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Beane looks to future after loss to Marion

Carbondale's boys basketball team blew an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead to finish the 2017-18 season at 21-8 after a last-second, 61-59 loss to upstart Marion Friday night.

It was a crushing loss for the Terriers team. The loss of Ball State Signer Kani Acree midway through the season finally caught up to a largely underclassmen-dominated Carbondale team.

The Terriers' other D-I signer, Darius Beane, did his best to keep Carbondale's season going as he scored 29 points. But Beane ran out of gas in the latter part of the fourth quarter. Beane had 27 of his 29 through the first 26 minutes of the game.

But the Marion Wildcats clamped down on the tiring Beane from the six-minute mark in the fourth quarter until the final buzzer. In fact, the feisty Cats clamped down on all the Terriers, who incredibly were unable to score during those last six minutes and finally lost by two.

"We were playing as well as we can play for the first three and one half quarters," Carbondale coach Jim Miller said. "But for some reason we lost focus and let one get away."

Marion coach Gus Gillespie and star Justin Saddoris tried to explain what happened during those last few minutes.

"We were able to start trapping them in the fourth quarter and turning them over," Gillespie said.

"And we just wanted to force the ball out of Beane's hands and let their other players try to beat us," added Saddoris.

It worked. The game was 33-25 Carbondale at halftime, and Beane scored 14 points by himself in the third quarter. But Gillespie inspired his charges to hang in there.

"Beane was having a monster game and showed why he is a special player." Gillespie said. "But our kids rose up with aggressive defensive play and fought to the end."

The final nail in the Carbondale coffin came with a Jaden Lacy lay up with seconds left to go in the game. Carbondale's Clayton Greer's last-gasp three-point attempt clanked off the rim to end the game.

Now Marion travels to the final games of the sectional to be held in Columbia. Incidentally, the host team, Columbia, upended undefeated Alton Marquette 55-53 last weekend, so the Wildcats will meet Columbia. That winner will meet the winner of the Centralia vs. East St. Louis game next week for the sectional title.

As for the Terriers, they will return three starters for 2018-19 who saw action as sophomores this season.

The summer basketball circuit will start in June, and those guys will profit by playing with each other for the 20-game Summer travel schedule. The Times will cover that summer schedule closely because that is where future Terrier teams grow.

As for Beane, he was disappointed by how the 2017-18 season ended. However, he was upbeat about his own future.

"It was a tough loss for for me and the team," Beane said. "But for me, it's time for the next chapter."

That Beane basketball book will be written at nearby SIU. Beane signed with the Salukis last fall, and at 6-foot-4 he will see time at point guard.