JERSEYVILLE - Day three of Jersey Community High School’s Mid Winter Classic Boys Basketball Tournament held plenty of twists and turns as the games unfolded this Wednesday evening.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
In 32 minutes of nonstop play, the Jersey Panthers snatched a 48-47 win right out of the Cahokia High School Comanches’ hands in the last seconds of the match.
Jersey coach Stote Reeder knew that the night’s matchup was going to be tough, but he and his team knew that they couldn’t give up.
“We never felt like we were out of it,” he said. “I didn’t feel like we were playing hard enough in the third quarter and I got a little loud in that mid-period meeting. I start to feel bad because Zac [Ridenhour] as you can see kills himself each and every game and that got contagious. I told the boys, ‘I need all twelve of you.’”
To kick off the first period, junior Jackorey Davs from Cahokia locked in a three-pointer. Shortly after, his classmate Thomas Bell swooshed the ball in the basket for two.
After a foul committed on Jersey sophomore Blake Wittman, he earned the Panthers one point from a free throw. Bell then went on to add two more for the Comanches.
Junior Jacob Ridenhour scored a basket before Bell hit in two yet again.
Wittman went on to bring in two more points from two successful free throws before senior Chris McRoberts got in on the Comanches’ action and brought in two. His classmate Marvon Crumble swooshed in a three-pointer before Bell locked down two more points. The score was 16-5 in Cahokia’s favor.
In an effort to bring in points before the end of the period, sophomore Lucas Ross landed a free throw shot and A.J. Shaw brought the Panther offense back to life after a three-pointer. At the end of the first, the Panthers were trailing the Comanches 16-9.
Jersey came out into the second with confidence. Zac Ridenhour aided the Panthers with the first four points of the period from one basket and two free throws. Then, Cahokia’s Damond Harrison locked in a point from the foul line and senior Keson Tidwell scored two on a rebound shot.
Wittman added two points before Tidwell and Crumble each landed a free throw each, bringing the score to 21-15 in the Comanches’ favor.
A foul on Zac Ridenhour allowed him to score two points from free throws before Crumble could land a two-point shot, leveling out their previous lead. Harrison also knocked in a basket to extend the Comanches’ lead further.
Witt successfully scored two free points before Harrison scored two himself. In the last play of the period, Zac Ridenhour swooshed in another two point shot to bring the score to 27-21 in Cahokia’s favor at half.
As Coach Reeder mentioned, his boys’ seemed to have a little trouble in the third period. The entire quarter was filled with what seemed to be a never ending battle of wits between the teams.
Zac Ridenhour landed a basket to start of the period before Davs could come back to bring in two himself. Then, Jacob Ridenhour made a point at the foul line. Senior Chris McRoberts then swooshed the ball in the basket for Cahokia before Zac Ridenhour could retaliate with another basket of his own. In a deja vu, both McRoberts and then Zac Ridenhour scored again.
After a time-out, Shaw brought one in from the foul line before a five-point push was made by Cahokia. In the push, Crumble knocked in three from a basket and a free throw and freshman Deavis Johnson scored a basket himself.
In the Panthers’ last push of the period, Zac Ridenhour landed a free throw and knocked in one more basket.
Bell swooshed in yet another basket for the Comanches and brought the score to 40-32 at the end of the third.
Tensions truly grew in the fourth. To kick off the period, senior Drake Kanallakan locked in two from free throws.
Bell brought one in from the goal line before Davs swooshed in one basket for the Comanches, furthering their team’s lead.
In a comeback push, junior Ryan Herkert, although he played in spurts throughout the game, came off the bench for the last time to produce a much-needed three-pointer for the Panthers. Zac Ridenhour added two more from a basket shortly after to bring the score to 43-39.
The Panthers were still in this game and if the Comanches needed more proof, then Wittman’s three-pointer to bring the score to 43-42 was the final straw.
A basket landed by by Zac Ridenhour brought the Panthers into the lead for the first time all game. It was short-lived, however, as Bell went one to knock in a two-point shot.
After a quick meeting with Reeder and his team, Kanallakan swooshed the ball into the basket to take the lead at 46-45.
After another time-out, a foul was committed on Bell, which allowed him to earn a free point to tie the game at 46. He then brought in one more point from the same series of throws to take the lead yet again.
With less than 6.5 seconds to go on the clock, the Panthers were out of options, and a hail-mary two point shot was all that could save them.
Using every millisecond to their advantage, the Panthers diligently got the ball into Zac Ridenhour’s hands. Before the buzzer, he landed the two-point shot that allowed his team to take home the night’s victory against Cahokia with a score of 48-47.
Zac Ridenhour ultimately brought in a total of 23 points for the night, including that game-winning play for the Panthers. Following Ridenhour with eight points is Wittman. Shaw and Kanallakan each locked in four points. Jacob Ridenhour and Herkert scored three points each. Witt locked down a basket himself and Ross landed a free throw.
For Cahokia, Bell locked in 15 points total for the night. Behind him with nine points was Crumble. Davs brought to Comanches seven points throughout the evening. McRoberts contributed six himself and Harrison locked in five points in the second period alone. Tidwell could only bring in three in the second period as well. Johnson locked down one basket to score two.
Marquette Catholic falls 39-32 in close match with Collinsville
The Marquette Catholic High School Explorers fell to the Collinsville High School Kahoks 39-32 in a close match-up prior to the Jersey/Cahokia match.
Senior Zach Flora lead the Kahoks with 11 points throughout the match with one basket and three three-pointers. Behind him with 10 points was his classmate Tommy Madden. Junior Ronnie Midgett swooshed in three baskets and one free throw to secure nine points for the Kahoks. Sophomore Jake Hall locked down five points with a basket and a three-pointer. Juniors Chandler Buehne and Sam Webb each brought in two points.
Senior Ben Sebacher led the Explorers with 12 points for the night from six separate baskets. Shortly behind him with 10 points was sophomore Reagan Snider. With six points for the evening, senior Tim Derrington earned his night’s keep from two three-pointers. Seniors Shandon Boone and Trey Aguirre locked in two points each.
More like this:
