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Carbondale Terrier boys​ ​crush​ ​Marion; ​tripped​ ​up​ ​by​ ​Whitfield

Let's​ ​take​ ​the​ ​"bad​ ​news"​ ​first: ​The​ ​Terriers​ ​dropped​ ​a​ ​Saturday​ ​afternoon ​game​​ ​63-62​ ​to​ ​powerhouse​ ​Whitfield​ ​High​ ​of​ ​Creve​ ​Coeur​, Mo., ​at​ ​the​ ​Highland​ ​Illinois Shootout.​ ​It​ ​was​ ​a​ ​hard​-fought​ ​loss​ ​in​ ​overtime​ ​to​ ​last​ ​year's​ ​3A​ ​Missouri​ ​state​ ​champ.

Yet​ ​Carbondale,​ ​the​ ​high​ ​school​ ​with​ ​a​ ​Globetrotter-like​ ​10​-away​-​game​ ​schedule​ ​(of​ ​17 total​ ​games),​ ​played​ ​that​ ​champ​ ​head​-to-head​ ​for​ ​40​ ​minutes​ ​until​ ​losing​ ​in​ ​the​ ​last​ ​few​ ​seconds.​ ​The​ ​day​ ​before​ ​that​ ​close​ ​loss,​ ​the​ ​Terriers​ ​beat​ ​2017​ ​Carbondale​ ​Holiday Tournament​ ​champion​ ​Marion.

In​ that​ ​win,​ ​the​ ​Terriers​ ​jumped​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Wildcats​ ​early​ ​and​ ​often.​ ​CCHS burst​ ​out​ ​to​ ​a​ ​15​-​point​ ​first​ ​quarter​ ​lead​ ​(19-4)​ ​as​ ​the​ ​Cats​ ​greatly​ ​disappointed​ ​a​ ​huge​ ​home crowd.​ ​The​ ​Terriers​ ​maintained​ ​their​ ​lead​ ​(32-14)​ ​throughout​ ​the​ ​second​ ​quarter​ ​with sophomores​ ​leading​ ​the​ ​way.

Clayton​ ​Greer​ ​was​ ​the​ ​star​ ​of​ ​the​ ​first​ ​16​ ​minutes​ ​of​ ​play,​ ​stinging​ ​the​ ​Cats​ ​with​ ​18 points.​ ​Another​ ​sophomore,​ ​Davaris​ ​Macklin,​ ​added​ ​seven​ ​points.

"Our​ ​sophomores​ ​are​ ​getting​ ​more​ ​and​ ​more​ ​confidence​ ​each​ ​and​ ​every​ ​game,"​ ​Carbondale head coach​ ​Jim​ ​Miller said.​ ​"Marion​ ​was​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​lock​ ​down​ ​Darius​ ​Beane​ ​by​ ​doubling​ ​him.​ ​We​ ​made Marion​ ​stop​ ​by​ ​our​ ​young​ ​guys​ ​scoring​ ​like​ ​they​ ​did."

It​ ​wasn't​ ​that​ ​Beane​, an​ ​SIU​ ​signer, ​is​ ​now​ ​inoperable​ ​as​ ​a​ ​contributor.​ ​He​ ​had​ ​19​ ​points against​ ​Marion​ ​and​ ​19​ ​against​ ​Whitfield​ ​the​ ​next​ ​day.​ ​But​ ​with​ ​the​ ​absence​ ​of​ ​injured​ ​star​ ​guard Kani​ ​Acree​,​ ​Beane​ ​is​ ​the​ ​bullseye​ ​on​ ​most​ ​opponent's​ ​scouting charts.

However,​ ​with​ ​the emergence​ ​of​ ​Greer​ ​(30​ ​points​ ​in​ ​the​ ​last​ ​two​ ​games)​, ​other​ ​teams​ ​have other​ ​things​ ​to​ ​worry​ ​about.​ ​Also,​ ​with​ ​Acree​ ​(19​ ​points per game)​ ​gone,​ ​Miller​ ​has​ ​concentrated​ ​on emphasizing​ ​other​ ​aspects​ ​of​ ​the​ ​game​ ​that​ ​are​ ​under​ ​the​ ​control​ ​of​ ​his​ ​players.

