Tom Brannan sounded fairly certain that 20 rebounds represented Eitel’s career high, but Brannan credited the whole team for its effort.
“We have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the hole,” the Lions’ coach said, “so you’ve got to guard everybody.”
The home team also got double-figure scoring from Lucas Eitel, Logan’s twin brother, with 13 points.
With the score tied 4-4, Marshall rattled off eight consecutive points on two layups by Duncan, an inside bucket by Duncan and a layup by Travis Johnson to zoom ahead 12-4 with 3:20 left in the first quarter.
The first fielder of the second period was a 3-pointer that rattled in by Duncan, who increased Marshall’s advantage to 19-8.
Reserve Kyle Burnam sank a 3-point goal from the top of the arc to pad the Lions’ cushion to 26-13 with 4:15 remaining in the first half. Unanswered baskets by Lucas Eitel, Duncan and Alex Bullock boosted the home team’s margin to 36-17 late in the half.
Marshall’s lead hovered around 15 to 17 points until late in the third frame, then Bullock and Lucas Eitel connected on back-to-back 3s and Duncan followed with a layup to make it 52-29.
In the fourth quarter, West Vigo turned a 58-33 deficit into a 58-41 deficit with a pair of 3-pointers by Fred Powers sandwiched around a fielder by Drew Aff. Sixteen points was as close as the Vikings could get down the stretch.
Drew Heyen, a 6-3 senior playing his first game of the season, came off the bench to lead West Vigo in scoring with 19 points.
Afterward, Brannan praised the Vikings of coach Tommy Thornton for their 21-point performance in the fourth period.
“His kids scrapped and played hard,” Brannan said. “I like their team. They’re a fun team to watch too.”
This was the second straight game that West Vigo did not shoot particularly well. In a loss to Terre Haute North last weekend, the Vikings made 41. 3 percent of their field goals. Against Marshall, they made only 34.5 percent (19 of 55).
Marshall’s efficient offense and stingy defense probably had something to do with that.
“We did a good job with our execution,” Brannan said. “We’re not always a halfcourt type of team … so our execution was the key to the game.”Marshall’s lead hovered around 15 to 17 points until late in the third frame, then Bullock and Lucas Eitel connected on back-to-back 3s and Duncan followed with a layup to make it 52-29.
In the fourth quarter, West Vigo turned a 58-33 deficit into a 58-41 deficit with a pair of 3-pointers by Fred Powers sandwiched around a fielder by Drew Aff. Sixteen points was as close as the Vikings could get down the stretch.
Drew Heyen, a 6-3 senior playing his first game of the season, came off the bench to lead West Vigo in scoring with 19 points.
Afterward, Brannan praised the Vikings of coach Tommy Thornton for their 21-point performance in the fourth period.
“His kids scrapped and played hard,” Brannan said. “I like their team. They’re a fun team to watch too.”
This was the second straight game that West Vigo did not shoot particularly well. In a loss to Terre Haute North last weekend, the Vikings made 41. 3 percent of their field goals. Against Marshall, they made only 34.5 percent (19 of 55).
Marshall’s efficient offense and stingy defense probably had something to do with that.
“We did a good job with our execution,” Brannan said. “We’re not always a halfcourt type of team … so our execution was the key to the game.”


