By Jim Muir

Derek Oxford tallied a season high 30 points and the Benton Middle School Junior Rangers overcame a 13-point first quarter deficit to notch a 51-37 home court victory Monday night over Mt. Vernon.

The rousing come-from-behind victory improved BMS to 17-4 overall and was a proper send off to post season play that will begin Thursday night when Benton meets cross-county rival West Frankfort in a first round match up at the Hamilton County regional.

The Benton-West Frankfort game is at 5:30 followed by Hamilton County and Johnston City at 7 p.m. The winners will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday for the right to advance to the Class L state tournament at Rend Lake College.

The Junior Rangers fell behind 15-2 in the early going but rallied on a 5-0 run to close out the opening stanza, cutting the score to 15-7 at the end of one period.

“Mt. Vernon is big and very athletic, but early on they were simply out-hustling us. Their penetration was killing us and they were beating us to every rebound,” said Benton coach John Cook. “Defensively, they were able to stretch their zone across our small floor and it was difficult for us to move the ball or penetrate the gaps. We were forcing shots and shooting the ball very early in our possessions.”

Both teams scored 10 points in the second quarter and Mt. Vernon still controlled an eight point lead at the intermission, leading 25-17. Some halftime adjustments by Benton translated to a big third quarter for the Junior Rangers as they outscored Mt. Vernon 18-9 to turn grab a 35-34 lead at the end of three quarters.

Benton then put the game on ice by outscoring Mt. Vernon 16-3 in the final frame to gain the 51-37 victory.

“Hamilton Page and Scott Mosley gave us huge minutes off the bench and really played well on the defensive end. As a team we figured out what Mt. Vernon was capable of personnel-wise and we made the right adjustments,” said Cook. “Offensively, we put our better shooters on the top of the zone and gave them a little more freedom that earlier in the game. In the second half we were much more patient and looked to attack in transition.”

Along with Page and Mosley the BMS coach also gave high marks to Oxford who had six rebounds to go with his game high 30 points, Austin Wills who tallied 16 and also dished out five assists and Tyson Houghland, who scored three points but hauled down a career high 16 rebounds.

“I can’t say enough about the effort of Tyson (Houghland),” said Cook. “He has been sick for a couple of days now but he toughed it out and really defended and rebounded the ball well. Austin (Wills) found his stroke tonight and Derek was just himself tonight.”

The 8^th grade team finished regular season with a 17-4 record, with two of those losses to unbeaten Marion. Benton also lost to Du Quoin and Herrin early in the season but avenged both those losses in the second half of the season. The BMS 8^th grade players, cheerleaders and their parents were honored prior to the game, the last regular season game of the season.

The BMS 7^th grade team was also victorious in the preliminary contest picking up a hard fought 41-35 win over visiting Mt. Vernon.

Blane Pankey led the way for Benton with 11 points and was followed closely by Brett Bonenberger who tallied nine points.

Benton led at every stop grabbing a 13-6 first quarter lead and maintained the seven point advantage leading 20-13 at halftime. The 7^th grade squad upped its lead to 31-21 at the end of three.

Also contributing to the victory was Hamilton Page with seven points, Drew Owens with six points, Parker Williams with five points and Eldon Owens with three points. Mason Wills also saw action for Benton. The 7^th grade squad was without the services of starting guard Gehrig Wynn who missed the game because of illness.

The seventh grade team, coached by Andy Davis, closed out the regular season with an overall record of 16-5 that includes a second place finish in the recent Big 7 Conference Tournament.

By Jim Muir

Perhaps its time the Benton Middle School Junior Rangers became known as the Benton Road Warriors.

For the 11^th time this season the BMS 8^th grade team picked up a tough road win, this time a thrilling 45-42 overtime victory over Carterville on Thursday night.

BMS coach John Cook said traveling to Carterville “was exactly what we expected it to be.”

“It is never easy to come out with a win at Carterville,” said Cook. “It was a tough road environment and I’m very proud of our guys for keeping their focus and making big plays down the stretch.”

