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BASKETBALL: No Doubting Thomas - Warriors will play for State title

Posted February 15, 2012 10:00 pm

Patricia Ferrari & Doug Daniels

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[For three quarters of the basketball game, DuQuoin Middle School trailed Harrisburg in the semi-finals of the Southern Illinois Junior High School Athletic Association Class L State Tournament at Rend Lake College on Tuesday night. The fourth quarter, however, was a complete turn-around for the Warriors.

DuQuoin absolutely exploded to outscore Harrisburg 20-2 in the final period and take the victory 53-43 behind a tremendous 30-point performance from seventh-grader Jarred Thomas. The Warriors will now meet up with Highland in Thursday's championship at 7:30 p.m.

"I am just ecstatic for the kids," said an elated DMS head coach Ryan Heape after the victory. "It is amazing! I am so happy that the kids have this opportunity. You play for first; you settle for second."

Down 31-21 at the half, the Warriors came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter. The Bulldogs extended their advantage back to eight points at the end of the period before a wild and crazy fourth quarter began.

Early in the fourth, the Warriors trailed 41-34 when Thomas drew a charging foul on Harrisburg's Noah Vallette. The two exchanged words following the whistle before Vallette shoved Thomas away from him just as Thomas's teammate Brock Bullar approached to try and break up the altercation.

Vallette and Bullar then squared off before order was finally restored. At least one official alleged that Bullar threw a punch during the exchange, and thus the Warrior guard was ejected from the ball game along with Harrisburg's Corbin Crim, who left his team's bench.

The ejection will cost DMS Bullar's services in the championship game, but the incident seemed to light a fire beneath his teammates. The Warriors rattled off the next eleven points in a row including a four-point play by Thomas that fouled Vallette out of the game for Harrisburg and gave DMS their first lead of the night with 4:27 to play.

"Through all the emotions, we have learned to block out everything but what is going on in the game," Heape said. "As a team, they stuck together; that is what got us through that situation."

"It is the only reason we are playing in the title game on Thursday evening. They all believe in each other. At no point in the ball game did they quit or think that it was over."

Opinions on whether or not Bullar actually threw the alleged punch likely depended on which side of RLC's James Waugh Gymnasium one was seated. Crim will also serve a one-game suspension and thus miss the third place game for Harrisburg.

Nothing could stop the bleeding for the Bulldogs as they scored just two points in the entire fourth quarter while the Warriors hit free throws to pull away.

Rounding out the scoring for the Warriors behind Thomas' monster game were Jacob Wright with 9 points, Bullar and Tucker Kuhnert 5, and Hunter Behm and Chad Heatherly 2. Other players seeing action were Trace Klein, Luke Metten, Dalton Day, Donovan Hamilton, Cole Hopkins, Caleb Vogel, Nick King, and Braden Heape.

"I'm just excited, glad that we won," said Thomas, after he emerged from the victorious Warriors' locker room.

"We'll practice hard, work hard, and then show up ready to play (on Thursday night)."

Harrisburg was led in scoring by Crim's 17 points which all came in the first three quarters prior to his ejection. Kane Carrigan had 11, Vallette 9, Anfernee Houston 4, and Jared Barger 2.

Highland was able to beat Carbondale in the first game of the evening. DuQuoin (18-7) and Highland will meet for the Championship in Class L on Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Rend Lake College.

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