BASKETBALL: Du Quoin returns to Regional finals
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Du Quoin led by fifteen at halftime and didn't let the Bulldogs come any closer than a dozen down in the second half, pulling away for a 65-44 victory over Sparta Wednesday night in the IHSA Class 2A Regional semifinal at Sparta High School.
The Indians' leading scorer, Connor Wheeler, was saddled for much of the second quarter in foul trouble and only scored 12 points, but James Williams connected on four three-pointers in the game and led all scorers with 20.
"I think our kids had a lot of focus tonight, they know what's on the line now," said DHS head coach Gave Sveda. "It's the second season, throw all the records out the window. I thought it was an all-around effort, again, a lot of kids stepped up. I thought James Williams had a tremendous game offensively for us and got a lot of loose balls on the defensive end."
Down 7-5 midway through the opening quarter of play, Du Quoin started their push with a backdoor layup from Wheeler followed by Williams' second three of the period. Williams nabbed a steal and took it the distance for two with 2:21 to go in the period to give the Indians a 12-7 advantage.
Williams again did it with defense at the end of the quarter, swiping it away from the Bulldogs and driving for another layup just before the end of the quarter. The Indians outscored Sparta 14-2 over the final 3:16 of the period and led 19-9.
Sparta wouldn't go away just yet, however, scoring the first seven points of the second quarter as a lob pass found Aaron Rushing for two inside to make it 21-16 with Wheeler on the bench with two fouls.
The Indians would respond, going on an 11-0 run with five different players (Brandon Williams, Seth Baxter, J.C. Davis, Williams, Sam Gossett) scoring during the two-and-a-half minute stretch.
"Our kids really stepped up," Sveda said. "At first it got a little stagnant without (Wheeler), and then we kind of took off and made a run, and it's kids stepping up, you've got to do that. You've got to overcome adversity sometimes, different players get in foul trouble, and our kids wont back down from any challenge."
Davis added a triple with 38 seconds left to give Du Quoin a 35-20 lead at the break.
Sparta got to within 12 briefly in the third quarter, but the Indians kept spreading around the offense and extended their lead to 46-29 after three before pulling away for good in the fourth.
The victory over the Bulldogs was the fourth by the Indians this season, including two conference matchups and a meeting in the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic.
"You can throw all the surprises out the window when you play a team four times," Sveda said. "You're a little worried coming into their home floor, they have some momentum, they played last night, we've been off since Friday. You're always a little worried, but I think our kids were focused from tip to horn and I'm proud of them."
Behind J. Williams and Wheeler, Gossett and B. Williams each added 8 points, Davis 7, Baxter 6, and John Galik and Jesse McDicken 2. London Oliver led the Bulldogs with 14 points, Wesley Kiner added 12.
"Seth Baxter only scored six points, but he does so many things for us," Sveda noted. "He screens well, cuts well, he got rebounds on both ends of the floor."
Du Quoin's opponent in the finals of the Sparta Regional is a familiar one: The Pinckneyville Panthers. Each of the past two years, the Indians have ended the Panthers' season; in 2009 it was in Regional finals, last year in the Sectional semifinals.
DHS also claimed both regular season contests between the two schools for 2010-11, but Sveda knows Friday's game won't be that easy.
"It's going to be a tremendous test for us, coming into a championship environment," Sveda said. "It's going to be tough playing Pinckneyville for a third time, they're a tough team, a tough match, they win twenty games every year for a reason."
Tip-off for Friday's Sparta Regional Championship game is set for 7:30 p.m. with doors opening up at 6:15 p.m.
Earlier in the evening, Du Quoin's Nate Boss advanced in the three-point showdown with a total of 9 to lead the rest of the field by 2 shots.
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