BASKETBALL: Warriors bounce Benton at State
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[What happens when the DuQuoin Middle School Boys Basketball Team plays all four quarters of the game? Answer: DMS moves into the Semi-Finals of the Southern Illinois Junior High School Athletic Association State Tournament.
The Warriors played a superb game on Saturday afternoon against Benton to move into the Semi-Finals, and will be playing on Tuesday evening at 7:15 p.m. DuQuoin defeated Benton 48-33.
DuQuoin's record is now 17-7 on the season, with at least two more games to play.
The Warriors have struggled at times with putting together all four quarters of a game. But there was no question on Saturday against Benton. There were a few minutes in the second half where the Warriors seemed to lose focus, and Benton closed the gap to six points; but a timely timeout by Coach Ryan Heape brought them back together.
DuQuoin had a somewhat flat first quarterand Benton led 7-5 after one.
The Warriors stormed back late in the second quarter to lead 16-12 at the break, then continued their spurt early in the third quarter to go up 22-12 after a 14-0 run.
In the fourth quarter, Benton closed to within six points at 39-33, but the Warriors made their shots down the stretch and scored the last nine points of the game to pull away.
DuQuoin was led in scoring by Jarred Thomas with 19 points. Jacob Wright had 8 points, Brock Bullar 8 points, Tucker Kuhnert 7, Hunter Behm 4, and Donovan Hamilton 2.
Other Warriors seeing playing time were Trace Klein, Chad Heatherly, Dalton Day, and Cole Hopkins. Also on the team are Braden Heape, Caleb Vogel, Nick King, and Luke Metten. DuQuoin is coached by Ryan Heape and Jacob Emling.
DMS played a stellar game on defense. Thomas, Wright, and Bullar were all over the floor. Kuhnert and Behm did a great job under the basket with rebounding. It was definitely a team effort.
Benton was led in scoring by Derek Oxford with 15 points. Chase Owens had 7 points, Caleb Rock 6, Cole Richardson 3, Marc Torres 1, and Logan Threlkeld 1.
Heape had this to say about the game: "I am extremely happy for the kids. They have accomplished their goals for the season, and moved beyond. Right now this is one of the six best finishes in school history, no matter what they do. Six teams from DuQuoin have played in the State Tournament. We watched a lot of film this week. The players had the article about the loss in their lockers to remind them. They can take it down on Monday."
"Harrisburg is a real challenge (Tuesday's game). We do have some common opponents. We scouted them today; they do have some size, but I do not think they have a bench. I feel excited about the opportunity, and so are the kids. Today some of our kids played their best ball of the year. Somebody has to play their best and step up. Benton played a great game, and played their hearts out. I was really impressed with their effort."
In the first game of the day, Carbondale beat Centralia in a very close game 45-44. Highland won the second game over Carmi 61-32. Carbondale and Highland will play the first game on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. DuQuoin won over Benton in the third game of the day, and Harrisburg won the fourth game over Fulton of O'Fallon. DuQuoin and Harrisburg will play at 7:15 on Tuesday. Winners of the games play on Thursday for the championship at 7:30. Losers play for third place at 6:00 on Thursday.
The Warriors are assured of at least fourth place in the tournament and will get some new hardware for the trophy case. One of their goals was to win a regional and get to the State Tournament. That goal has been fulfilled, but it is doubtful that the Warriors will be satisfied with fourth place, and will be setting their sights on a bigger trophy.
<element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[</group><group id="A158CE51-D85D-44AA-AFC4-236DD44DC9D0" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels></seoLabels></group><