03-05-05
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE - Just 28 days earlier, Steelville and Nashville hooked up at the Nashville Booster Club Shootout in what was a late season litmus test for both teams.

That game turned out to be just the appetizer for the main course.
Or in this case, the Main Event.

Destiny brought these two clubs back to the Assembly Hall Friday night in the title game of the Nashville Class A Sectional.

But as was the case back on February 5th, the Hornets once again took a split decision in this heavyweight bout.

Thanks to the 'one-two punch' of Lucas O'Rear and Andrew Wilson with 18 and 17 points respectively, coach Darin Lee will make his fifth Carbondale Supersectional trip after his Hornets held off the Warriors 62-59.

More importantly perhaps was Wilson's play on the defensive end, as this 6-foot-4 senior shadowed Steeleville's top gun Adam Eggemeyer for most of the game.

Although the ABV 'Deep South' Co-Player of the Year hit for a game-high 21, Wilson made him earn everything that he got on this night.

And as it turned out, one final attempt by Eggemeyer (a 3-pointer from the right corner) with a hand in his face by Wilson, fell short as time expired on the Hornet victory and the Steeleville season.

"I figured it was going in, everything else he shot at the end he made," said Coach Lee, whose team now stands at 27-5. "I hate to see someone lose tonight but that's 'March Madness'."

The way the game began, the Hornets didn't look like sectional champions or a team that spent most of the season ranked in the statewide AP Poll.

Committing eight first quarter turnovers, Nashville looked shaky and 'ripe for the picking.'
But Steeleville didn't make them pay, despite getting a 16-7 lead after two 3-point baskets early by Travis Schaber.

His second 20-footer woke up Nashville as the Hornet scored the game's next eight points.
Wilson hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:48 remaining to get the run started.

On his next trip down the floor Wilson was fouled by Eggemeyer while attempting a 3-pointer and calmly stepped to the line and made all three attempts.

A Lucas O'Rear bucket in a lane cut the lead to 16-15 at the end of one.

"In the first quarter, we just had some poor decision making and that caused those turnovers," Lee explained. "But you have to give Steeleville credit, they are quick."

In spite of those eight early mistakes, Nashville was back in the game heading into the second period.
More Wilson scoring from the outside got Nashville its first lead of the game less than three minutes into the quarter.

Two more 'trifectas' and a 15-footer from the right elbow gave him eight points in the quarter and a 25-23 Nashville lead with 5:10 before intermission.

But the Warriors, as has been the case all year, refused to go away.

Tyler Tiemann hit a pair of free throws late in the quarter and Dustin Wathen followed with a back door lay in to tie the score at 28-all.

Nashville got some important minutes and points from its bench on this night.

Stefan Price, a 5-foot-11 junior guard, scored on a lay in on a nice pass from Todd Kostecki to make it 30-28 Nashville at the break.

"My junior guards Todd (Kostecki) and Stefan (Price) gave us a big lift off of the bench," added Lee.
"Our guards hit shots tonight when Steeleville laid off of them. They were leaving those guys wide open and we have always (in our program) had kids that can hit wide-open 15-footers."

Steeleville got its final lead of the game on five straight points by Tiemann and Schaber.

Tiemann got loose on the right baseline and his 3-point attempt from the right corner found the mark at 5:36 on the clock.

Schaber connected less than a minute later on a spin move in the lane. When that shot went in, Steeleville led 37-36.

But after that run, Nashville took off on one of its own.

Calvin O'Rear, Lucas' older brother, gave the lead back to Nashville on a rebound basket with 4:39 to go.

Nashville's Price and Clint Harre were the benefactors of the Steeleville defensive game plan on the next three scores.

Concentrating on Wilson and the O'Rear brothers, Price and Harre each hit open shots on a 6-2 run.

When Price drilled home a right baseline shot on an inbound pass from Lucas O'Rear, Nashville was in front 45-39.

But the 'never say die attitude of Steeleville wouldn't let Nashville run away.

