12-04-04
BY JACK BULLOCK
DU QUOIN - In the last four Du Quoin Tip-Off Classics, the afternoon contests on the final day of the tournament could be referred to as 'Black Saturday' for the Benton Rangers.

In each of the scheduled games against Cairo, Benton put up little resistance in losing all four of the games.

But on this final day of the Classic, Benton got some revenge and produced the best start that coach Matt Wynn could have imagined heading into this tourney and season.

Behind the scoring of Caleb Muir and Seiger Shurtz, the Rangers overcame a woeful free throw shooting game to beat two-time defending tourney champion Cairo, 57-48.

Benton would later that night win the tournament title with a victory over Carterville to improve to 5-0 on the season.

"We didn't do a good job in the first half. They (the Pilots) beat our kids down the court for some easy baskets," said Coach Wynn. "But in the second half, especially the fourth quarter, we did a much better job in recognition and we took care of the ball much better."

Cairo's quickness, especially early in the game, was a factor in the Cairo first half.

Marshall Cook, a 6-foot-4 senior who hadn't played organized basketball in high school before this season, scored six first quarter points.

One mid-range jumper and a pair of scores in the paint got the Pilots an 8-7 lead.

Jamal McAllister was also hitting shots.

This 6-foot-2 senior also hit for six points. A rebound basket late in the frame gave Cairo its biggest lead of the game at 16-9 with 1:30 left.

But Muir was also in tune to what was needed in the opening stanza.

This 6-foot-2 senior hit a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter and added a rebound basket for eight points.
His bomb from the left corner closed the opening quarter at 16-12.

The two teams opened the second quarter by combining to score 11-points in the first 1:36.

Three players (Benton's Mason Satterfield and Shurtz; Byron Johnson of Cairo) combined to each hit 3-pointers in that time frame to go along with another Cook basket.

But the real story of the second frame was the inability of the Rangers to convert from the free throw line.

The Rangers hit just 2-of-9 from the line, which included missing their last five attempts.

Following a Duke Mitchell basket with 3:27 to go before halftime to give the Rangers the lead at 22-21, Cairo took advantage of the woeful foul shooting by the Rangers in the final minutes.

Lamar Brown, Cairo's 5-foot-10 senior guard, scored on a fast break lay in while being fouled by Greg McClintock. His subsequent made free throw gave Cairo a 26-22 lead.

Although Muir answered with another 3-pointer, Brown and Cook both scored late in the half.

Muir had a chance to cut the Cairo lead to two just before intermission.

But this senior uncharacteristically missed all three free throw attempts after being fouled on a 3-point attempt.

"That is not like us at all missing free throws," added Wynn. "But we did much better in the second half."

The two teams battled in the third quarter with Benton hanging close, despite giving up some easy baskets to the Pilots.

Cairo scored six points in transition.

After a Satterfield 3-point play to open the quarter, McAllister and Johnson combined on three different converted fast break opportunities.

Johnson added a 3-pointer late in the quarter but Shurtz hit a 3-pointer of his own and McClintock scored on a shot in the lane making the score 39-37 heading to the final frame.

At this point, Benton made its best run of the afternoon count as it snatched the victory away from the Pilots.

The Rangers 'went off' an 11-2 run to take command with four different Rangers contributing.
Muir hit yet another 3-pointer, this time from the left corner, which gave his team the lead for good at 41-39.

A baseline drive by Jeremy Zazzetti, a lay up by Shurtz and a rebound basket by Satterfield put the Rangers up 47-41 and forced Cairo head coach Larry Baldwin to use a timeout at 4:51.

Cairo made one final push to get back at the Rangers with a free throw by McAllister and a spin move in the lane by Cook.

But Shurtz came up big in the final minutes, hitting a 3-pointer and a pair of 'icing on the cake' free throws, making the score 55-46. A Johnson shot in the lane and late McClintock basket ending the scoring.

"We hit some big shots in the second half and they missed some shots late in the game that allowed us to hold them off," added Wynn.

Muir and Shurtz scored 17 and 15 points respectively to lead the undefeated Rangers while McClintock and Satterfield added nine and eight.

Cairo got three players in double-figures with Cook leading the way with 16-points.

McAllister scored 15 and Johnson finished with 12. But Brown's five points completed all of the Pilots scoring as Anthony "Tim" Duncan, Cairo's senior point guard, was held scoreless.

Despite hitting just 7-of-16 free throws for the game, Benton kept its championship hopes alive.

Cairo (47) - Brown 2 0 1-1 5, Johnson 3 2 0-0 12, McAllister 7 0 1-2 15, Cook 8 0 0-0 16
2FG-20, 3FG-2, FT-2-3, PF-15.
Benton (58) - Muir 2 4 1-5 17, Mitchell 2 0 0-4 4, Satterfield 2 1 1-1 8, Shurtz 2 3 2-2 15, Zazzetti 1 0 2-4 4, McClintock 4 0 1-2 9.
2FG-13, 3FG-8, FT-7-16, PF-11.

BENTON 48, CARTERVILLE 45
Jeremy Zazzetti broke loose for 20-points and Seiger Shurtz hit four fourth quarter free throws as the Rangers finished the Du Quoin Tip-Off Classic undefeated at 5-0.

Benton led nearly from start to finish in the win. Shurtz and Caleb Muir scored nine points apiece.

Carterville (4-1) had eight different players score points, but only Shawn Lantagne hit double-figures with 11-points.

CAIRO 68, DUQUOIN 67
The Pilots (3-2) rebounded from the Benton loss to hold off the host Indians.

Five Cairo players had ten or more points.

Jeremy Woods, who didn't have a point in the Pilots afternoon loss, bounced back with 15-points.
Marshall Cook and Anthony 'Tim" Duncan added 12 and 11, while Mario Rush and Jamal McAllister added 10-each.

Du Quoin (2-3) was paced by freshman Scott Anders and sophomore Garrett Gross with 12-points each. Brandon Hirsch and Trenton McKinney added 11-point each.

CHESTER 59, EDWARDS COUNTY 58
Chester (1-4) picked up its first Du Quoin Tip-Off Classic win with a 59-58 win over the Lions.

Dylan Clark, a 6-foot sophomore guard, hit a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds remaining to give the Yellow Jackets a come-from-behind win Saturday night.

Edwards County (0-5) had a chance to win the game after a timeout, but the Lions turned the ball over in the backcourt to secure the Chester win.

DU QUOIN 51, EDWARDS COUNTY 43
The host Indians kept the Lions winless for the week with the win.

Trent McKinney had 20 points in the victory.

CARTERVILLE 64, CHESTER 39
The Lions struggled early in its game against Chester, but they took control during a second quarter run and rolled to 4-0 in the tournament with the victory.

Ben Drust and Andre Sigler led the Lions with 12-points each. Michael Tindall led the Yellow Jackets with 10 points