Sparta Mid-Winter Classic battle

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[There was an intense week of battle in Sparta last week as the Bulldogs hosted the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic Invitational. The basketball filled week started with first games on Tuesday, Jan. 20 and ended with the fifth and final games on Saturday, Jan. 24. Invited were eight area teams: Lebanon, Waterloo, Sparta, Red Bud, Steeleville, Du Quoin, Trico, and Columbia. Pool play was the name of the game with Du Quoin, Lebanon, Red Bud, and Trico in Pool A. Columbia, Sparta, Steeleville, and Waterloo faced off in Pool B. Finals on Saturday pitted the ranked teams in each pool against one another. Columbia won the tournament, going 4-0 in the five day event. Trico followed this in second. Du Quoin came in third. In respective order came: Steeleville (4), Red Bud (5), Sparta (6), Waterloo (7), and Lebanon (8).

The Sparta Bulldogs Cheer Squad won the Cheer Trophy for the first time in 16 years.

DAY 1

At 5:30 p.m. the Columbia Eagles defeated the Waterloo Bulldogs, 52-43. The Eagles were the heavy favorite coming into the Mid-Winter Classic and they showed it in their first game of the week.

The Steeleville Warriors lost their first game in the Sparta Midwinter Classic to the host school 61-44. Sparta outscored the Warriors in the second quarter by 10 points to build a 13 point halftime lead. The Warriors offense struggled, shooting only 29% from the field for the game.

The first quarter was close as Sparta scored first on a 3-pointer from Clay Peck. The Warriors got their first points when Colin Smith split a pair of free throws. Jason Becker then found Peter Zobel inside for a basket and the game was tied at 3. The teams traded baskets and then Peck scored again for a 7-5 Sparta lead. Becker then nailed a three from the left wing and Steeleville took the lead at 8-7. Sparta's Malcolm Oliver then scored twice to give Sparta the lead 11-8 after the first quarter.

The second quarter saw Peck score on a drive for a 5 point lead. Smith answered for the Warriors with two free throws then Sparta's Jordan Thompson and Becker traded three-pointers. Malcolm Oliver scored again for Sparta and Becker drove to the basket for 2 and the lead remained at 3 with just under 6 minutes to go in the half. Sparta then went on a 9-0 run, building a 27-15 advantage. The Warriors only scored on two Smith free throws and Sparta hit a three giving them a 30-17 halftime lead.

The third quarter started with London Oliver and Malcolm Oliver each scoring for Sparta to give them a 34-17 lead. Torrey Gerberding gave the Warrior offense a spark by knocking down a 17 footer and a three-pointer cutting the lead to 12. Sparta answered as Malcolm Oliver hit back-to-back 3-pointers and the lead grew to 40-24. Smith scored inside off a nice pass from Zobel as they cut the lead to 10 with 1:42 left in the quarter. The teams traded points keeping the difference at ten until Malcolm Oliver scored on a lay-up with 2 seconds left and Sparta had a 46-34 lead.

Sparta outscored the Warriors 5-1 to start the fourth. Zobel then hit two free throws to cut the lead to 51-37, but Sparta then ran off 7 straight points to put the game away. Sparta led 58-37 with 30 seconds left. Steeleville's Ryan Wilson hit a three pointer at the buzzer, but the Warriors fell short 61-44.

Jason Becker led the Warriors in scoring with 14. Colin Smith had 12 and 8 rebounds, Peter Zobel scored 8 and pulled down 6 boards, Torrey Gerberding scored 5, Ryan Wilson had 3 and Andrew Pokrzywinski added 2 points, 6 rebounds , and 7 assists.

Malcolm Oliver, 23, led Sparta with 21-points and Clay Peck had 17. London Oliver, 15, took 8-points while Jordan Thompson, 11, took 6. Maurice Austin, 22, and Adam White, 2, each took 3-points apiece. Dartanus White, 1, and David Sams, 33, each took 2.

The final game of the night showed the Trico Pioneers beating the Red Bud Musketeers, 47-40, in a back and forth game of action.

With hard drives down the lane and knuckle-biting rolls, the Musketeers pounded the basket in the first. With Adam Kunkel, 1, Tim Conway, 23, and Kory Liefer, 11, fighting for a win, the first quarter display showed the Musketeers heart for the game. Trico held their own with shots from Milo Richmond, 50 , and Logan Thies, 20. The Musketeers came out hard, taking the first quarter for their own, with a score of 10-7 showing up on the board.

