12-01-12
BY JACK BULLOCK
CAMPBELL HILL – It took the Trico Pioneers a while to get going in its Saturday contest against Sparta to close out their own Pioneer Invitational Tournament.

However once Coach Mike Denault's club got rolling, the Pioneers blazed a trail all the way to the championship.

Trico got big 3-point shots from Blaine LePere (3), Klayton Bunselmeyer and Kyle Hammel and the Pioneers' defense forced 17 Sparta turnovers to win its own early season event, 55-44 in the tournament finale.

On most nights hitting just 3-of-18 shots in the opening quarter would dig too deep of a hole for any team, but Trico managed because of a defensive effort that forced the Bulldogs into some early mistakes.

By the time the hosts woke up, the guests were shown the exit.

Trico used a pair of second half scoring runs to break away from Coach Jeff Bowlby's team to finish the week undefeated at 5-0.

This was the fourth consecutive PIT title for Trico. The last time that someone other than the hosts won the event was 2008 when Red Bud won the title.

“We missed a lot of bunnies early but they started going down later in the game,” added Coach Denault. “We got some easy looks later in the game when they (Sparta) pressured us and we handled it. We were challenged this week but the kids came out each and every night and did what they had to do.”

Leading just 32-28 with just under 2:00 left in the third quarter, Trico stormed home with the final five points of the frame and pulled away in the fourth quarter.

LePere scored a key basket in the lane and then Bunselmeyer, a 6-foot senior guard, drained a 20-footer from the left wing right in front of the Trico bench to give the Pioneers a 37-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“Blaine (LePere) is explosive and he is capable of putting up big numbers,” said Coach Denault. “Bunselmeyer was huge tonight and hit some big shots. The way he handled the ball and his help defense were big. He struggled early in the week and the kid is hard on himself. But he worked hard and came out these last two games and gave us a big lift.”

Six-foot-five sophomore forward Chase Rednour scored on a drive early in the fourth quarter and then LePere, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner on a pass from Bunselmeyer that forced a Sparta timeout at 42-30 with 6:18 left.

An additional score in the lane by Rednour, a conventional three-point play by senior guard Hammel and back door lay up by tournament MVP George Kuhlman gave Trico an insurmountable 49-33 lead with just 3:02 left.

Trico teams in the recent past have struggled closing out games from the foul line.

But Coach Denault's team drilled home 7-of-9 fourth quarter free throws to deliver the goods.

Sparta saw its week end on a sour note but still walked away from Campbell Hill with a 4-1 mark.

The Bulldogs got a big game from Aaron Rushing.

The 6-foot-7 senior forward scored 12-points and grabbed 13-rebounds.

Sparta's Phil Lockhart led all scorers with 20-points.

However both had to spend time on the bench in the first half with foul trouble.

“They both (Rushing and Lockhart) got into some foul trouble and when I have to take both of them off the floor we really come back to the pack as a basketball team,” said Coach Bowlby. “I'm please of where we are at. We will continue to move forward “That is a good basketball team that we played tonight.”

He connected on a pair of early free throws and hit the glass for a rebound basket to give the Bulldogs an early 4-0 lead.

Sharvel Austin and Christian Jackson each hit shots in the quarter with Jackson closing the low scoring first stanza with a baseline shot just before the buzzer to even things at 8-all.

Sparta missed a brilliant opportunity in the opening quarter with the Pioneers struggling on offense.

Coach Bowlby's squad turned the ball over seven times in that opening frame.

Trico took control in the second quarter, connecting on 5-of-9 shots, including two 3-point shots by LePere and a pair of important baskets by Rednour.

Rednour closed the half with a basket in the lane and a pair of free throws for a 22-16 halftime edge.

Lockhart scored six of his points in the third quarter and his fast break lay in on a nice pass from teammate Seth Ferguson closed the Trico lead to just 32-28.

However the rest of the contest belonged to the Pioneers as the Bunselmeyer/LePere end of the third quarter heroics sent Trico on its way to another title in this event.

After its poor start, Trico improved its overall shooting to 19-of-45 overall while hitting half of its 3-point shots (5-of-10) in the win.

As the Pioneers were very good from behind the arc, Sparta failed to hit any of its eight 3-point attempts.

Sparta ended up 18-of-49 from the field.

“We know now that we have to work on our half court offense,” added Coach Bowlby. “That's not a mystery. We can run with anybody. The problem is when teams force us into a halfcourt game. Sometimes we act like there is a shot clock and I don't know why. We're a ballclub that hasn't been in those type (close) games and they played a little nervous tonight. You have to look at this game as something that will help us down the road.”

