St. Elmo boys earn win in season-opener

FARINA – The seniors stepped up to get the lead, and the young buck made the plays to put the game away for St. Elmo in double-overtime on Tuesday.

Seniors Blaine Scholes and Ben Sperry combined to make 4-of-5 free throws in the first 30 seconds of the second overtime period, and sophomore Levi Maxey then recorded a 3-pointer, steal and layup in a span of 14 seconds to bump St. Elmo’s lead to seven during a 53-50 season-opening win on Tuesday.

“We are going to let him grow up in the JV a little bit, but the seniors accept him and know he can play,” said St. Elmo coach Greg Feezel of Maxey. “He knows he’s here to help them out, and he did a very good job of it.”

Maxey had not scored until that point in the game, though he had played in each quarter.

The Eagles, however, had to make a small comeback to even get the game to overtime.

Facing a 34-29 deficit with 3:49 left in regulation, the Eagles (1-0) benefitted from four South Central fouls in 21 seconds and two turnovers to tie the game 1:05 later.

“I’m preaching to learn from the things that don’t work out for you,” said South Central coach Rick Simmons. “I feel like our kids are making progress.”

The Cougars (0-2) lost to Vandalia last Tuesday, 53-36.

South Central tied the game at 38 with a layup by senior Colton Wilkins – who had a double-double, with 13 points and 13 rebounds – and junior Fischer Tharp earned a steal with 7 seconds left, but a shot from junior Myles Yates would not fall at the buzzer.

“From when I saw them a week ago against Vandalia, they have improved 110 percent,” Feezel said. “They will be a rough out for some people.”

Each team scored two points in the first overtime period, with Wilkins putting in a basket 30 seconds in, and senior Blake Pruett making a jumper a minute later for St. Elmo.

That was not the only scoring drought during the game, as the Eagles made just one shot during the second quarter, and South Central scored just five points in the third quarter.

Starting with 38 seconds left in the first period, the Cougars used a 14-2 run all the way to halftime to take a four-point lead. The Eagles had opened the game on an 8-0 run over the first 3:20.

“At times it looked like it was our first ball game of the year,” Feezel said. “We are a lot better shooters than we showed tonight.”

St. Elmo opened the third quarter with a third-chance layup 22 seconds in, and had racked up a 7-2 run to take a lead, but South Central would respond in the fourth, with an 8-1 run over the first 4:11 to build a five-point lead.

That’s when the Cougars’ collapse happened, but Simmons said he was pleased to see that his team continued to compete after losing a lead.

“If it’s possible to feel good about a loss, this is it,” he said. “The whole thing was about continuing to complete, and they battled back and put themselves in a position to win.”

South Central gets its next chance for victory on Friday at Odin, and St. Elmo returns to action the same day against Neoga. Both games start at 6:15 p.m.

Double-Double
Wilkins recorded his first career varsity double-double against St. Elmo.

“He did an excellent job,” Simmons said. “He did a tremendous job on the boards, especially in the second half.”

Of his 13 rebounds, 11 came in the second half or overtime.

Injury
South Central senior Colby Bushue came out of the game after twisting his left ankle on a play at the start of the third quarter.

Bushue, who initially injured his ankle during the fall baseball season, returned to the game in the second overtime, but he wasn’t at full strength.

“I asked him if he was ready to go, and he said, ‘Yes,’” Simmons said. “He said, ‘I’m about half of what I normally am.’ He then went out and battled through it.”

Bushue finished the game with five points.

Tuesday, Nov. 28
at South Central
St. Elmo 53 (2 OT)
South Central 50
SE: 15-2-11-10-2-13—53
SC: 11-10-5-12-2-10—40
Eagles
Points: Connor Beasley, 14; Pruett, 11; Sperry, 10; Jake Mansker, 6; Maxey, 5; Scholes, 5; Patrick Schaal, 2.
Rebounds: Beasley, 7; Sperry, 7; Pruett, 4; Scholes, 3; Mansker, 2; Maxey, 1; Team, 1.
Steals: Beasley, 4; Maxey, 3; Sperry, 3; Mansker, 2; Pruett, 1.
Record: 1-0
Cougars
Points: Wilkins, 13; Tharp, 10; Rudy Hablewitz, 9; Yates, 7; Luke Krajefska, 6; Bushue, 5.
Rebounds: Wilkins, 13; Hablewitz, 5; Yates, 4; Tharp, 3; Krajefska, 2; Team, 4.
Steals: Hablewitz, 3; Tharp, 2; Krajefska, 1.
Record: 0-2
JV: St. Elmo won, 47-31