The Musketeers only took home 9-points in the second. Jake Hoffman, 5, drilled an easy 3-point from the low corner, once again showing his bravado for the 3-point game. Conway, Kunkel, and Liefer helped with 2-points apiece. The Pioneers Travis Carlock, 30, drilled three 3-points in the second. The Pioneers came up to tie the game 19-19 at the end of the half.

With a couple of ace shots from behind the arc and a triplet of hard drives, Liefer was the lone star of the third taking home 12-points. Shots from Thies, and Richmond could not knock the Musketeers back. The Musketeers responded in the third to take the lead by 3-points, with a score of 31-28.

The Musketeers took home 9-points in the fourth. Hoffman drilled two from the low-outside corner, again reaffirming his accuracy behind the arc. A few free throws by Conway and Kunkel could pot secure a win. The Pioneers got 19-points with key drives, accuracy behind the arc and at the foul line. In the end, the Pioneers came back and beat the Musketeers 47-40.

Liefer took high points with 18. Kunkel hit for 6. Conway and Hoffman brought home 5 apiece while Gregson took home 2.

DAY 2

On Wednesday, with a final score of 60-45, the Pioneers defeated the Lebanon Greyhounds in the first game. Trico came into the tournament a force to be reckoned with and proved throughout the tournament. Ultimately, they would face off for the championship against the dreaded Eagles.

At 7:00 the Musketeers took on the DuQuoin Indians, winning 60-53.

The Indians came out fast against the Musketeers, taking 20-points in the first. The Musketeers only took 10, their lowest of the night. Liefer brought home 5-points in an inside and an outside shot. Chance Albertson, 32, brought home 5-points as well, in two drives into the paint, one resulting in a 3-point play.

Kunkel dropped in five inside field goals in the second. With help from Albertson with a 3-pointer and hard drives by Hoffman, Gregson, and Conway, the Musketeers came back in a hard way. The Musketeers took the lead in the second, taking 21 points to the Indians 9. The score at the end of the first half was 31-29

The third quarter found the Musketeers up by 10, with a score of 48-38 on the board. They drilled 17-points. Albertson dropped two field goals and a 3-point. Conway drilled three inside shots. Liefer and Kunkel each contributed a field goal apiece.

The final buzzer brought victory to the Musketeers. They took 12-points and the win at the end of the fourth. Gregson went down half way through the fourth with an apparent ankle injury. He is now on crutches and waiting further medical results. Conway's steals and breaks helped secure the win. Kunkel crashed through opposition while Albertson showed poise from the foul line. Final score was 60-53.

High points went to Albertson and Kunkel, with 17 apiece. Conway dropped 13-points while Liefer hit for 9. Gregson contributed 2.

In the final game of the night at 8:30, the Waterloo Bulldogs came out on top of the Sparta Bulldogs, with a score of 71-63. Sparta came out with a 3-point deficit in the first quarter, with a score of 13-16 up in the neon. Hargis came back from a reprimanding to hit an arcing 3-point and two hard drives down the lane. White and Peck also helped with key shots throughout the first.

Peck was deadly on the inside in the second, drilling shots from the post's and the paint. Oliver, 23, and White contributed inside shots as well. In the second Sparta took 16-points and Waterloo took the same making it a one basket game with a score of 31-29.

The third was the rough quarter for Sparta, taking 10-points. Hargis was the ace in the hole, with breakaway drives and accuracy that helped Sparta stay in the game. Waterloo took home 17-points. The score at the buzzer was 48-39.

In the fourth, Sparta outshot their competition 24-23. White stepped up his game, making accurate shots throughout the quarter. With shots from behind the arc, drives down the key, and control at the charity line, White proclaimed he is a force on the Sparta team. Peck, Hargis and, Oliver, also contributed important shots in the last quarter of game play. Yet, Sparta still fell to Waterloo in the end with a final buzzer score of 71-63.

Hargis took high points with 19 added to his stats. White came next with 15-points followed by Peck with 14. Oliver, 23, took 6 and Sams took 5. Oliver, 15, and Austin each contributed 2-points.

DAY 3

Thursday matched up the Eagles and the Warriors for the first game. The Steeleville Warriors dropped a 66-42 decision to Columbia in their second game of the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic. Columbia was the top seed in the tournament. The Warriors were also playing without senior guard Jason Becker who had hurt his ankle the day before in practice. The Warriors started quick with Colin Smith scoring twice inside for a 4-2 lead two and a half minutes into the game. Columbia then outscored the Warriors 12-0 the rest of the quarter for a 14-4 lead.

