Favored Warriors Stumble Across River At CIT
BY MICHAEL BOYD JR.
HERALD SPORTS EDITOR
CHESTER, Ill. — Valle Catholic bowed out of the 59th annual Chester Invitational Tournament with a sixth-place finish, falling 61-54 in a seesaw thriller to Lovejoy in the consolation championship boys’ basketball game late Saturday afternoon (Jan. 14) at CHS’s Colbert Memorial Gymnasium.
The second-seeded Warriors (8-4) were outrebounded badly by the very athletic East St. Louis neighbor.
Although athletic, the fifth-seeded, Brooklyn, Ill.-based Wildcats (10-7) were turnover prone as Valle had no trouble committing grand theft despite committing their own number of turnovers as well.
Valle jumped out to a 19-14 lead in the first quarter, and led 34-30 at break time, but Lovejoy turned up the heat in the second half. Valle trailed 50-42 after three
Valle Catholic senior Chase Fallert fires a pass around Lovejoy’s 6-foot-4 junior Jamal Brown during the Warriors’ 61-54 consolation championship loss at the Chester Invitational Tournament at the CHS’s Colbert Gymnasium on Saturday.
(PHOTO BY MICHAEL BOYD JR. / HERALD SPORTS EDITOR & PHOTOGRAPHER)
quarters.
There were 11 total 3-pointers in the game.
Chase Fallert scored a team-high 17 points with four trifectas, but he did not score in the final frame.
Harry Oliver, who stands 6-foot-3, rebounded as best he could and finished with 14 points before he crashed hard to the floor and suffered an ankle injury.
Clayton Drury had eight points on two treys, while Sam Drury had six points.
Valle was 10 for 14 from the foul line.
Lovejoy’s Pierre Lucas led all with 22 points despite only one field goal in both the first and fourth periods. The guard hit two treys.
Michael McCallum added 15 points with three trifectas. He only had one point in both first and final quarters.
Shantez Holliday also had 15 points.
The Wildcats were 6 of 14 from the charity stripe.
—–
Warriors 74, Perryville 64
CHESTER, Ill. — Five different players scored in double figures and both teams combined for 14 total 3-pointers as Valle Catholic took control in the second half to advance at the Chester Invitational Tournament Thursday night (Jan. 12) in a battle of two Missouri schools in Illinois just across the Mississippi River and not too far away from the Ohio River.
A shootout in a wild third quarter proved the difference as second-seeded Valle outscored sixth-seeded Perryville 27-21 during those eight minutes of the consolation semifinal.
The Drury boys combined for 33 points and Chase Fallert added 19 more, which was enough to counter high-scoring performances from the three different
Valle Catholic Warriors
Pirates (2-10).
Valle (8-4) trailed 17-14 after one quarter, but led 33-30 at intermission and 60-51 heading into final frame.
Clayton Drury led scorers with a career- and game-high 22 points — 15 in the middle periods — with three 3-pointers, while Sam Drury added 11 points.
Fallert scored 12 of his points in the second half and he hit a trey. Harry Oliver had nine points and Carson Tucker had eight points with a trey.
They were 16 for 25 from the free-throw line.
Ethan Blythe scored 21 points as he was consistent all four quarters.
Jake Cissell hit five 3-pointers as he added 19 points, 13 in the second half.
Andrew Terbrak had 15 points, Robert Ussery hit two trifectas for six points, and Brady Garza hit a trey.
The Pirates were 6 of 9 from the foul line.
—–
New Athens 65, Warriors 55
CHESTER, Ill. — Both teams shot the lights out from 3-point range, but neither could make their free throws as Valle Catholic opened the first round of the 59th annual Chester Invitational Tournament with a loss to the Yellowjackets across the river last Tuesday (Jan. 10) at the CHS’s Colbert Memorial Gymnasium.
Sam Drury scored a game-high 14 points and Harry Oliver added 10 points, but it was not enough to counter two 20-point feats by New Athens (Ill.).
Both squads combined for 14 total 3-pointers — seven apiece — but missed 24 times from the charity stripe.
Valle (7-4) held strong in the middle quarters to cut its debt to four points to start the fourth period, but the first and last frames proved its doom.
The Warriors trailed 15-8 after one quarter, 30-23 at halftime and 45-41 heading into the final frame.
Tyler Gegg and Chase Fallert both scored eight points, and both sank two trifectas.
Clayton Drury and Jackson Fowler both had five points and both hit a trey. The Warriors were 5 for 16 on free throws.
Isaiah Lintker led all with 22 points, 14 in the middle quarters, for New Athens (10-7).
Gannon Birkner had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He did not score at all in the third quarter, nor did he commit a single foul in the game.
The Yellowjackets were 8 for 21 from the foul line.
New Athens’ mascot is the same as the tournament host’s Yellow Jackets.
—–
NEXT
The Warriors host the Kingston Cougars at 6 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 17) for small-schools divisional action of the Mineral Area Activities Association Conference before they take a few days off as a good number of the student body head off for the Pro Life trip in Washington, D.C. They play again on Tuesday, Jan. 24 when they host Jefferson.
