01-10-12
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARLYLE – The big scoring run that the Wesclin Warriors needed to get a win never materialized on Tuesday night in the clubs' road showdown with Clinton County rival Carlyle.

Coach Andrew Wilson's young team were on the verge of making the big push multiple times to take control but Carlyle held off each assault.

Behind Cody Huels 17-points and some key free throws down the stretch, the Indians survived with a 59-49 victory at home.

Coach Andy Palmer's Tribe took advantage of its biggest run of the game in the first quarter and never let the Warriors get the lead back as Carlyle improved its record to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the Mississippi Division of the Cahokia Conference.

Wesclin saw its mark fall to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in the Mississippi.

“We did a pretty good job of maintaining where we were at (lead). I think they cut it back to a one possession game but you just have to get stops in those situations and I thought we did that tonight,” Coach Palmer explained. “We rebounded pretty well and didn't give up many second chances to them.”

Coach Wilson's club took an early lead but watched as Carlyle took control early with a 13-0 spark.

Huels hit a 3-point shot in the run while teammate Hunter Hartung (12-points) added two more long distance bombs as Carlyle turned a 4-0 deficit into a nine-point lead.

Hartung's second bomb found the bottom of the net with 2:13 remaining for a 13-4 advantage.

Nathan Miller and Jordan Smith also scored in the Carlyle run that forced a Wesclin early timeout.

Wesclin committed 14-turnovers but five of those came in the first quarter as the Indians made its move.

Reserve John Becker closed the first quarter with a lay in off a pass from Huels to give Coach Palmer's team a 15-7 lead.

“We shot the ball well in that run. Cody (Huels) and Hunter (Hartung) hit a couple of shots. That is part of our team, we have to shoot it well. When we do shoot it well, we're not too bad,” added Coach Palmer. “We've got to continue to learn and get better. There are bigger things down the road and we need to be our best in February.”

Wesclin made a series of small dents in the Carlyle armor but never delivered the big burst to get back the lead.

Wesclin was led by Michael Klein with 16-points while Alex Wilken added 12.

Klein helped trigger a brief comeback in the second quarter with six points, all on drives to the basket.

His baseline move with 3:26 to go before halftime cut the Carlyle lead to 19-17.

Smith nailed a 3-pointer to answer the Klein score as the Indians led 24-21 at the break.

Although the Indians escaped any sort of dangerous position in the contest, Wesclin never went away.

Brady Kunz, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, scored five of his nine points in the third frame for the Warriors.

His 3-pointer from the top of the arc closed the low-scoring period at 33-28 Carlyle.

While the first three quarters were played very cautiously by both teams, the two combatants woke up the offenses in the final eight minutes by scoring a combined 47-points.

Carlyle seemed to have the game well in hand after Hartung took a nice pass from Huels on a back door cut that resulted in a conventional three-point play and a 41-32 lead with 5:13 remaining.

Wilken, a 6-foot-2 senior veteran, helped rally Wesclin with nine of his 13-points in the fourth quarter.

Wilken hit a 3-pointer from the left wing and converted four consecutive free throws on two different trips to the line to get Wesclin to within 45-42 with just under three minutes to go.

Carlyle held on with some help from the Warriors in the final two minutes.

“We took some bad shots at inopportune times. When it was time for us to come down and really buckle down and get a basket, someone would fire up a bad shot,” said Coach Wilson. “That goes a little bit to our youth. But part of it is not thinking about the game situation.”

Trailing 49-46 with just under a minute remaining, Wesclin had a chance to tie the game but turned the ball over.

Carlyle's Matt Hilmes was fouled by Wesclin's Alex Sopiars after a Warriors' missed shot.

After the foul, Sopiars was issued a technical foul which sent Hilmes to the line for a one-and-one and also a two technical tosses.

“We had a foul (Sopiars) which was ok but then we had a technical foul which was a play were he just wasn't thinking. It goes from a three point game to a seven point game that quick,” said Coach Wilson. “It's frustrating.”

Hilmes nailed all four of the charities which pushed Carlyle to a 53-46 advantage with :47.3 left.

“Matt (Hilmes) had kind of struggled all night but he stepped up and hit those (four) free throws and got a big offensive stick back,” added Coach Palmer. “I told him you've got to keep playing through those times when the ball is not going in.”

Huels and Hartung combined to hit 4-of-6 free throws and teammate Miller took a pass from Hartung for a exclamation point fast break lay in to seal the victory.

Hartung and Hilmes each finished with 12 points.

Wesclin finished 19-of-43 from the floor on the night but were just 2-of-12 from long distance.

Carlyle fashioned this win by connecting on six 3-pointers and were a combined 21-of-49.

The Indians outrebounded Wesclin 25-22 and committed just 12-turnovers.

“They (Wesclin) are going to battle. These kids all know each other and have played AAU ball together,” Coach Palmer added. “These are always good games and tonight we were able to come out on top.”

Carlyle will host Freeburg this coming Friday while the Warriors will travel outside of the conference for a game at Okawville on the same night.

“We talked about that, our last couple of games we've had a lead and gave it away in the second half. We've just got to try and stay focused. A lot of times it is turnovers that have kept us from being able to extend the leads but we are getting better,” said Coach Palmer. “It was a tough, physical game and our kids battled hard. It's a big win for us.”

Wesclin (49) – Rieger 1 0 0-0 2, Sopiars 1 0 1-2 3, Smith 0 0 0-0 0, Wilken 3 1 4-4 13, M. Klein 7 0 2-4 16, C. Klein 0 0 2-2 2, Kunz 3 1 0-0 9, Takacs 2 0 0-0 4.
2FG-17, 3FG-2, FT-9-12, PF-16.
Carlyle (59) – Huels 4 2 3-5 17, Hartung 2 2 2-3 12, Miller 4 0 0-0 8, Smith 1 2 0-0 8, Zachry 0 0 0-0 0, Hilmes 3 0 6-6 12, Becker 1 0 0-0 2, Walker 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-15, 3FG-6, FT-11-14, PF-13.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – Sopiars - Wesclin.