The second quarter didn't start much better for the Warriors as they were outscored 11-5 in the first three minutes. Trailing by 16 the Warriors did start to find some offense. Andrew Pokrzywinski hit a three pointer and Peter Zobel hit three shots but Columbia matched the Warriors offense. Josh Diercks hit a 12 footer with 32 seconds left for the last points of the quarter, but the Warriors trailed 35-20.

Columbia used a 7-0 run to start the third period, building a 42-20 lead. Zobel then hit a three-pointer and got a steal and a lay-up to cut the lead to 17. Trailing by 19 with under 2 minutes to go, Zobel hit another three-pointer and Diercks canned two free throws as the Warriors pulled within 46-32 as the period ended. Columbia's Brian Winters scored the first three points of the final quarter, but the Warriors responded as Diercks hit a three from the right wing and Zobel knocked down a 15 footer pulling the Warriors within 12. That was the closest the Warriors would come as Columbia reeled off 6 straight points to reestablish an 18 point edge. Columbia outscored the Warriors 11-3 in the last 3 minutes taking the 66-42 win.

The Warriors were led in scoring by Peter Zobel with 21. Josh Diercks scored 9 and pulled down 4 boards, Andrew Pokrzywinski had 5 points and 6 assists, Colin Smith scored 4, and Torrey Gerberding added 3. The Warriors struggled shooting the ball hitting only 32% from the field for the game.

The second game pitted the Musketeers against the Greyhounds with a final score of 53-38, Musketeers.

The Musketeers came out strong against the Greyhounds, taking the first quarter, 10-8. Dan Shrader, 4, stepped up to replace the injured Gregson, taking first points for the Musketeers. It was combo effort from the five Musketeer starters, with Kunkel, Conway, Liefer, and Alberson all showing accuracy and persistence from the paint.

The second brought 16-points to the Musketeers score. Liefer took first blood of the second, with a drive into the key. Kunkel followed this with two shots, one from just inside the arc and one from just outside. Hoffman drilled another long range shot while Conway displayed his consistant drives down the lane. Albertson also drilled two free throws. The Musketeers expanded their lead, 26-20, at the end of the first half.

The third was the Musketeers worst of the game, which is beginning to be a trend of Red Bud. They brought home 9-points. Shrader took 5 of those, in two hard drives, one of which resulted in a successful 3-point-play. Liefer brought home a lay-up while Kunkel hit a jumper from just inside the arc. They maintained their 6-point lead at the end of the third with a score of 35-29.

The Musketeers had their best quarter of the night in the fourth, which is the off-setting trend to their third quarter complications. The Greyhounds did not let the Musketeers shoot from the 2:34 on, fouling them at every chance. The Musketeers made them pay, hitting 10 of 10 shots from the foul line. WIth the final buzzer, the Musketeers secured a win with a score of 53-38.

High points went to Kunkel, taking 13. Hoffman followed this with 11-points. Dan Shrader, 4, brought home 9-points. Liefer and Albertson each brought home 8 while Conway killed 4.

The Indians and the Pioneers battled it out with a close final score of 56-55, Indians. The game winded down to the last few shots of the last few seconds. The Indians were a force out on the court during the entire tournament.

DAY 4

Friday was an a day of war on the court. The Warriors won the first game squaring up against the Waterloo Bulldogs. Steeleville Warriors picked up their first win of the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic using a strong performance from the free throw line to down Waterloo 64-52. The Warriors knocked down 26 of 37 free throw attempts including hitting 17-23 in the fourth quarter. Colin Smith hit 8 of 11 and Peter Zobel knocked down 11 of 14 for the Warriors. The game was tight throughout with the Warriors taking the lead 2 minutes into the game, but were never able to fully pull away. The Warriors biggest lead was at 60-45 with 1:09 left in the game.

Waterloo took the lead in the first quarter on a Nick Bretwisch drive to the hoop. Two free throws by Colin Smith tied the score and then Josh Diercks hit a three-pointer from the right wing giving the Warriors a 5-2 lead. Waterloo cut the lead to 5-4 but the Warriors took an 8-4 lead when Peter Zobel split a pair of free throws with 3 minutes to go and then scored inside two minutes later. Waterloo's Deron Duncan hit a 10 footer, but Smith scored inside with 19 seconds left for a 10-6 Warror lead as the first quarter ended.