"Our​ ​energy​ ​level​ ​was​ ​high​ ​the​ ​whole​ ​game,"​ ​Miller said.​ ​"The​ ​kids​ ​were​ ​focused on​ ​playing​ ​lock-down​ ​defense,​ ​and​ ​we​ ​showed​ ​team​ ​character​ ​on​ ​the​ ​boards​ ​by​ ​out-rebounding a​ ​taller​ ​team​ ​by​ ​10​ ​(30-20).​ ​We​ ​actually​ ​wore​ ​Marion​ ​down​ ​physically​ ​with​ ​our​ ​defense."​ ​

Miller also​ ​liked​ ​the​ ​effort​ ​from​ ​his​ ​other​ ​senior, Zee​ ​Johnson.

"Zee​ ​(aka,​ ​Zanidrelle​ ​Johnson)​ ​had​ ​a​ ​great​ ​game,"​ ​Miller said.​ ​Johnson​ ​contributed​ ​10 points​ ​and​ ​helped​ ​lock​ ​down​ ​Marion's​ ​usually​ ​potent​ ​offense.

In​ ​the​ ​loss​ ​to​ ​Whitfield,​ ​it​ ​was​ ​the​ ​differential​ ​between​ ​the​ ​two teams​ ​at​ ​the​ ​charity​ ​stripe​ ​that​ ​made​ ​the​ ​difference.​ ​Whitfield​ ​attempted​ ​11​ ​more​ ​free​ ​throws (seven​ ​for​ ​Carbondale,​ ​and​ ​18​ ​for​ ​Whitfield)​ ​and​ ​made​ ​nine​ ​more​ ​(12​ ​Whitfield,​ ​three​ ​for​ ​the Terriers).

The​ ​game​ ​was​ ​back​ ​and​ ​forth​ ​all​ ​afternoon,​ ​with​ ​neither​ ​team​ ​holding​ ​more​ ​than​ ​a​ ​four-point​ ​lead​ ​​in​ ​the​ ​first​ ​half​ ​(13-9​ ​Whitfield​ ​at​ ​the​ ​end​ ​of​ ​the​ ​first​ ​quarter).​ ​Greer​ ​led​ ​the​ ​way​ ​again in​ ​the​ ​first​ ​half​ ​with​ ​eight​ ​points.​ ​But​ ​it​ ​was​ ​Beane​ ​who​ ​almost​ ​came​ ​to​ ​the​ ​rescue​ ​in​ ​the​ ​second half​ ​of​ ​play.

In​ ​those​ ​last​ ​two​ ​quarters​ ​(and​ ​one​ ​overtime​ ​period),​ ​Beane​ ​scored​ ​15​ ​of​ ​his​ ​19​ ​points​ ​for the​ ​game.​ ​Beane​ ​was​ ​short​ ​on​ ​a​ ​game-winning​ ​shot​ ​against​ ​Whitfield​ ​with​ ​four​ ​seconds​ ​left​ ​in the​ ​four​ ​minute​ ​OT​ ​(overtime),​ ​but​ ​if​ ​it​ ​weren't​ ​for​ ​him​, ​there​ ​probably​ ​wouldn't​ ​have​ ​been​ ​overtime.

"Beane​ ​did​ ​what​ ​we​ ​expected​ ​him​ ​to​ ​do,"​ ​Miller said.​ ​"We​ ​just​ ​came​ ​up​ ​a​ ​little​ ​short today​ ​(Saturday​ ​afternoon)."

Now​ ​it's​ ​on​ ​the​ ​road​ ​again.​ ​The​ ​Terrier​ ​travel​ ​to​ ​Belleville​ ​to​ ​battle​ ​the​ ​Althoff​ ​Crusaders at 7:30 p.m. this​ ​coming​ ​Friday.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​listen​ ​to​ ​the​ ​game,​ ​as​ ​per​ ​usual,​ ​on​ ​91.1​ ​WDBX.