Vandalia goes to 2-0 with win at DuQuoin Tourney

DUQUOIN – Watching the concentration Vandalia players were giving to free throws in the final three minutes of a win against Cairo on Monday, no one would guess the Vandals were leading by 20 points.

For the first 37 minutes of the game, however, the Vandals had shot just 53.5 percent from the free-throw line, and until that point, they had collectively made less than 60 percent of the season’s attempts.

But in those last three minutes, Vandalia earned 10 more trips to the line, converting on eight of them, to close out an 80-60 win on the first day of the DuQuoin Tip-Off Classic.

“That’s a positive,” said coach Kevin Jackson. “We made them when we had to, but we still have to shoot it better for the whole game.”

Through two games, the Vandals have made 38-of-60 (63.3 percent) free throws.

Despite that issue, Vandalia relied on making 55.1 percent of field goals to put five players in double-digit scoring for the win.

Junior Leyton Godoyo – who had just four points in the team’s first game – led the way, with 18 points, and he was followed by senior Bryan Hosick (16), junior Tim Ritchey (15), senior Dathan Berning (14) and senior Quenten Austin (13).

“That’s what we need,” Jackson said. “That’s good balance. We aren’t going to score 80 points every night, but we know we have some guys who can get the ball in the hole.”

Well over half of the total points (47) came in the first and third quarters, with Vandalia opening the game on an 11-0 run that lasted the first 3:35 and included points from four different players, and opening the second half on a 15-6 run that included six different scorers.

Shortly after Cairo’s first points, Godoyo made back-to-back 3-pointers in the span of 40 seconds to put Vandalia ahead, 17-4.

“It’s good to see Leyton get going, because he did struggle a little bit last Tuesday,” Jackson said. “We’re excited for him to have a good night, but we had a lot of guys have a good night.”

The Vandals led, 23-8, after the first period, but Cairo would outscore them 17-15 in the second quarter, including a 9-4 run in the middle of the period.

Cairo’s first five points of the run came on back-to-back possessions, and after that, the Pilot defense forced Vandalia into seven straight missed shots, its only significant drought during the game.

“I thought we got out of what we wanted to do in the first half,” Jackson said. “We tried to run with them a little bit … and we got a little bit too quick.”

But, the Vandals only turned the ball over 11 times during the game, a big improvement from the season-opener, when Vandalia had nearly 20.

In the first half, Cairo scored just four points off of five Vandalia turnovers, and the Pilots added just 10 points off of turnovers for the game.

“That’s pretty good against that pressure,” Jackson said. “There were arms and legs flying everywhere, so I’m pleased with that.”

Vandalia pushed its lead to 21 on a floater by Godoyo about 2:30 into the second half, and that lead would remain close to that the rest of the game.

Cairo had three dunks in the fourth quarter, but none of them quashed Vandalia’s momentum, as it scored a basket immediately following two of them.

“The dunks? Who cares?” Jackson said. “We came back to the other end and scored, and they count two the same (for layups).”

The Vandals continue in the tournament on Friday, when they will battle DuQuoin at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Vandalia will face Benton at 12:30 p.m. and Waltonville at 6:30 p.m.

Vandalia’s first conference game is at home against Greenville next Friday at 6 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 28
at DuQuoin Tip-Off Classic
Vandalia 80
Cairo 60
VHS: 23-15-24-18—80
CHS: 8-17-12-23—60
Points: Godoyo, 18; Hosick, 16; Berning, 15; Ritchey, 14; Austin, 13; Trevor Montgomery, 2; Chase Woolsey, 2.
Rebounds: Austin, 8; Ritchey, 7; Godoyo, 6; Berning, 2; Hosick, 2; Woolsey, 2; Wade Cowger, 1; Montgomery, 1; Michael Wells, 1.
Steals: Godoyo, 4; Hosick, 2; Ritchey, 2; Austin, 1; Berning, 1; Woolsey, 1.
Blocks: Godoyo, 1.
Record: 2-0
Cairo: Childs had 19 points.

vs. South Central
An 18-0 run during the first quarter of the season-opener showed that Vandalia was ready to start the season.

An 8-0 run for its opponent at the end of the third quarter showed that there are still some things to be worked on.

But in the end, junior Tim Ritchey had scored 14 points and senior Dathan Berning added 12 as the Vandals knocked off South Central, 53-36, last Tuesday night to win its season-opener.

“That was certainly nice to see,” Jackson said of the game’s start. “But they beat us 13-8 in third quarter, and we can’t keep that trend.”

One trend that Jackson expects to continue, however, is the balanced scoring his team produced, as eight players scored at least two points during the win.

Vandalia’s press defense was also effective, forcing the Cougars into more than 10 turnovers in the first half, but Jackson knows that against a more-seasoned team, the defense will need to be better.

“It was effective tonight, but it’s going to have to be better,” he said. “Other teams might handle it a little bit better, and we’ll have to be more disciplined.”

South Central is replacing three starters this season, and the replacements don’t have a lot of varsity experience.
Junior Fischer Tharp was the Cougars’ leading scorer, with 18 points.

Tuesday, Nov. 22
vs. South Central
Vandalia 53
South Central 36
SCHS: 3-9-13-11—36
VHS: 18-13-8-14—53
Vandals
Points: Ritchey, 14; Berning, 12; Hosick, 7; Austin, 6; Godoyo, 4; Montgomery, 4; Woolsey, 4; Wells, 2.
Rebounds: Austin, 5; Hosick, 4; Godoyo, 3; Ritchey, 3; Berning, 2; Team, 2; Woolsey, 1.
Steals: Godoyo, 5; Austin, 4; Hosick, 3; Montgomery, 3; Ritchey, 2.
Assists: Godoyo, 3; Austin, 1; Cowger, 1; Hosick, 1; Montgomery, 1; Ritchey, 1; Woolsey, 1.
Record: 1-0
Cougars
Points: Tharp, 18; Yates, 7; Bushue, 4; Wilkins, 4; Hablewitz, 2; Krajefska, 1.
Rebounds: Wilkins, 5; Team, 3; Tharp, 2; Bushue, 1; Hablewitz, 1; Yates, 1.
Steals: Wilkins, 7; Bushue, 1; Krajefska, 1; Tharp, 1.
Record: 0-1
JV: Vandalia won.