2nd PANTHER SHOWCASE: Indians, PCHS Win
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Mike Crews admits to sending at least a "gentle message" to his <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1233462153_0">Du Quoin</span> High School Basketball team during halftime of Saturday's game against St. Joseph-Ogden.
Trailing the Spartans from Champaign County 28-24 after two periods in the 2nd Panther Basketball Showcase, the Indians roared to life after the break and notched another victory.
Du Quoin, 16-6, won for the eighth time in nine 2009 starts, rallying past SJ-O 63-53. A strong third quarter pushed the Tribe ahead to stay.
Showcase game #3 Most Valuable Player Dalton Morgan scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Indians pulled away.
SJ-O is 13-8.
"We challenged the kids at halftime and they certainly responded," said Crews. "They came out and played an excellent second half. We are pleased with this victory. St. Joe-Ogden is a pretty solid team."
After racing to an early 10-5 edge, the Indians went stagnant offensively and trailed 16-12 as the opening frame ended. Late in the half, SJ-O squandered several chances to build on an eight-point lead.
With four starters- Morgan, Matt <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1233462153_1">Gossett</span>, Jamor Reed and A.J. Hill benched by foul woes- Du Quoin received a big-time contribution from its bench.
Logan Schneider, J.C. Davis, Marcus Clarry and Cody Youngman joined Seth <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1233462153_2">Flint</span> on the floor as the Indians hung close.
"We held serve and actually out-scored them in the final few minutes," Crews said. "To go into halftime only down four was a big lift. Those four kids kept us in the game."
In the third quarter, the Indians started the half with a 14-4 run and were never headed.
Hill and Morgan each had six points during the run with Flint and Reed contributing four points each.
As the periood ended, Du Quoin was on top 46-36. The lead reached 13 at one juncture of the final quarter. Morgan had 10 of his points in the period with Flint's conventional three-point play at the 2:57 mark sealing a victory.
"We played with so much more energy down the stretch," Crews said. "At times, we didn't play as well as I would have liked with the lead. "But we took care of things at the foul line (8-for-11) and were very good defensively."
Flint (14) and Hill (12) joined Morgan in double figures. Gossett added nine points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Jake Firkins, the 6-7 and 260-pound center for SJ-O, scored 19 points. Valon Immert finished with 10 points.
Tuesday, the Indians host West Frankfort.
Varsity
Du Quoin <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1233462153_3">63, St. Joseph-Ogden</span> 53
Du QUOIN (16-6): Hill 6 0-0 12, Gossett 4 1-3 9, Morgan 7 5-7 19, Flint 5 3-4 13, Reed 3 0-0 6, Youngman 0 2-2 2, Davis 0 2-2 2, Clarry 0 0-0 0, Schneider 0 0-0 0. TOTAL 25-44 (0-5) 13-18 63.
SJ-0 (13-8): Imeri 3 4-4 10, <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1233462153_4">Dees</span> 0 1-2 1, Firkins 8 3-5 19, Arslani 3 (1) 0-0 9, Duitsman 0 (2) 0-0 6, Starr 0 0-0 0, Brummet 0 0-0 0, Koehler 4 0-0 8. Total 21-54 (3-14) 8-11 53.
DHS 12 12 22 17- 63
SJ-O 16 12 8 17- 53
Three-pointers: Du Quoin 0-5. SJ-O 3 (Arslani, Duitsman 2). Team fouls: Du Quoin 12, SJ-O 12. Fouled out: Duitsman.