BOYS BASKETBALL: Indians hold off Patriots for Wheeler's 200th win
A.J. Smith hit two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining in a tie game and Caleb Vogel came away with a steal just before the final buzzer as Du Quoin held on for a 53-51 victory at home against Massac County on Saturday night, giving Indians head coach Wendell Wheeler his 200th win with the Indians, tying Ray Saunches for the most all-time at DHS.
"I love the history of Du Quoin basketball," Wheeler said after reaching the milestone. "It means a lot to be part of it, and do it with Matt (Foster), Ricky (Oakley) and (Webster McGuire) - my guys, guys I coached - with me, I feel like I'm very, very blessed."
But Wheeler was more anxious to give praise to his team for their effort against the Patriots on Saturday night, particularly Smith, whose free throws in the closing seconds gave him a team-high thirteen points on the night.
"He is playing so well right now," Wheeler said. "He's leading us, he's running the point, he's knocking down shots, he plays hard. That's the stuff as a kid you grow up dreaming to be able to do, knock down a couple free throws like that in a big game."
Smith scored seven of those points in the opening quarter, where Du Quoin used a 13-2 run to build a 20-8 lead after eight minutes. Smith and Brock Bullar both hit three-pointers in the run, and Bullar and Tucker Kuhnert each had traditional three-point plays during the period.
The Indians maintained a 27-18 edge at the break before the tide turned in the third quarter, when Massac County scored the first eleven points to inch ahead by a bucket.
Jarred Thomas' three-point play with 2:45 to go in the period gave the lead back to Du Quoin, and Nolan Showalter had a steal and fast-break layup twenty seconds later to add to the lead, which sat at 43-39 heading to the fourth.
"We got a little bit of a lead, got up ten or twelve, and we told them be ready, (Massac County is) a good team, they're going to make a run," said Wheeler. "When they did make that run it wasn't like we rolled over and fell apart, they just played well. We've seen a lot of games where once somebody gets caught, they're done."
"To rally after losing last night (to Anna-Jonesboro), to come out with good focus and good energy after playing Friday night, I'm really proud of them."
The two teams traded blows throughout the final quarter with the Patriots tying it up at 49-49 on Marky Marlatt's triple with 2:56 to play. Each team added two free throws over the next two and a half minutes, and Du Quoin got the opportunity to play for one shot in a tie game.
Smith was fouled with 4.3 seconds to go and calmly sank both free throws, even after the Patriots tried to ice him with a timeout in-between makes.
The ball was knocked loose on Massac's inbounds play following Smith's second free throw, and Vogel pounced on it as time expired to secure the victory for Du Quoin.
"We attacked the rim well tonight," said Wheeler. "Their pressure was really good, our guys were making good cuts, slipping, reading. (Our game plan was) to keep moving, it's hard to guard movement, so we want to move. If you're moving, you're a threat. If you hold the ball, you become a target. We've got to move and be threats."
Thomas was also in double-digits with eleven points for the Indians. Vogel and Showalter each had nine points, Bullar six and Kuhnert five.
The J-V Indians also beat Massac County, 50-37. Braden Heape had a team-high fourteen points for DHS, Hank Stewart added ten.
Du Quoin (7-8, 1-3) will get a pair of opportunities to get Wheeler the record-setting win this weekend, with a road game at top-ranked Nashville (15-1, 4-0) on Friday, and a home game against Trico (10-5) on Saturday.
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Anna-Jonesboro 49, Du Quoin 38 (Friday):</span>
Three Anna-Jonesboro players finished in double figures and the Wilcats left Anders Gymnasium in Du Quoin with a 49-38 conference victory on Friday night.
A-J built a seven-point lead at halftime and never let Du Quoin get over the hump after the break. It was a tough night for the Indians' leading scorer on the season, Thomas, who fouled out with only four points in the game.
Smith led the way with ten points for DHS, Showalter had nine, Bullar eight, Vogel seven. Noah Prater led A-J (8-7, 1-3) with a dozen points.
The Wildcats also won the junior varsity contest by the score of 41-40. Du Quoiun was led in scoring by Heape with twelve points, and Klayton Donoghue added ten.