The victory improves Benton to 16-4 overall.

Derek Oxford led the Rangers with 24 points and six rebounds – his eighth game in a row with a 20-plus point performance – and was followed by Tyson Houghland who turned in a solid game with 12 points and eight rebounds.

“Tyson (Houghland) had a huge game for us as did Blane Pankey, with some key rebounds and free throws in the overtime,” said Cook. “And Derek (Oxford) just kept attacking the basket and he hit some big, big shots for us when we needed them the most.”

BMS jumped out to a 16-10 first quarter lead but Carterville roared back outscoring the Junior Rangers 11-4 in the second quarter to take a 21-20 halftime lead. Both teams continued to battle in the second half with Benton pulling ahead 29-28 after three quarters. Carterville outscored Benton 12-11 in the fourth forcing a 40-40 tie in regulation.

Cook said he feels his team’s second half defense was the key to the hard-fought victory.

“Our defense in the second half was the difference in the game,” said Cook. “We were able to hold their two leading scorers to just six combined points. It was a team win, it took all our guys to accomplish that.”

Another key stat in the game, Cook said, was Benton’s free throw shooting late when the Junior Rangers hit 6-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime period.

Along with Oxford’s 24 and Houghland’s 12 points Blane Pankey added four points and five rebounds, and Austin Wills scored three points. Also contributing to the win was Oliver Davis, Gehrig Wynn, Jordan Richey and Hamilton Page.

In the 7^th grade contest BMS pulled out an exciting 21-20 victory behind eight points from leading scorer Gehrig Wynn.

Brett Bonenberger had a big game for BMS with the winning basket in the final seconds to secure the win. Bonenberger finished with six points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals.

The 7^th grade team, coached by Andy Davis, trailed 7-2 at the end of the first quarter but outscored Carterville in the second frame 11-4 to take a 13-11 halftime lead.. Carterville outscored Benton 6-4 in the third quarter to force a 17-17 deadlock heading into the final frame.

Also scoring for Benton was Blane Pankey with three points and Hamilton Page with two points. Other players who contributed to the win are Parker Williams, Drew Owens, Eldon Owens and Mason Wills.

Benton’s 7^th grade team is in action at Harrisburg in the Big 7 Conference Tournament on Saturday. Both BMS teams will be at home on Monday, January 28 for the final regular season game. It is also “8^th Grade Night” where players and cheerleaders will be recognized.

Post season play for the BMS 8^th grade team will begin Thursday, January 31 at the Hamilton County Regional.

By Jim Muir

Derek Oxford and Austin Wills combined for 43 points and the Benton Middle School 8th grade boy’s basketball team rolled to its 11th straight win Thursday night, a 62-31 drubbing of cross-county rival West Frankfort.

The Junior Rangers jumped to an 18-7 first quarter lead and upped the advantage to 37-19 at halftime.  Still, BMS coach John Cook was not overly satisfied with his team’s play.

“Despite what the scoreboard said we weren’t happy with how we played, especially on the defensive end,” said Cook.  “We picked up some silly fouls from not being in our help positions and from trying to block shots.  That’s not the type of team we are, that needs to improve.”

Oxford tallied 28 points to go along with nine rebounds with Wills getting 15 points and four assists.  Tyson Houghland also notched double figures with 12 points and eight rebounds.

After some halftime adjustments Cook said he was pleased with this team’s second half play.

“The second half was much better in terms of playing a tight solid defense and checking off the glass,” he said. “We had some nice possessions on offense where we got pints off of our execution rather than off one pass and a shot.”

Despite winning 11 straight and improving to 15-3 overall Cook said he and his players were not “totally satisfied” with the win.

“We won so I am not disappointed and 10 games ago I would have probably been thrilled with a win like this,” said Cook.  “But, I don’t think anyone on our side was satisfied tonight, which is a good thing.  For us it’s not always about the scoreboard.  Our goal is to get better every game, we like that approach.”