Eggemeyer hit a pair of free throws and then Tiemann converted a conventional three-point play while being fouled by Price.

Those five points made it 45-44 Nashville.

The most important run of the night for Nashville started at the beginning of the final quarter with a Scott Forys score on a lay in and two important scores by L. O'Rear.

His shot from the right block and baseline drive on the left on two different possessions made Coach Laur spend a timeout at 51-44 with 4:48 to go.

Two Scott Forys shots, both on assists from L. O'Rear should have put the Warriors away at 56-49 with 1:34 left.

The lead reached its largest of the game with Nashville (Kostecki and Wilson) hitting four consecutive free throws to make it 60-51 with :52.6.

However Eggemeyer, who had missed four straight shots, got hot again.

Two long 3-pointers, one from the right wing that was in the NBA range, and another bomb from the top of the arc got the lead down to 61-57 with :25.9 on the clock.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Wilson, normally the top free throw shooter on the team, missed a pair of charities.

Tiemann grabbed an offensive rebound and stuck it back into the basket that cut the Nashville lead to a very nervous 61-59 with :10.1.

Wilson was again sent to the line and the senior hit the first one of two attempts. But his second one rimmed out and Steeleville called time with :06.9.

The Warriors had a shot as Schaber drove the length of the court and launched a 3-pointer that was off the mark.

Eggemeyer was able to grab the rebound and then got to the right corner knowing that his team needed a trey to tie the game.

However his shot fell just short, as did his team in their attempt to win the school's first sectional title.
"Our check outs on the defensive end were killing us tonight. That has hurt us late in the year and we have got to keep them (opponents) from getting offensive rebounds," added Lee.
"Eggemeyer is as good of a player as we have played all year."

The Hornets shot 22-of-33 from the field, including 5-of-5 in the fourth quarter and 4-of-7 from behind the arc for the game.

Steeleville was a 'not-so-bad' 18-of-46 overall and 6-of-20 from 3-point land.

"We never felt like we were the underdog once this season," said Steeleville coach Matt Laur.
"We went up against some darn good teams but we never felt like we couldn't win. I think we showed that every night this year that we could win big games. These kids were special."

Eggemeyer and Tiemann closed out their prep careers with 21 and 19 points while Schaber chipped in 10.

The Warriors ended a memorable season at 28-7 and the seniors were part of a two-year 56-11 mark.

"I told the kids it hurts right now but they have nothing to be ashamed of," added Laur, who took over a good team and helped make them a state contender. "I told them that we won a regional and played in a sectional championship game which had never happened in the school's history."

Nashville got eight points from Harre plus seven points apiece from Price and Forys as the Hornets will advance to SIU-Arena to play Webber Township Tuesday night.

The (28-3) Trojans, champions of the Mid-South Conference, were a 69-57 winner over West Frankfort at the Norris City Sectional.

"Clarence (Webber Coach Clarence Gross) brought his team over last summer to play here and we had a little shirt-and-skins game and little did we know it would turn into a Supersectional contest," Lee said. "I knew they were going to be good when they had those sophomores two years ago and they took Woodlawn into overtime at Christopher. I'm sure I will know a little bit more about them tomorrow."

Steeleville (59) - Tiemann 4 1 8-9 19, Eggemeyer 4 3 4-4 21, Schaber 2 2 0-0 10, Jausel 0 0 2-2 2, Wathen 2 0 1-4 5, Guebert 0 0 0-0 0, Snider 0 0 0-0 0, Uchtman 0 0 2-2 2.
2FG-12, 3FG-6, FT-17-21, PF-22.
Nashville (62) - Price 3 0 1-2 7, Harre 2 1 1-2 8, Wilson 1 3 6-9 17, Kostecki 0 0 2-2 2, Forys 3 0 1-3 7, Patton 0 0 0-0 0, L. O'Rear 8 0 2-4 18, C. O'Rear 1 0 1-2 3, Keller 0 0 0-2 0.
2FG-18, 3FG-4, FT-19-24, PF-17.
Fouled Out - None.
Technical Fouls - None.