‘Jackets take a beatin' by Indians and ‘Cats
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Yellow Jackets took a beating this past weekend. On Friday, Jan. 30, the 'Jackets travelled to DuQuoin and turned around to truck over to Anna-Jonesboro for back-to-back conference play.
Unfortunately, the 'Jackets lost their first game to the Indians with a 47-point deficit. "That game was rough," said head Coach Mark Riley. Turning around for the second game at Anna-Jonesboro, the 'Jackets fought the good fight but lost in the end, with the Wildcats coming out on top, 59-45. The 'Jackets are now 0-5 in the conference, with a 3-15 overall record.
The Indians came out fighting hard in the first, taking 27-points, 10 of which were in the first 60-seconds of game play. The 'Jackets could not penetrate the Indian defense, coming up scoreless in the first. After eight minutes of game play, the score was 27-0, Indians.
In the second, the 'Jackets came out with vehemence, scoring 24-points in the quarter. The Indians took 21-points of their own. Zach Lochhead, 21, came out for the 'Jackets, taking 9-points in three field goals and one long range bomber. Shane Lawrence, 14, took home one short-range and one long-range. Aaron Grah, 52, also floated one in from behind the arc. Steve Wallace, 25, hit a basket and drilled two free throws. Jon Baughman, 31, hit for one field goal while Adam Lutz, 23, hit for one at the foul line. The score ending the first half was 48-24.
In the third, the Indians had a game high 30-points while only letting the 'Jackets take 12. Grah hit for half of the points, in his trade mark accuracy from beyond 20-feet, hitting two. Lutz brought in the rest of the points in two field goals and two from the charity stripe. The score at the end of the third was 78-36.
The fourth quarter brought in 8-points for the 'Jackets while the Indians took 13. Zach Slavens, 35, hit a field goal and drew a foul with two successful free throws. Lochhead and Lawrence each hit a field goal apiece. The final buzzer saw the 'Jackets down by a vast deficit, with a final score of 91-44.
Lochhead took high points, with 11 in the net. He took four inside baskets and one from outside. Grah hit three from outside, bringing in 9-points. Lawrence and Lutz took 7-points while Wallace and Slavens went for 4. Baughman hit 2.
Twenty-four hours later, the 'Jackets were on the road again heading for Anna-Jonesboro. "We played good at that game," said Riley, "We should have beaten Anna-Jonesboro."
The 'Jackets brought home 15-points while allowing 8, in the first. Wallace and Slavens each drove for two field goals while Lawrence was hitting from outside. David Winters, 13, hit a field goal as did Lutz. Ending the first, 15-8, the 'Jackets were up and determined to contend in their second game of the weekend.
The 'Jackets brought in 11-points in the second. The Wildcats hit for 14. Wallace hit for 6-points in three field goals. Lawrence hit yet another from outside while Slavens brought in one field goal. The end of the first half had the 'Jackets up by 4-points, with a tally of 26-22 up in the neon.
In the third, the Wildcats came back to take the lead by 3-points, taking in 16-points. The 'Jackets took a game low of 9. They were not able to recover. Winters hit a long-range shot. Lawrence, Wallace, and Slavens, each hit the net once apiece. The third quarter score was 38-35, Wildcats.
The fourth quarter brought in 10-points for the 'Jackets while the Wildcats hit for a game high of 21. This would take the game. Winters hit a double 3-points and an inside shot. Wallace hit for one basket. The final buzzer rang with the 'Jackets suffering their second loss of the weekend. The final score was 59-45.
Wallace took high points, bringing in 14 with seven field goals. Winters matched his number, dropping in three 3-pointers and two inside shots for 13-points. Lawrence and Slavens each hit for 8-points while Lutz rounded out the score with 2-points.
The 'Jackets will square off on their home turf against the Sparta Bulldogs on Friday, Feb 6.