BASKETBALL: Second half comeback saves DHS against Red Bud

SPARTA, IL - Red Bud came out firing away from three-point range, but Du Quoin was able to erase an eight-point halftime deficit and come back to top the Musketeers 53-48 in Monday night's Class 2A Regional Quarterfinal at Sparta. The Indians got a big second half from seniors Daulton Beltz and Brenden Fred, and Spencer Cook locked down Red Bud's Josh Snyder in the third and fourth quarters after the Musketeer junior forward torched DHS for 21 first half points.

"Snyder had a big first half, (Cook) shut him down pretty much in the second half," said Du Quoin head basketball coach Gabe Sveda. "Hats off to Spencer Cook with a great defensive effort. Brenden Fred and Daulton Beltz stepped up in the second half. There was a lot of hustle, a lot of heart, getting the ball inside, being strong and attacking the basket."

Playing without John Erwin and Deeja Cole, the Indians stumbled out of the gate while the Musketeers were simply lighting up the scoreboard from downtown. Snyder hit five three-pointers in the first half and Caleb Grohmann added a sixth, helping Red Bud carry a 30-22 advantage into the break.

"They were on fire," Sveda said, "but we didn't do a very good job of attacking their guards with high hands like we talked about the last two days in practice. We knew they could shoot the basketball, so give them credit. They knocked down some shots and they were more aggressive than us in the first half."

Du Quoin came out in the second half with a sense of urgency, cutting the lead down to three points after a conventional three-point play by Fred followed by a fast break lay-up from Beltz. Fred started the break with a steal and fed Beltz for the bucket, which made the score 32-29 with 5:36 left in the third quarter.

"We talked about at halftime getting back, getting some ball movement, spreading the court, getting the ball inside and working off of that and getting some good looks," Sveda said. "We were settling for jump shots too much in the first half I thought. They were good looks, but they weren't going in, so we had to spread the floor a little bit and get some spacing."

Greg Godier kept Red Bud rolling with the team's seventh three of the game with 2:05 to go in the period, but the Indians closed out the quarter with an 8-1 run to grab their first lead since early in the second quarter. Fred started the run with a short-range jumper, then Beltz had the next six points including two on a layup just before the buzzer after he snatched a rebound away from a Red Bud player.

The three-point shot continued to keep the Musketeers in the ball game, however. Grohmann's triple with 6:10 to go in the ball game put Red Bud in front by two, then Grohmann sank a baseline jumper with 3:50 on the clock to make it 45-41.

Austin Mapps, who had four threes in the Indians Senior Night win over Nashville this past Friday, nailed his only three-pointer of the night just twelve seconds later to trim the lead to a single point. Mapps followed that up with a steal and a lay-up as Du Quoin continued to fight off the pesky Musketeers.

Beltz put DHS on top with a two-pointer inside with just under two minutes to play, but - once more - the Musketeers responded from beyond the arc. Godier's three with 1:37 to play tied the game, but Red Bud wouldn't find the bottom of the net again.

Fred hit a pair of free throws with 1:05 left, then Grohmann tried for the lead from the corner but the three ball rattled out into the arms of Beltz, who was fouled and sent to the line in the double bonus. He missed both, but the rebound was knocked out of bounds by the Musketeers, who then had to foul Fred with time ticking down.

Fred made two more freebies with 23.6 on the game clock for a four-point lead and the Indians forced a turnover at the other end with 15 seconds left to put the icing on the cake.

Beltz led the way for Du Quoin with 18 points, 14 coming after halftime. Fred had 17 points, Cook and Mapps each finished with 7, A.J. Smith and Tucker Kuhnert had 2 apiece.

With a depleted bench, the freshman Kuhnert played big minutes for the Indians, and fellow ninth graders Jacob Wright and Brock Bullar also got on the floor in meaningful situations.

"Tucker stepped up," Sveda said. "He's physical for his age, he stepped up and had some key rebounds for us. He wasn't afraid, didn't back down, and took the ball strong to the basket."

"Jacob Wright also did a nice job coming in and taking care of the basketball and playing some good defense, and Brock Bullar as well. I'm really happy for those kids, that's a big positive for our team. Our kids stuck together, persevered, and got the job done tonight."

Snyder's 21 points led all scorers, Grohmann added 15 for Red Bud.

Du Quoin (13-15) is rewarded with a rematch of last Friday's game with the SIRR Mississippi champs, Nashville. The Indians and Hornets meet on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. with the winner moving on to Friday's Regional title game against either Pinckneyville or Sparta.