Musketeers beat by Cougars, beat Pirates
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Red Bud Musketeers played back-to-back games over the weekend, winning at home and losing on the road. The Musketeers travelled to Breese Central on Friday, Jan. 16 to take on the Cougars. The Cougars defeated the Musketeers, 66-49. They then hosted the Valmeyer Pirates on Saturday, Jan. 17, taking home a victory with a score of 79-37. The Musketeers are now 12-7 overall with a 2-4 conference record.
In their first matchup of the weekend, the Musketeers took on the Cougars at the Breese Central arena. The Musketeers were defeated trailing at the end by 17 points. Head Coach Dave Gillingham said, "They're one of the better teams in Southern Illinois. I felt we played pretty well... especially at their place which is pretty tough."
The first quarter was close, with the Musketeers trailing by 2. The score at the buzzer was 12-10, Cougars. Stefan Gregson, 3, and Kory Liefer, 11, each aced a long range field goal while Tim Conway, 23, and Chance Albertson, 32, each drilled an inside shot.
The second quarter only brought in 7 points for the Musketeers. They allowed the Cougars to take 14-points from them. Adam Kunkel, 1, brought home high points in the second with 4 points in two field goals. Gregson drilled another 3 pointer to round out scoring for the Musketeers in the second. The score at half time was 26-17, with the Cougars taking a steady lead.
Jake Hoffman, 5, had a high scoring third quarter bringing home 14 of the 17 points scored by the Musketeers. Hoffman hit four 3-point field goals along with one inside shot. Leifer contributed a field goal and a free throw. However, it was a high scoring quarter for both teams with the Cougars killing 22-points in the third. The Musketeers were at a 14-point deficit going into the fourth, with a score at the buzzer of 48-34.
The Cougars took 18-points and, ultimately, the game in the fourth. The Musketeers brought home 15. It was a long range shooting gallery for the Musketeers, hitting five shots from beyond the arc. Hoffman was back at it, drilling two more 3-pointers, making a total of six aces in the game. "He did a nice job there," said Gillingham. Gregson also hit with accuracy, dropping three 3-point shots in the fourth. The final score at the buzzer was 66-49, Cougars. Gillingham said, "I don't feel it was a 17-point game."
In their second game in a twenty-four hour period, the Musketeers brought the Valmeyer Pirates to Red Bud. It was a quick and hot game for the Musketeers hitting 53-points in the first half. They allowed the Pirates only 21-points. "Our goal was to get off to a good start tonight and build up a lead," said Gillingham, "We did and our kids did a nice job tonight."
The first quarter showed the Musketeers determination to seal a win for the weekend, bringing home 24-points and only allowing 8 to be taken. Kunkel hit for 8-points in four field goals. Liefer followed this with two field goals of his own in conjunction with two successful free throws. Conway also nailed two field goals. Gregson drilled a long range shot with Albertson bringing home one basket.
The second quarter brought a whopping 29-points to the Musketeers score. They allowed the Pirates 13-points. Hoffman was up to the sniper shots again, hitting two shots from downtown. Kunkel drilled three field goals. Conway hit two inside shots and a free throw. Liefer and Albertson both dropped in two baskets from inside. Gregson drilled a field goal from the inner arc while Dan Shrader, 4, also contributed for 2-points. The score at the half showed the Musketeers dominating over the Pirates with a score of 53-21.
In the second half, the Musketeers second stringers saw a lot of game time, all playing like old pros. "When you come out and get in a varsity situation hopefully you can play well and they did," said Gillingham, The Musketeers took 18-points from the Pirates while giving up 8. Shrader dropped in two field goals and a free throw, for high scoring in the third. Gregson dropped a 3-point. Rhett Ringering, 22, and Jordan Buch, 2, took their first points of the weekend with two field goals. Kunkel, Albertson, and Hoffman also got a field goal apiece.
The Musketeers maintained their commanding lead in the fourth, dropping 8-points to the Pirates 7. Shrader dominated the floor with two field goals and two successful shots from the foul line. Kollin Liefer, 10, dropped in a field goal for his first points of the weekend. THe final score at the buzzer was 79-37 with the Musketeers claiming Saturday night for Red Bud.
High scorer for the weekend was Hoffman, claiming 28-points in two games. He hit eight 3-pointers and two 2-pointers in the weekend games. Following Hoffman, was Gregson, who hit for 23-points in seven 3-pointers and a single 2-point field goal. Following Gregson, was Kunkel who hit for 21-points in ten 2-point field goals and one successful free throw.