01/13/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
OKAWVILLE - The defense that Waltonville threw at host Okawville on Tuesday night had very few, if any, flaws to it.

While the offense didn't light up the scoreboard, the other end of the floor was more like a brick wall.

Waltonville held the Rockets to a single field goal in the fourth quarter, keeping the the hosts off of the scoreboard for nearly six minutes as they cruised home with a 49-33 win.

The victory improved the Spartans' stock to 16-2 overall behind 13-points and eight rebounds from 6-6 senior Gage Peterson.

The senior also nailed down all five of his free throw attempts in the contest.

Juniors Jagger Mayville and Witten Devor added a dozen each in points for Coach Anthony Lowery.

“They (Okawville) had a good game-plan and it made it tough on us (zone defense) and this is an important game,” said Coach Lowery. “This place (Okawville Gym called the O-Rena) is cavernous. It has different type of back drops on both ends so it took us the first half to adjust a little bit. We settled in and they play that matchup zone against us and it made us uncomfortable in the first half.”

Okawville slumped to 8-11 on the season for head coach Ryan Heck.

The Rockets were paced by junior Braylen Turner with 13-points and senior Landen Shubert was next on the list with eight.

After scoring a couple of baskets in the second quarter, Okawville's 6-7 sophomore Ayden Foley was held to just a free throw in the third quarter and finished with five-points.

The Spartans held Okawville to a 1-of-12 fourth quarter offensive output and held the Rockets to just two offensive rebounds in he entire game.

Okawville led early in the first quarter 4-3 after consecutive scores from Turner that followed a game-opening 3-pointer by senior guard Brendan Klingler.

Both of Klinger's scores were treys, and both came in the opening eight minutes.

Waltonville took back the lead on a pair of Peterson free throws and the second 3-pointer from Klingler.

A fast break score from off of a steal and lay up by Devor and a Mayville 15-footer from the left corner made it 12-7 after one quarter of play.

Okawville's best stretch of the game came in the second quarter with Turner and Foley both doing damage inside against the Spartans.

Turner converted on a drive in the lane while being fouled by senior Weston Rose.

The “And-One” was followed by Foley scoring over Peterson with a nice spin move.

Two more free throws by Turner gave Okawville its first lead since early in the game at 16-15 with 4:54 left in the half.

Following a score by Devor, senior Ryker Obermeier hit his only shot of the night, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc as Okawville took its largest lead at 19-17.

The lead turned out to be short lived and the final advantage on the scoreboard for the night by the Rockets.

Junior guard Brightym Bequette stepped off of the Waltonville bench and delivered a key 3-pointer from the left corner before Peterson closed the half with a score inside off of an assist by Mayville for a 22-19 edge at intermission.

(CONTINUED)

The Spartans led by as many as nine-points in the third quarter before putting away the win late in the game.

Peterson picked Foley's pocket and scored on a fast break lay in while being fouled.

The three-point play started the second half strong for Waltonville.

Okawville junior guard Zayden Cepeda scored four-points for Okawville in the game, with a pair of baskets inside on consecutive scoring possessions.

His second of the two cut the Waltonville lead to just 25-23.

Waltonville, however, finished the third quarter with a with both Mayville and Peterson adding points from the foul line.

Mayville scored two additional baskets on a drive to the goal and an offensive rebound as the lead ballooned to 38-29.

Turner scored the final basket in the quarter with a steal and lay in to make it 38-31.

That score, with :28 left in the frame, represented the only points for Okawville before the dry spell to close out the game.

Baskets by Peterson and Devor came in the middle the final period as neither team scored in the first 3:06 of the fourth.

Mayville added a score on a nice dish from Peterson.

Shubert scored for Okawville finally on a fast break but that proved to be the only points for the hosts with 2:01 left in the game.

A 3-pointer from Devor and a shot from the baseline by Mayville ended the scoring and the drama.

Peterson, on Waltonville's final possession, dribbled out the last :51 seconds of the key road win.

The Spartans weren't brilliant offensively on Tuesday night but it was more than good enough at the end.

Waltonville hit 18-of-38 from the floor (47.3 percent) and 6-of-14 from outside the arc.

They held a 21-16 rebounding edge and they survived 11-turnovers, four in the first part of the fourth quarter.

Okawville was held to 13-of-36 (36.1 percent) overall from the field, 3-of-9 from long distance.

The Rockets didn't help matters by coughing up 10 turnovers.

“Push come to shove, we scored 33 points. Giving up 49 points to them, that's probably 20 below their average. Our defense tonight was not the issue. It was our offense,” said Coach Heck. “We need more balance. We need to be tougher around the rim. We just have to continue to work and we will get there.”

Coach Lowery's club, after a one-point loss to Goreville in the championship game of the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament, have reeled off four wins over Crab Orchard, Webber Township, 3A Highland and Okawville.

They will host Wayne City on Friday before taking part in the final Midland Trail Conference tournament next week with the semifinals and finals being played at Woodlawn.

Okawville will play at home against Red Bud on Friday with the following week they will host the Okawville Invitational Tournament.