Benton faces Marion in the first round of the Carterville Class 3A Regional

Steve Dunford – franklincounty-news.com

When the seedings came out last night, The IHSA used geography for the play in games of the complex which made sense.  I figured there would be a good chance that the Rangers would be facing the Marion Wildcats.  They will be playing them on Wednesday night, March 1st., at 7:00 p.m. at Carterville.

I know several were disappointed, feeling the Rangers were low balled, I was at first.  Here is what I was thinking.  To get out of a regional, you are going to have to face either Carbondale or Centralia anyway.

Yes, an extra night of rest might have been beneficial.  However, the lay out of the bracket gives the Ranger coaching staff one last look at Carbondale playing a familiar opponent.

For Marion, Justin Shadowens is very exciting to watch.  He reminds me of the Energizer Bunny.  He is one of the better point guards I have watched in a long time.  He is a Lukas Gunter/Seth Ramsey type player.

Jackson Connor will be a treat for Ranger fans to watch as well.  He is the son of Zeigler-Royalton standout Sean Connor.  He does not play like a freshman on the court.  He has the capabilities of being a high level Division 1 player, like his dad was at Notre Dame.

Marion Coach and Benton resident Dave Brown goes eight or nine deep.  They do have a little of a size advantage on the Rangers.  This has been going into games several times this year.

I am a little old school when I give regional parings.  After the complex, they are regionals.  I give the seeds as such.  I also give pairings one round at a time for local teams.  For the whole Class 3A state tournament bracket copy the link below:

http://ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysBasketball/StateSeriesInformationResults.aspx?url=/data/bkb/3bracket.htm

CARTERVILLE CLASS 3A REGIONAL PAIRINGS

• Game 1:  (4)  Massac County vs (5) Carterville, Monday, February 27th., at 7:00 p.m.
• Game 2:  (1)  Carbondale vs winner of game one, Tuesday, February 28sth., at 7:00 pm
• Game 3:  (2) Benton vs (3) Marion, Wednesday March 1st., at 7:00 p.m.
• Game 4:  Championship, winner of Game 2 verses winner of game three, Friday, March 3rd, at 7:00 p.m.

The winner advances to the Benton Sectional to play the winner of the Breese-Mater Dei Regional Tuesday, March 7th., at 7:00 p.m.