Jason Becker knocked down a three to start the second period giving the Warriors a 13-6 edge. After Waterloo's Bretwisch hit a three of his own, Zobel hit two free throws and Andrew Pokrzywinski drove to the basket for two and the Warriors had their biggest lead at 17-9. Waterloo cut the lead to 4 but a Smith basket and free throw after being fouled helped give the Warriors a 22-15 halftime advantage.

Pokrzywinski scored on a fast break to start the scoring in the third quarter, but Bretwisch knocked down a three-pointer to cut the Warriors lead to six. The Warriors then ran off 7 unanswered points taking a 31-18 lead. Calen Lalis scored inside off and out-of-bounds play and Zobel stuck back an offenseive rebound. Pokrzywinski hit a six-footer and Lalis split a pair of free throws completing the run. Waterloo fought back and pulled within 8 on a Bretwisch three-pointer, but the Warriors lengthened the lead to 37-26 after Lalis scored inside. Waterloo fought back again eventually pulling within 39-33 as the third quarter ended.

The Warriors rebuilt a ten point lead scoring the first four points of the quarter, all on free throws. With 5:47 to go Zobel drove to the basket, scored and was fouled. He hit the free throw and Steeleville led by 11 at 46-35. Trailing 50-39, Waterloo scored 4 straight points to pull within 7 with 3:19 to play. Zobel then scored on a drive and Smith hit two free throws giving the Warriors their 11 point lead back. After Smith and Waterloo's Duncan traded two free throws, Zobel knocked knocked down two for a 56-45 lead. Zobel was fouled again and hit the first free throw, but when he missed the second, Lalis grabbed the board and scored giving the Warriors a 59-45 advantage with 1:26 to play. The Warriors then hit 5 of 6 free throws to ice the win.

Peter Zobel led the Warriors with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists. Colin Smith scored 18 points and pulled down 10 boards. Calen Lalis added 11 points, Andrew Pokrzywinski scored 8, Jason Becker had 5 and Josh Diercks scored 3. The Warriors had their best shooting game of the tourney hitting 43% from the field

The following game the Indians beat down the Greyhounds, 78-35. The Indians wanted a piece of the high bracket on Saturday and came out on Friday night with force. They would move on into Saturday, highly seeded.

The final game of the night, the Sparta Bulldogs held their own against the Eagles but were unsuccessful. The Eagles took the first, 15-11, but the Bulldogs stayed right with them. White drilled a 3-pointer and hit two free throws while Olive, 23, hit an inside shot and two of his own free throws. Hargis brought home a hard won drive resulting in a lay-up

Hargis, Peck, and Austin brought home key inside shots to help the 'Dogs stay with the high flying Eagles. Oliver, 23, made three of four attempts at the charity line. The 'Dogs were narrowly outshot in the second, 10-9, and were down by 5 ending the first half. The score was 25-20.

Once again the 'Dogs were outshot by one, 6-5 in the third. Hargis brought one down the lane and Oliver, 23, killed a basket. White contributed one free throw out of his four attempts. The 'Dogs fought with vehemence but were out witted by the Eagles, making the score 31-25 at the buzzer.

The Bulldogs shot for 17-points outshooting the Eagles by 2 in the fourth. Hargis aced a 3-pointer and an inside field goal while hitting two free throws. Oliver and Sams each aced shots from behind the arc. White drove home an inside lay-in. But in the end, the Eagles came out on top with a score of 46-42.

This made for a two three way ties going into the finals on Saturday. In Pool A, Red Bud, Du Quoin and Trico, all went 2-1 in the tournament. Lebanon had gone 0-3 and would rank the lowest. In Pool B, Sparta, Steelevile, and Waterloo all went 1-2. Columbia went 3-0 and would rank highest. At the Mid-Winter Classic, ties are broken by field goal percentages of each team. In the end that made the difference and it matched each team up with their respective counterparts in the other pool.

DAY 5

The games on Saturday started with the Greyhounds and Waterloo Bulldogs battling for seventh. With a score of 62-61, Waterloo, and less than ten seconds on the clock, Lebanon took one down the lane to score with 3.5 seconds left. Waterloo followed suit, at the buzzer, with a 3-point victory shot, for a final score of 65-63. The Waterloo Bulldogs came in seventh knocking the Greyhounds down to eighth.

