BASKETBALL: Indians get SIRR win at Carterville

CARTERVILLE, IL - Daulton Beltz put in a layup with 18 seconds left to give Du Quoin the lead and Austin Mansker forced a turnover on Carterville's ensuing possession to help the Indians knock off the Lions, 49-46, in an SIRR Mississippi Division game Friday night.

Du Quoin improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference, while Carterville dropped to 5-4 and 1-2 with its second straight loss.

Carterville built and lost a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and the lead changed hands five times in the game's final three minutes. Carterville was ahead 46-45 after a bank shot by Tyler Horn with 58 seconds left, but Beltz's layup after a Carterville turnover proved to be the decisive basket.

Mansker then forced Lions guard Blake Watson into a turnover and Brenden Fred provided the final margin with a free throw with 4.2 seconds left.

"The kids kept competing and I'm really proud of them for scrapping and clawing," said Du Quoin coach Gabe Sveda. "It was a gutsy performance. We changed defenses and kept them out of rhythm and came up with some big rebounds."

The Lions turned a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead in the first quarter with an 18-5 run and led 20-16 at halftime.

Fred hit a jumper to cut the Lions' lead to two but then Carterville went on a 13-5 run, capped by a Horn putback, to build a 10-point lead with under three minutes left in the third quarter.

But the Indians ended up outscoring the Lions in the period and Carterville's lead was 33-30 going into the fourth quarter.

"This one really hurts," said Carterville coach Scott Burzynski. "This was disappointing and heartbreaking. We would turn it over and then drop our heads instead of making a play. We didn't shoot well all night. It still came down to the wire and we came up short."

Mansker scored 14 points to lead Du Quoin, while Fred had 10 points and eight rebounds and Beltz finished with eight points. Spencer Cook added seven.

Horn led all scorers with 20 points and Watson had 13. Matt Galik chipped in six.

Michael Aschemann, the Lions' leading scorer from last year who returned last week to play for the first time since suffering a football injury, left early in the game with what appeared to be another sprain of his previously injured ankle.

"We've dropped two in a row and have to regroup," Burzynski said. "We lost our composure at the end. But now we have to get ready for the holiday tournament."