HS boys’ hoops: Greenfield-Northwestern defeats Staunton, Southwestern wins sixth of last seven

 

Yates and Burch lead Bunker Hill past Mulberry Grove, Carlinville escapes in overtime

By JACKSON WILSON
Enquirer Democrat Reporter

Macoupin County high school boys’ basketball teams had difficulties getting into the win column against conference foes this past week, but earned a couple of victories out of league to keep spirits up.

Greenfield-Northwestern defeats Staunton

Greenfield-Northwestern’s defense held Staunton to a total of four points in the second and third quarters combined and the Tigers romped the Bulldogs 42-29 in Greenfield Jan. 24.

Dylan Pembrook scored 18 points on seven made field goals and Talon Albrecht added 14 tallies.

Staunton continued to falter later in the week. The Bulldogs plummeted to 0-4 in the South Central Conference with a 69-34 loss at Vandalia Jan. 27, then fell to Lincolnwood 52-45 at home Jan. 28. Overall, the Bulldogs are 8-13.

GF-NW, 14-9, is on a three-game winning streak. The Tigers stomped Edinburg 58-38 Jan. 26 and shut down Pawnee 63-32 on the road Jan. 28.

Southwestern wins sixth of last seven

After a brief 58-44 conference hiccup against Greenville Jan. 27, Southwestern rebounded the next day and secured its sixth victory in seven contests, 49-40 over Maryville Christian.

Ian Brantley, who previously dropped 20 points during a 54-38 win over North Greene Jan. 25, logged 12 tallies along with Ryan Lowis as the county champion Birds improved to 13-11 following a 2-1 homestand.

Southwestern is 2-2 in the SCC.

Yates and Burch lead Bunker Hill past Mulberry Grove

Cole Yates and Grant Burch combined for 52 points as Bunker Hill stopped a three-game losing streak Jan. 26.

Yates was consistent from start to finish, connecting on 12 of 16 shots from the floor en route to 30 points, and the Minutemen sprinted to a 78-57 victory at Mulberry Grove. Burch went eight for 15 with 22 tallies.

Yates and Burch additionally sunk seven threes as a duo.

Every player that suited up for Bunker Hill contributed at least two points.

The Minutemen are 6-16 this year.

Carlinville escapes in overtime

Carlinville went cold on offense with just seven points in the fourth quarter and lost a late lead before barely escaping Springfield Lutheran in a 66-65 overtime thriller at the Big House on West Main.

The Cavaliers hung 16 points on the visiting Crusaders in each of the first two quarters and took a 32-26 lead into halftime, then kept the juices flowing with 17 in the third quarter to minimize a Lutheran rally. Despite surrendering 19 tallies over that eight minute stretch, CHS still led by four heading down the stretch.

Senior Ryenn Hart led Carlinville with 20 points while grabbing 11 rebounds and was one of three Cavaliers to bury a pair of threes. The others were Dominic Alepra and Triston Thompson, two rising underclassmen who also logged double figures for the red and blue. Alepra, a sophomore, scored 17 points and freshman center Thompson added 10 tallies.

Carlinville was back on its home hardwood for conference play Jan. 27. The Cavaliers ended the game on a 20-2 run in the fourth quarter but still lost to the Purple Panthers, 59-41.
Carlinville is 5-16 on the season and 0-4 in the SCC.

Other action

In other action, Gillespie and North Mac were each handed back-to-back losses.

The Miners were roughed up at East Alton-Wood River 67-51 then stumbled against Hillsboro in SCC action 82-53 Jan. 27. Gillespie is 4-14 (1-3 SCC).

The Panthers (9-14 overall; 2-2 SCC) failed to get back on track at home and have now fallen short in seven of their last nine games. North Mac was defeated by Westminster 61-37

Jan. 24, then fell further down the conference ladder with a tough 55-50 loss against Pana.