By Jim Muir
Prior to the start of the 6th Annual Goreville Invitational Tournament Benton Coach Ron Winemiller said the opening night game between his Rangers and Anna-Jonesboro “could be the championship game.” After a full week of action at the GIT the Benton coach looks like a prophet.
The Rangers dropped the Monday night contest with the Wildcats 68-66 in overtime on a last second shot by Jake Parr. And from that point on the Rangers and Wildcats both ran the table leaving A-J with a 5-0 mark and the championship and the Rangers in second place at 4-1.
“Overall it was a good week of basketball,” said Winemiller. “We learned a little bit about who we are as a team.”
With a 4-1 mark in 2017 the Rangers are now 18-2 at Goreville during the past four years.
The Rangers were sluggish in a 51-38 victory over Hamilton County on Friday night but were hitting on all cylinders in two lopsided victories on Saturday. Benton hammered Johnston City 59-20 in a 10 a.m. contest on Saturday. Johnston City trailed 13-10 at the end of one and then managed only 10 points total over the remaining three quarters.
The Rangers put 12 players in the scoring column with Hamilton Page leading the way with 11. Also in double figures was Mason Morris with 10, followed by Gehrig Wynn and Carson Lewis with eight each, Parker Williams with seven, Cade Thomas with four and Mason Wills, Braxton Lutz, Noah Kays, Brad Hammond and Brett Bonenberger with two each. Eldon Owens added a free throw for one point.
In the finale on Saturday Benton faced the host Goreville Blackcats with second place on the line. Benton led 18-11 after one quarter and then went on a 21-3 run in the second quarter to open up a 41-23 halftime lead.
“We did a good job of stringing some stops together and having some good offensive possessions,” Winemiller said. “I felt our rebounding was the key. We were able to finish the possession by getting some rebounds and then we got out in transition and made some easy baskets.
Benton was led in scoring with 20 points by senior Gehrig Wynn and 15 by Hamilton Page. Cade Thomas added nine points, followed by Parker Williams and Mason Morris with eight points each. Sophomore Carson Lewis added five points, Brett Bonenberger added 3 points and Noah Kays and Joey Craig had two points each.
The GIT All-Tournament team consisted of Ross Pinnon and Sheldon McGrath from Anna-Jonesboro, Cade Thomas, Parker Williams and Gehrig Wynn from Benton, Tanner Dunn and Braden Webb from Goreville, Matt Rubenacker from Hamilton County and Chase Selby from Johnston City.
The Rangers return to regular season play in the home opener and the kick off to the SIRR Ohio Division when they host the Herrin Tigers on Friday, December 8.
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