West Vigo 52
Player fg 3pt ft r s pf tp
Miller 1-3 0-1 1-2 2 0 2 3
Aff 4-6 0-0 0-2 3 1 1 8
Pearson 0-7 0-3 0-0 7 0 0 0
Fagg 4-12 0-3 0-0 4 2 1 8
Wampler 2-10 0-1 4-4 1 1 4 8
Heyen 6-9 1-2 6-7 4 1 1 19
Welch 0-3 0-1 0-2 1 0 2 0
Powers 2-4 2-3 0-0 3 0 1 6
West 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Scank 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 19-55 3-14 11-17 30* 5 12 52
Marshall 69
Player fg 3pt ft r s pf tp
Duncan 8-10 1-3 2-4 4 1 1 19
Lo.Eitel 7-19 0-2 2-2 20 1 1 16
Lu.Eitel 5-12 1-5 2-2 7 2 2 13
Bullock 3-4 1-2 0-0 2 0 3 7
Johnson 1-4 0-2 0-0 3 0 1 2
Wolter 4-5 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 8
Burnam 1-3 1-2 1-3 1 1 0 4
O’Rourke 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Morey 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 29-57 4-16 7-11 41* 7 12 69
West Vigo 8 11 12 21 — 52
Marshall 16 20 18 15 — 69
FG Pct. — WV .345, M .509. 3-pt FG Pct. — WV .214, M .250. FT Pct. — WV .647, M .636. Turnovers — WV 10, M 11. Blocks — WV 0, M 4 (Morey 2, Duncan and Lo.Eitel). (*) Includes team rebounds — WV 4, M 2. Technical foul — Wampler.
JV — West Vigo 50 (Scott West 19), Marshall 46 (Ethan Delp, Jake Tucker and Abe Huffington 10).
Next — West Vigo (6-7) will visit Shakamak tonight. Marshall (15-2) will play at 7 p.m. CST today in the opening round of the Little Illini Conference tournament at Red Hill.

Prep Roundup

staff report
The Tribune-Star

• Marshall 86, Martinsville 70 — At Marshall, Ill., the host Lions began a busy week with a nonconference win over their Clark County rival.
The Lions won their third straight game of the new year and improved to 14-2 for the season while the visiting Bluestreaks are 10-10. Marshall was a 94-61 winner in the first matchup.
Martinsville took an 8-7 lead but the Lions ran off 11 unanswered points for an 18-8 lead and were up 28-13 going into the second period.
Marshall had a 14-0 run in the second stanza and had a 61-27 lead at the intermission. The Lions led by as many as 43 points in the third period and took an 81-42 lead into the final frame.
The Bluestreaks outscored the host team 28-5 in the final eight minutes to whittle the final spread to 16 points.
Four Lions scored in twin digits with sophomore Taylor Duncan leading the attack with 20 points. Logan Eitel had 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 17 while Lucas Eitel scored 14 and Travis Johnson notched 11.
Ryan Slater poured in a game-high 30 points for Martinsville. Jared Higginbotham tallied 19 and had nine rebounds and Chase Lee had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.
Marshall plays host to West Vigo on Friday and Martinsville meets Oblong in a play-in game for the Little Illini Conference tournament. Four tourney games are slated for Saturday at Red Hill.

MARTINSVILLE (70) — Downey 0 0-0 0, Short 0 0-0 0, Higginbotham 8 3-5 19, Lee 4 2-2 13, Nash 0 0-0 0, Finney 3 0-2 6, Slater 14 1-1 30, Perisho 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 FG, 6-10 FT, 70 TP.
MARSHALL (86) — Lo.Eitel 8 1-1 17, Johnson 3 3-4 11, Lu.Eitel 6 0-0 14, O’Rourke 1 0-0 2, Bullock 3 2-2 8, Duncan 8 2-2 20, Burnam 3 0-0 7, Morey 0 0-0 0, Wolter 3 1-2 7. Totals 35 FG, 9-11 FT, 86 TP.
Martinsville 13 14 15 28 — 70
Marshall 28 33 20 5 — 86
3-point goals — Lee 3, Slater, Johnson 2, Lu.Eitel 2, Duncan 2, Burnam. Total fouls — Martinsville 10, Marshall 11. Fouled out — none.
JV — Marshall 72, Martinsville 25.
Next games — On Friday, Marshall (14-2) plays host to West Vigo and Martinsville (10-10) plays Oblong at Martinsville in an LIC tourney play-in game.