Rounding out the scoring for Benton, Brett Bonenberger had three points, Parker Williams scored two points and Gehrig win had one point.  Also seeing action in the game was Oliver Davis, Blane Pankey, Scott Mosely, Jordan Richey, Hamilton Page, Troy Tillman and Jourdan Garbo.

In the preliminary contest Blane Pankey led the way for Benton with 10 points as the BMS 7th grade squad improved to 12-4 with a 40-24 victory over West Frankfort.

The 7th grade squad, coached by Andy Davis, rolled out to a 10-4 first quarter score and then put the game away in the second frame by outscoring the Redbirds 15-1 to open up a 25-5 halftime advantage.

Hamilton Page narrowly missed double figures with 9 points and he was followed by Brett Bonenberger with seven points, Gehrig Wynn with six points, Parker Williams with four points and Mason Wills and Drew Owens with two points each.  Also seeing action for Benton was Eldon Owens, Joey Craig, Parker McGuire, Triston Summers, Robbie Moore, Braxton Lutz, Ethan Kreiger, Avery Potter, Branden Luster, Peyton Mosley, Logan Darr and Jordan Bowlin.

Both BMS squads are back in action on Tuesday Jan. 22 when they travel to Marion.

By Jim Muir

The Benton Middle School eighth grade team got the 2013 portion of its schedule off to an excellent start with a 61-29 victory over Christopher.

The Junior Rangers showed no ill effects following a three week layoff through the Christmas holiday racing out to a 16-8 first quarter lead en route to a 32-11 halftime score.

BMS 8th grade coach John Cook said he was pleased with his teams’ performance after the 21-day holiday break.

“Going in I expected there to be a little rust and fatigue,” said Cook. “I saw some fatigue but not much rust. I thought we did an exceptional job on the defensive end holding Christopher to only three field goals in the first half. Our guards played tight on their three-point shooters and our big men did a great job of hedging and communicating on ball screens.

Cook pointed out that Christopher began the game in a triangle-and-two defense guarding Benton’s leading scorers Derek Oxford and Austin Wills man-to-man to slow their offensive output.

“I thought Tyson Houghland and Gehrig Wynn stepped up for us, combining for 17 first half points, and forced Christopher to go back to their base 2-3 zone defense in the second half,” said Cook. “I expect more teams to start playing gimmicks against us in the second half of the season but I also expect us to show teams that we aren’t a one or two-dimensional team. We have a lot of depth.”

The 8th grade team was paced in scoring by Oxford who scored 21 points and also led the team in rebounding with nine. Houghland also turned in a solid outing hitting double figures with 12 points. Rounding out the Benton scoring was Jordan Richey with six points, Austin Wills, Oliver Davis and Gehrig Wynn with five points each, Blane Pankey with three points, Scott Mosely and Troy Tillman with two each. Also seeing action in the 8th grade game was Hamilton Page, Jourdan Garbo, Parker Williams and Brett Bonenberger.

BMS was also victorious in the 7th grade game notching a 47-22 victory over the Bearcats. Benton jumped out to a 13-4 first quarter score and then outscored Christopher 15-5 in the second frame to take a 28-9 halftime lead. Benton upped the advantage to 37-12 after three quarter and coasted to the victory. Benton’s 7th grade team is now 9-2 overall with the win.

Brett Bonenberger led the way for coach Andy Davis’ team with 14 points followed closely by Blane Pankey who added 12. Also scoring for Benton was Drew Owens with six points, Triston Summers and Mason Wills with 4 each, Parker Williams with three, Hamilton Page and Parker McGuire with two each. Also seeing action in the 7th grade contest was Gehrig Wynn, Eldon Owens, Joey Craig, Robbie Moore, Braxton Lutz, Ethan Kreiger, Branden Luster, Peyton Mosely, Logan Darr and Jordan Bowlin.

Both BMS teams are back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when they host Harrisburg. The 7th grade game begins at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity game following.