Carlyle uses late bucket, turnovers to slip past Vandals

VANDALIA – When Austin Durbin dashed into the lane to grab an offensive rebound and turn it into a second-chance layup with 5:07 left in Saturday’s game, it was enough for Carlyle coach Andy Palmer to call a timeout and regroup his team.

That basket was the signature for Durbin in the best game of his career, but three turnovers by the Vandals in the final 1:08 allowed the Indians to sneak away with a 50-46 win after Durbin’s bucket gave Vandalia a five-point lead.

“We had an opportunity, but didn’t finish it off,” said Vandals coach Brian Buscher. “We played hard, and if we hadn’t played hard, they could have beaten us by 20 or 25, because I think they are a pretty dang good team.”

Durbin, a shifty guard in his first year on the varsity roster, scored six of his career-high nine points in the fourth quarter.

His other basket was a big 3-pointer in third period.

He connected on a shot with 4:55 left in the quarter to knot the game at 26, the first time the Vandals held at least a share of the lead since late in the opening period.

“He’s scrappy,” Buscher said. “He does all of the little things, and then he hits a shot, and you say, ‘How did he do that?’

“That’s how a 5-foot-6 kid has to play to be out there on the floor.”

Durbin’s performance nicely complemented a 13-point game by junior Collin Nestleroad and a 13-rebound effort by senior Colton Woolsey, both of whom played a vital role in keeping Vandalia (2-6) within striking distance throughout the game.

Carlyle (4-1) fell behind early, but used a 14-0 run to close out the first eight minutes to go ahead, 18-8, but the Vandals countered with a 7-0 run to close the gap as the first half came to an end.

Vandalia’s five-point lead was the largest of the second half, which saw four ties but only two lead changes.

“If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year if this team could beat Carlyle, to be realistic with myself, I would have had to say, ‘I don’t know,’” Buscher said. “We’re in that position tonight because of how hard our kids played.”

Saturday, Dec. 14
Carlyle 50
Vandalia 46
C: 16-8-7-19—50
V: 8-13-10-15—46
Points: Nestleroad, 13; Durbin, 9; Carson Smith, 7; Luke Hollinshead, 6; Woolsey, 5; Wade Harre, 2; Colin Ledbetter, 2; Jake Shulman, 2.
Rebounds: Woolsey, 13; Nestleroad, 6; Hollinshead, 4; Durbin, 3; Harre, 2; Team, 2; Smith, 1; Shulman, 1.
Assists: Nestleroad, 2; Shulman, 2; Smith, 2; Durbin, 1; Hollinshead, 1; Woolsey, 1.
Steals: Durbin, 1; Harre, 1; Smith, 1.
Blocks: Woolsey, 2; Nestleroad, 1.
Record: 2-6

***

In one of the most unusual games the Vandalia has played in recent years, the Vandals scored just three points in the middle two quarters before erasing a 13-point deficit during the fourth quarter only to lose on a buzzer-beating runner.

Junior Collin Nestleroad led the Vandals with 11 points, and senior Colton Woolsey added 10, as the Vandals fell to Hamilton County, 47-45, last Wednesday in the last game of the DuQuoin Tip-Off Classic.

Vandalia finished 1-3 in the event, and Nestleroad and Woolsey were named to the all-tournament team, and junior Luke Hollinshead received the Sportsmanship Award.

“Colton and Collin are consistently our leading scorers, and they played pretty good ballgames,” said coach Brian Buscher. “It’s tough to go out for an award after a tough loss, but they deserve those things.”

Vandalia (2-4) held a four-point lead after the first eight  minutes before falling into its scoring funk, getting a field goal by senior Carson Smith and a free throw by Nestleroad as its only scoring in the middle two periods.
Buscher said that the offense didn’t look like it typically does in the middle 16 minutes.

“We didn’t play very good offensively,” he said. “We stared at the ball after we ran our transition offense well, but we were way out of sync.”

But Nestleroad and Hollinshead each made three field goals in the fourth quarter, with Hollinshead tying the game at 45.

Logan Billington hit a runner in the waning seconds, however, and just his second basket or the game secured the win for the Foxes, who were led in scoring by Balee Gay’s 10 points.

Wednesday, Dec. 11
Hamilton County 47
Vandalia 45
H: 14-10-9-14—47
V: 18-3-0-24—45
Points: Nestleroad, 11; Woolsey, 11; Hollinshead, 8; Carson Smith, 7; Wade Harre, 5; Austin Durbin, 2; Matt Rademacher, 2.
Record: 2-3