Ramblin' Reck: Marshall boys basketball team roars into form

By Tom Reck
Tribune-Star Correspondent

TERRE HAUTE— Marshall has rebounded nicely from its loss to Terre Haute South in the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic for boys high school basketball teams and faces a busy week in Illinois.
The Lions have posted two victories to get 2008 off to a good start.
They were 20-point winners over Tri-County to start the month. Tri-County took a 13-2 record into that home game and had accounted for Chrisman’s lone defeat.
Marshall improved to 13-2 on Saturday with a 63-62 victory over Freeburg in the Vandalia Shootout. Logan Eitel scored 29 points while Lucas Eitel tallied 21 and scored his 1,000th point.
The Lions have a home game tonight against Clark County rival Martinsville and will play host to West Vigo on Friday. They are seeded No. 1 in the Little Illini Conference tournament and begin their bid for a another title in the last of four games Saturday at Red Hill.
Martinsville’s girls are still unbeaten and ranked and are the defending champions in the girls LIC tourney that will be played at Lawrenceville.
Rockville is another team that has done nothing but win since the Classic. The Rox improved to 10-1 by beating Covington 67-35 on Friday and will seek more victories this week against Wabash River Conference rivals North Vermillion and Turkey Run in home games.
In girls prep basketball, Turkey Run has clinched the WRC title while Union and Shakamak kept their hopes alive for a share of the Tri-River Conference championship.
Clay City has already clinched at least a share of the title with one defeat — which it avenged in a tournament. Union, North Central and Shakamak have one defeat but one or two will be eliminated with games left against each other on the schedule.
• • •
• Nice weekend — Indiana State enjoyed a good weekend in college basketball with overtime victories by the women against Northern Iowa and men against Southern Illinois.
The women now are even in Missouri Valley Conference action going into Saturday’s game at league-leading Illlinois State.
The men have two tough road games this week at Missouri State tonight and at Creighton on Saturday. The Sycamores are 4-1 in the league to rank third behind Drake and Illinois State, both 5-0.
In other games this week, Wichita State is at Illinois State and Drake is at Bradley on Wednesday and Illinois State is at Drake in a game that should pack Knapp Center and then some Saturday.
In the Big Ten, Indiana and Wisconsin share the lead with 3-0 records while Purdue is 2-1 after a close defeat at Michigan State and beating Ohio State.
The Hoosiers are at Minnesota on Thursday, then meet Penn State at home on Sunday and entertain Iowa in a rematch set for Jan. 23.
Purdue is at Iowa on Wednesday and plays host to Illinois on Saturday.
In other college basketball, Indianapolis men’s and women’s teams both were winners against Bellarmine last week.
Royce Waltman’s men are 10-4 and the women are 12-1.

Lions edge out tough Freeburg team in Vandalia Shootout

By: Gary Strohm, Marshall Advocate

The Lions traveled to Vandalia Saturday afternoon to take on the Freeburg Midgets in the Vandalia Shootout. Freeburg, a school with about twice the student population of Marshall, was favored to win. The Lions trailed for three quarters but pulled ahead in the final minutes to win 63-60.

The Midgets won the opening tipoff, and Freeburg’s Dan Otten put up the first basket. Logan Eitel soon countered with a bucket for the Lions on an assist by Travis Johnson.

The Midgets then put up four consecutive baskets, moving to an early 10 -2 lead.

Logan Eitel stopped the Freeburg rally with a deuce, assisted by Lucas Eitel. Soon after, Lucas put up five points, including a three pointer.

Then it was a battle of the threes with a long three for the Midgets by Zack Rice and a second Marshall three by Lucas.

Freeburg put up two more baskets and it was another three battle - this time by Marshall’s Taylor Duncan and Freeburg’s Cody Baird.

At the end of the first quarter, Freeburg led 22-15 .

Logan started out the second quarter scoring with three points (a deuce and 1/1 at the line). Cody Baird knocked down a three for the Midgets and Logan E. reciprocated for the Lions.

With another bucket and foul shot by Lucas E., the Lions were within a point, 24-25.

Buckets by Duncan and Logan E. soon moved the Lions into the lead 28-27.

The Midgets came back at the end of the quarter, scoring 8 out of 10 points, which included two threes. Marshall’s lone basket was an 18-footer by Alan