The Bulldogs, behind Rushing, won the battle of the boards 31-27.

“This is a good win. They (Sparta) have a nice team,” said Coach Denault, a 1994 Trico grad who returned to his home town to take over as head coach of the Pioneers. “We wanted to flood the lane and kill their penetration and for the most part we did that. We got our hands on and deflected some entry passes when they tried to get the ball into Rushing.”

Trico will get a rematch with Okawville next Friday night at the Saluki Shootout. Last season the Rockets downed the Pioneers at SIU Arena after both teams won their own respective tournaments. Both will be unbeaten again heading into the showdown.

Sparta will host Nashville as their River-to-River schedule begins.

The all-tournament team was led by Kuhlman and LePere from Trico; Lockhart and Rushing from Sparta; Darin Winkelman and AJ Jeffers from Steeleville; Greg Godier and Josh Snyder from Red Bud; Link Cushman from Chester and Brandon Pind of Shawnee.

Sparta (44) – Austin 1 0 0-0 2, Jackson 2 0 0-0 4, Ferguson 1 0 0-0 2, Dodson 0 0 0-0 0, Lockhart 7 0 6-9 20, Lukes 1 0 0-3 2, Rushing 6 0 0-0 12, Wilson 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-18, 3FG-0, FT-6-12, PF-22.
Trico (55) – Hammel 2 1 4-5 11, Reckenberg 0 0 0-0 0, Bunselmeyer 3 1 3-4 12, Stromeyer 0 0 0-0 0, Lepere 3 3 1-1 16, Bower 1 0 2-2 4, Kuhlman 1 0-2 2, Rednour 4 0 2-4 10, Watson 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-14, 3FG-5, FT-12-18, PF-15.
Fouled Out – Austin, Jackson - Sparta.
Technical Fouls – None.

CHESTER 63, RED BUD 44
The Yellow Jackets finished 2-3 in the event by beating the Musketeers in the second game of the night.

Coach Brad Norman's club pulled away with a 20-9 fourth quarter.

Chris Schwartz scored 16-points in the win while teammate Alec Weir added 15.

Red Bud (1-4) was paced by 21-points from Greg Godier.

Chester (63) – Arbeiter 0 1 3-4 6, Schwartz 5 0 5-9 16, Miles 0 0 2-2 2, Cushman 1 3 0-0 11, Weir 5 0 5-6 15, Miluer 1 0 2-2 4, Lochhead 0 0 2-4 2, Landon 1 1 0-0 5, Koeneman 1 0 1-3 3.
2FG-14, 3FG-5, FT-20-30, PF-16.
Red Bud (44) – Dobbs 1 0 0-0 2, Hanger 0 0 0-0 0, Grohman 1 0 0-1 2, Huggins 0 2 0-2 6, Godier 2 5 1-5 20, Snyder 1 1 0-0 5, Wilson 1 1 2-4 7, Roy 1 0 0-0 2, Hooten 0 0 0-1 0.
2FG-7, 3FG-9, FT-3-13, PF-24.
Fouled Out – Roy, Snyder - Red Bud.
Technical Fouls – None.

STEELEVILLE 61, SHAWNEE 38
Darin Winkleman scored 16-points as the Warriors broke away from the Redskins to finish 3-2 in the tournament.

A.J. Jeffers added 11-points and Reid Wilson chipped in 10 in the victory. Winkleman scored 92-points in the tournament to top all players this week.

Brandon Pind led Shawnee (0-5) with 11-points.

The game was tied at 11-all at the end of the first quarter before Steeleville ended the half by outscoring Shawnee 15-6. 

Steeleville (61) – Winkelman 5 0 6-6 16, Wilson 3 0 4-4 10, Polley 0 0 0-0 0, Jeffers 0 1 8-12 11, Smith 3 0 0-0 6, Wesbecher 2 0 0-0 4, Garlit 1 0 2-2 4, Ashbury 2 0 0-0 4, Hagel 0 1 3-5 6, Ebers 0 0 0-0 0, Parker 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-16, 3FG-2, FT-23-29, PF-14.
Shawnee (38) – Ellet 2 1 1-2 8, Treece 2 0 1-2 5, M. Crane 1 0 0-0 2, Pind 3 1 2-4 11, Ochoa 2 0 1-2 5, N. Crane 0 0 2-2 2, Paris 1 0 0-0 2, D. Myers 0 0 0-0 0, Boston 0 0 1-2 1, Matlock 0 0 0-0 0, H. Myers 0 0 0-0 0, Reynolds 0 0 2-2 2. 2FG-11, 3FG-2, FT-10-16, PF-18.
Fouled Out – Treece - Shawnee.
Technical Fouls – None.