2017...Here Come Your Carterville Lions

Jan 3, 2017
4 min read

It's January 3rd and I thought I would look at whats ahead for the Carterville Lions winter sports teams as the end of December turned out to be fantastic for both varsity boys and girls basketball.

Lions Boys Varsity Are Starting to Get Hot

The Lions made a trip to Nashville to take on the Nashville Hornets at Assembly Hall. The Lions had never previously won in Nashville, but on December 21, the Lions earned a 43-37. Taylor Heil (14) and Justin Johnson (10)were the leading scorers for Carterville. With the Win, the Lions pushed their SIRR conference record to a perfect 3-0 going into the New Year.

Coach Shane Hawkins finished 2016 by defending their two successive championships at the Duster Thomas Hoops Classic in Pinckneyville. The DTHC is a tough tourney that demands you play four games in a thirty-six hour period.

The Lions opened play in the 1:30 game on Tuesday taking on a very young, Cissna Park Timberwolves squad. The Lions got off to a quick start and allowed the T-wolves only score 6 points in both the 2nd and 3rd quarters en route to a 51-36 win. Luke Ford paced the Lions with 13 as Coach Hawkins was able to clear the bench in the second half. 8 Lions players made it in the scoring column.

The Lions, who had won the two previous championships here in 2014 & 2015 had the opportunity to play the Jerseyville Panthers in the night cap on Tuesday Night. The Panthers did not play in this event last year, however they did win 1st place in 2012 and 2013. Both teams matched up well and the Lions put the game away late in the fourth quarter and earned a 58-51 win. Three players scored in double digits with Taylor Heil leading the way with 16. Blake Jackson had 16 and Brendan Beasley added 10 for the Lions.

Watch the Lions beat Jerseyville below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yt2eiFH6v4

On Wednesday, the Lions were to face an undefeated Benton Ranger team in the championship bracket of the DTHC. The Rangers came out blistering hot as they hit six-3 pointers in the first quarter and never looked back. The Rangers buried twelve-3 pointers in the game winning 55-34, and for the first time in 3 years, the Lions will not play in the championship game.

After the game, Coach Hawkins said the Lions needed to finish strong tonight and have a gut-check game coming up after the loss to Benton.

In the previous two years when the Lions won this tourney, they beat the Waterloo Gibault Hawks, 65-61 in 2014 and 54-46 in 2015, so it was not surprise that the Hawks and Lions would match up in the 3rd place game. And for three quarters of the game, it looked like Gibault would roll over the Lions. Midway through the third, the Hawks had an 11 point lead, the Luke Ford, Taylor Heil and Blake Jackson were dominant for the last quarter and the Lions come from behind to win 69-65. Luke Ford led the Lions with 21 points, Blake Jackson had 18 and Taylor Heil added 16. It was a great gut check game for the Lions, and the Lions finish the 2016 Duster Thomas Hoops Classic in 3rd Place.

In his post-game comments, Head Coach Shane Hawkins praised his Lions for fighting back after being down in the third quarter.

You can watch the win over Gibault Hawks below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_X6aYIyymc

The Lions hit the road this Friday night when they travel to Sparta to take on the Bulldogs in SIRR conference action. Scott and I will have all the action on Newsradio WJPF starting with our pre-game show at 7:30 PM. Don't forget you can listen online to all Carterville games at www.wjpf.com We will also be streaming live on YouTube below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGRQvzwyWds

How About Those Lady Lions!

Matt Crain and his Lady Lions had made it to the championship game of the Benton Rangerette Holiday Tournament the last two years and both times came away with the second place trophy. This year they again made it to the championship game AND they win it with a 60-56 win over Graves County High School.

Freshman Janiah Thompson had a big night as she led the Lady Lions with 17 points, while Megan Barrett added 14. The Lions saw their record improve to 15-2 on the season and they are 5-0 in the conference as they face the Pinckneyville Panthers at home on Tuesday (1/3/17).

With the win in this tournament, the Lady Lions were selected as this weeks, 103.5 ESPN/CIL-FM High School Team of the Week. Congrats Matt Crain and the Lady Lions! I can't wait to present them with their plaque and TOTW t-shirts! Congrats Ladies!

Luke Ford to Participate in the US Army All-American Bowl National Combine.

Congratulations to Luke Ford for being selected to participate in the 2017 US Army All-American National Combine in San Antonio, TX this weekend. Luke will join 600 of the nations top high school football players focusing on measuring speed, strength and quickness skills while also learning about the recruiting process, improving their football skills and how to improve their leadership skills. Since Luke is just a Junior, he will most likely only participate in the National Combine this year as only 90 of the 600 invited will play in the actual game.

Congrats to Luke and GOOD LUCK!