Chester boys beat Steeleville
<span>The Chester boys basketball team heads into its own regional with a win over Randolph County rival Steeleville on Thursday, but the week may be more remembered by what didn't happen then what did.</span>
<span>Winter Storm Pandora, as named by The Weather Channel, hit the region Friday night with freezing rain and sleet.</span>
<span>The Yellow Jackets were scheduled to travel to face Sesser-Valier-Waltonville for a Black Diamond Conference contest that was later postponed and moved to noon on Saturday due to weather.</span>
<span>That forced Chester into a day/night basketball doubleheader that included Senior Night on Saturday night against another BDC foe in Goreville.</span>
<span>But both games were ultimately canceled, sending the Yellow Jackets into Monday's 7:30 p.m. meeting against Sparta in the Class 2A regional having not played a game since Thursday's contest against the Warriors.</span>
<span>"It all depends on how we rebound from it," said Chester coach Brad Norman of the cancellations. "I thought it was going to be tough to play two games in one day, but I also thought it would be tough to have three days off."</span>
<span>Against Steeleville, Chester built a 12-3 lead after the first eight minutes and held a 19-13 advantage at halftime. The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with a 8-2 run and to lead by 12, 27-15, with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter.</span>
<span>Chester (16-10) held a 43-27 lead entering the fourth. Steeleville (8-19) managed to trim its deficit down to nine with four minutes remaining, but couldn't get any closer.</span>
<span>Jack Weir led Chester with 16 points, while Jason Schwartz added 11. Jacob Golding (6), Demontae Martin (5), Savion Smith (5), Jordan Berner (4), Hunter Howie (3) and Austin Welge (2) also scored for the Yellow Jackets.</span>
<span>Steeleville was led by 23 points from Nic Hagel and Dusty Sutton added 10 points.</span>
<span>The Warriors' own Senior Night was affected by Winter Storm Pandora, as the junior varsity contest against New Athens was canceled and the varsity-only contest was moved to a 6:15 p.m. start.</span>
<span>New Athens went on to defeat Steeleville, 56-47, to win the Cahokia Conference crown. Hagel scored 29 points to lead the Warriors, while Sutton and Lutz scored eight points apiece.</span>
<span>The sixth-seeded Warriors begin play in the Class 1A Trico Regional against third-seeded Goreville on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.</span>
<span>As for Chester, the Yellow Jackets are seeded third in their own regional with Sparta seeded sixth.</span>
<span>"Overall, it's been a growing season," Norman said. "Hopefully, the goal is to be as gritty as possible this week.</span>
<span>"A lot of it is mental. Our older guys have done a good job of setting an example and I think we're coming into practices and games a little more focused."</span>
<span>Chester is helped by the fact that the Yellow Jackets have either played against or have seen the other five teams in their regional.</span>
<span>"That's big," Norman said. "Dealing with teams you've never played before makes it hard to know what to expect and video can only show you so much."</span>