The Musketeers and the Sparta Bulldogs fought for fifth. A back and forth game that got tied up on several occasions, it was clear that both teams were not looking to lose this game. Liefer had a few big breaks and long range accuracy. On the other side, White had hard drives and accuracy at the foul line. At the end of the first, the score was 11 up.

Although the Musketeers drew first blood in the second, the 'Dogs came out hard and overtook the lead. With quick hands and accurate shooting the Bulldogs managed to outwit the Musketeers defense. In turn, the Bulldogs had a brick wall of defense that efficiently shut down the Musketeers offense. The Bulldogs pulled ahead by 5-points in the second, making the score 25-20.

The Musketeers came back to give the 'Dogs a 2-point deficit ending the third. They responded to the offensive pressure by putting up a brick wall of their own against the 'Dogs. Albertson and Kunkel both showed speed with their hard drives into the paint. Liefer helped with two free throws. White was the only Dog of the third, hitting a jumper and a hard hook shot from the paint. The end of the third showed a score of 33-31, Musketeers.

The 'Dogs could not overtake to the Musketeers in the fourth. Hoffman brought his long range game to table, drilling two. However the score was tied up with 10-seconds left, 41-41, with two pressure filled free throws from Peck. With the seconds ticking quickly by, Liefer charged down the court to shot from the wing and missed. Yet, Albertson snagged the rebound with 3-seconds of game play and with a quick flip, hit the basket to secure the win. The Musketeers came out on top with a score of 43-41.

High scoring for the Bulldogs was White taking home 18-points. Peck and Sams each contributed 9-points. Hargis shot for 4-points while Oliver, 23, hit for 2. Peck was named to the All-Tournament team.

High scoring for the Musketeers was Kunkel with 16-points. This was followed by Liefer with 13 and Albertson with 8. Hoffman dropped on 6 with two behind the arc. Liefer was name to the All-Tournament team.

The Steeleville Warriors lost to DuQuoin 62-45 in the third place game of the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic. In the Warriors side of pool play they were tied with Sparta and Waterloo with 1-2 records. Three way ties in the tourney are decided by the best team free throw percentage in the first three games. The Warriors shot 73.3% from the line which was tops in the tie breakeer and earned them the right to play in the third place game.

After falling behind 2-0 to start the game the Warriors took the lead 3-2 when Colin Smith scored and was fouled. He completed the thre point play for the lead. Unfortunately for the Warriors that was the only lead they would have as DuQuoin scored the next 12 points for a 14-3 advantage. Two Peter Zobel free throws with 1:50 left in the quarter finally stopped the DuQuoin run. After DuQuoin's J.C. Davis hit a three, Zobel scored on a drive. Logan Schneider hit a 12 footer for DuQuoin and with 32 seconds left Zobel scored inside and was fouled. He hit the free throw for the last points of the quarter and the Warriors trailed 19-10.

The Warriors tried to overcome the slow start in the second quarter as Jason Becker split a pair of free throws and then knocked down a three-pointer cutting the DuQuoin lead to 19-14. DuQuoin responded with 4 straight points but baskets by Smith and Calen Lalis made the score 23-18. DuQuoin then built the lead to 29-21 as the first half ended. The Warriors outscored DuQuoin 7-5 to start the third period, pulling to within 34-28. Baskets by Smith and Lalis and a three-pointer from Josh Diercks got the Warriors close. DuQuoin then scored 6 straight points building a 12 point edge. The Warriors could only draw to within 11 as the quarter ended.

Smith hit one of two free throws and scored on a lay-up and Becker scored on a drive to the basket as the Warriors cut the lead to 46-36. That was the closest the Warriors would get dropping the 62-47 decision.

Zobel scored 14 points and pulled down 5 rebounds for the Warriors. Colin Smith dropped in 13 points and had a team high 6 boards. Jason Becker had 9 points and 4 rebounds, Calen Lalis scored 4, and Josh Diercks added 3. Andrew Pokrzywinski led the team with 4 assists. The Warriors shot 40% from the field in this game. Peter Zobel was named to the tournaments 10 player All-Tournament Team.

And for the championship game, Columbia faced off against Trico. The game was blow out from the start, with Columbia racing out to a 17-2 lead early in the first. By the end of the first half, Columbia was on top with a score of 41-13. Unrelenting, Columbia proved their dominance on the boards, with a final score of 70-45.