Sparta Mid-Winter Classic: Tribe Cages Greyhounds, 2-0 at SMC

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[As the 46th annual Sparta Mid-Winter Classic enters its stretch run, Du Quoin's Indians are one victory shy of reaching the championship game for the first time since 2007's last second loss to Trico.

Thursday night, the Indians dispatched a solid Lebanon team 65-41 and advanced into a winner-take-all showdown for Pool B honors against Columbia (14-4). Both squads are 2-0 and battle in the 7 o'clock contest Friday. At stake is a reservation for Saturday's title game.

"Lebanon's not a bad ballclub and we are tickled to death to get out of here with the victory," Indians coach Mike Crews said. "We really controlled the rebounding and created a lot of scoring chances with our defense. Lebanon's a good shooting team but I felt like we didn't give them too many open looks."

Du Quoin grabbed the lead 8-6 on a short jumper by Matt Gossett midway through the first quarter and stayed ahead for good.

Ahead 28-18 at halftime. the Indians saw their lead fall into single digits after straight points from Michael Clark fueled an 8-5 Greyhounds run.

The Indians, however, turned up the defensive pressure with a 1-2-2 zone trap and ripped off nine unanswered tallies to push the lead back to 16 points.

David Rose (10 points, six rebounds, three steals) again keyed the spurt. Rose snuck free on the baseline for consecutive hoops and a wide open three ball from J.C. Davis pushed Du Quoin ahead. Gossett's dribble drive hoop ended the flurry.

"David Rose was just so active for us on both the offensive and defensive ends," Crews said. "He's not the tallest kid on the floor but he just elevates so quickly."

During the game-changing flurry, Rose tacked on three rebounds and a pair of assists while converting a three-point play.

In the the final quarter, Logan Carson (nine points, six rebounds, three steals) sealed things with a seven-point run of his own.

"Big Carson and Cody Rose were thorns in Lebanon's side all night long with their length and jumping ability," Crews said. "We were very pleased with our defensive effort tonight."

For the 12th time in 19 games, Du Quoin held its opponent to 50 points or less. Lebanon shot just 33% (17-for-15) and had 17 turnovers.

Gossett paced the Indians with 12 points and eight boards. D. Rose was the only other to reach double digits, but Jamor Reed and Carson each netted nine points.

Clark's 12 points paced the Greyhounds.

Also Thursday at the SMC, Waterloo (6-12, 1-1) needed overtime to edge Trico (12-5, 1-1) 51-49 and Columbia handled Steeleville (9-12, 0-3) 54-43.

While there'll be no such drama in Pool B as Du Quoin or Columbia will advance into the finals with a win, free throw percentage could again decide Pool A.

Sparta (2-0) and Trico (1-1) play Friday at 8:30 and Waterloo (1-1) battles Red Bud (0-2) in the 5:30 tilt. Wins by Trico and/or Waterloo could force foul shooting accuracy to again determine who plays for the finals.

Entering Friday, Sparta (71%) holds a narrow lead over Waterloo (66%) with Trico lagging back at 57%.

Du Quoin 65, Lebanon 41

LEBANON (10-9, 1-2)

Crump 0 0-0 0, Sonsucie 4 0-0 9, Brookshire 1 0-0 2, Zurliene 0 0-0 0, Lewis 3 0-0 6, Wagner 1 0-0 3, Clark 5 0-0 12, Essenpreis 0 0-0 0, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Pilackas 2 1-2 5, Moore 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 17-50 (4-13) 3-4 41.

Du QUOIN (14-5, 2-0)

Davis 2 0-0 6, Carson 2 5-5 10, D. Rose 4 2-3 10, Clarry 1 1-2 4, Reed 4 1-1 9, C. Rose 0 0-0 0, Williams 2 0-0 4, S. Gossett 2 0-0 4,

Baxter 0 1-2 1, Schneider 2 2-2 6, M. Gossett 6 0-0 12. TOTALS 25-57 (3-8) 12-16 65.

Lebanon 6 12 8 13-41

DHS 12 16 16 21-65

THREE-POINTERS-Lebanon 4 (Sonsucie, Wagner, Clark 2). Du Quoin 6 (Davis 2, Clarry). TEAM FOULS-Lebanon 13, Du Quoin 10.